The Stairs : A New World

Hell, this is nice. Not one noisy guitar; not one drum sounding just a little like a biscuit tin, and not once is the music put into dynamic eruption. Even the the keyboard-player hammers his hand into the keyboard it sounds like fallen leaves blown away on the first day of spring. Why? I don't understand it. "But it swings real cool". Yes, that may be so, but does it help when the expression is built with Lego bricks? A terrible amount of craft to build just a playhouse. At the same time I can read in Jesper Vindberg's press release that the idols are Beatles, Oasis, Pink Floyd and others from the British rock-tradition, and the the world does not hang together anymore, does it? The British rock-tradition is known for everything else, to be rattling with attitude, untight with soul and present with charm. Even the the records of MTV icon Robbie Williams draw on this tradition, even though in a more subdued way. Best example is "Trainstation", which wants to be stadium-rocking with its intro, but it does not work. The whole thing is round, soft and without an edge, and when towards the end it goes into something that might remind you of blues-rock, the picture goes completely distorted

It is really sad that the production resorts so far back in time and even towards a tradition that the songs do not want to be associated with: The smooth American pop-rock sound of the late 1980's. A shame for the songs are well-crafted and the lyrics want to go somewhere - more than the lyrics of the American pop of the 1980's intended. At the same time the lyrics are introvert and marked by the intimacy, which is characteristic of British music; two ideas, which more than any have framed British music during the last 5-10 years

The thought provoking thing about the EP "A New World" is that when works the best is when the production is in the back. Have a listen to "Don't Give Up" where the interaction between the piano and the vocal brings forward the intimacy which suits Jesper Vindberg really well. Here he seems at home, and even more important, the song works much stronger - it simply hit deeper than the others. The rest of the band also sound better on "Don't Give Up", where the drummer play with the right sloppiness that comes close to British sound-tradition

All in all a band that has to look out for a stronger and more marked approach that can stamp them in their present. The songwriting is the major force for Jesper Vindberg, and this helps the EP. "Back From the Sky" and "Don't Give Up" are the two strongest tracks on the EP, and at times they hit where they are supposed to hit, if the band wants to shine through mediocrity and get noticed. Don't be afraid to make a difference, to have an opinion, to touch us deeper; rattle, run, sing out of tune, exaggerate, understate, anything - just do something more

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