Ghosts From The Past

Das 2008er Album des isländischen Alternative-Popstars Bardi Johannsson, a tall Icelandic man, has been playing under the name Bang Gang since 1996, and only started using his real name eight years ago. First came the very atmospheric You (2000), with surprisingly soft, vaporous outlines for someone with such a violent stage name. 2003 confirmed Bardi's talent as a composer, performer and producer. Two simultaneous albums made him a major figure of musical melancholy: Something Wrong, Bang Gang's second album, where the softness of the acoustic songs meets adventurous electronic explorations; Bardi toured Europe, Japan and the USA before vanishing back to his anonymous activities, away from the limelight.. Bardi has returned to his first love: songwriting. Extremely well-written songs, full of melodic outbursts, the likes of which are rarely seen these days; with careful arrangements and coherence, but still diverse. From the pop manifest to the almost metallic influences of a hit, I Know You Sleep is an irresistible pop-rock track; the emotional crescendo and the almost mystical rise of the opera singer on Ghost from the Past will bring tears to your eyes; and Don't Feel Ashamed is an ethereal delicacy, a sublime composition worthy of the best of The Lotus Eaters or The Cocteau Twins. Bardi proves here, if needed, the extent of his talent. Bardi Johannsson loves mysteries and eclecticism; he is always ready to take the least expected detours. Like the spectres evoked in this third album, Ghosts from the Past, he sometimes disappears and reappears, but his music never cesses to haunt us.