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Tafra: Why Even Bother [Album Review]

Tafra

In my review yesterday of Tafra‘s “Oh Daniel” music video, I mentioned the artist had the sound of SKWBN. For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym, that’s Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, a Swedish duo. But then again it’s no surprise as the story goes like this: Niklas Tafra was supposed to play bass for SKWBN at the I’m From Bräke-Hoby festival but forgot to wake up that morning. Any guess as to the reason behind closing track “I’m Sorry Bräke-Hoby”?

Opening with “Cheesy Epic View”, Why Even Bother immediately caught my attention for its lo-fi, twee-like sounds. Following suit, most songs are fairly brief, but a select few do top the three minute mark, like the catchy lo-fi electro pop tune “Tired Of London”.

In tunes like “A Hundred Million Things” and “Dear Satan”, Tafra surfaces with a somewhat Son, Ambulance sound. The inherent sadness if Tafra’s voice contrasts beautifully with the backing na na’s and poppy electonics. While it may seem to object to the lighter mood of the instrumentation in Tafra’s songs, the lo-fi and light-hearted instruments keep the tunes poppy.

So, where does that leave Tafra? Well, I’ve got a stack of Series II albums awaiting my thoughts. Though there are a few I have yet to crack the case on, from what I’ve heard so far from the label, Tafra is my favorite one yet!

This review was originally published March 6, 2008 on the old version of FensePost.

Tafra: Oh Daniel [mp3]
[audio:090809-tafra-oh_daniel.mp3|titles=Oh Daniel|artists=Tafra]

Tafra: Cheesy Epic View [mp3]
[audio:090809-tafra-cheesy_epic_view.mp3|titles=Cheesy Epic View|artists=Tafra]

Why Even Bother by Tafra

Series II Records [CD, 2008]

1. Cheesy Epic View
2. At The Cemetary
3. Tired Of London
4. A Hundred Million Things
5. Why Do You Have To Be So Complicated Baby
6. Oh Daniel
7. Dear Satan
8. Why Even Bother
9. Your Ex-Boyfriend’s mp3s
10. I Wrote A Song About A Guy Who Wrote A Song About A Guy Who Wrote A Song About A Guy Who Wrote A Song
11. I’m Sorry Brakne-Hoby

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