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Den Der Hale Premiere “Armoured”; Harsyra LP out June 11

Posted in audiObelisk on April 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

den der hale

Swedish psychedelic post-rock explorers Den Der Hale release their debut album Harsyra through Sound Effect Records on June 11. Even if the endorsement from the Greek imprint isn’t enough to immediately pique your interest — and it probably should be — the Malmö-based five-piece won’t take long to immerse you in their melodic wash, speaking here and there to post-punk or proto-New Wave (is there a difference?) or sundry other microgenres and eternal niches-within-niches they simply dub “post-psych.” Points for being concise, but much as the LP’s accessible runtime of five tracks/35 minutes unfolds sonic spaces greater than the sum of their time, so too does their chosen designation only begin to explain where they’re coming from on Harsyra, from the airy, harmony-culminating come-with-us downer-dirge of “Carcassonne,” string break included, to the surging wash of bliss that caps the concluding title-track.

Perhaps their path to creating such a striking first full-length makes more sense when one learns of band members’ past in Insaunas, whose dreamy svenskfolk found itself combining bedroom-psych intimacy and experimentalism on 2019’s We Brought Some Days Back, released through the Malmö label Nytt Arkiv. Knowing that isn’t going to account for all of the ritual-style standalone vocals at the end of second cut and side A closer “Ant Mill” — a 13-minute journey of spaces lush and minimal, fuzzed-out, weirded up and moving into your neighborhood, and, in that finish, more or less still; it is a beautiful thing that feels reckless without being so — but it’s a foundation to work from, and as much as Den Der Hale have their own mission throughout Harsyra, finding a place for themselves between that which is essentially human and that which is formless ether and grooving in and on that divide, melody is melody. Fortunately.

Side B is about a minute shorter than A when all put together — which is how I got the album, by the way; two files, one for each side and a time sheet from Magnus Lindberg Mastering that showed where one track ended and another began;Den Der Hale Harsyra pioneer spirit! — but it spends its time digging further into the post-heavy vibe set forth in the first two tracks. To wit, the droning line of guitar/maybe-keys/who-knows-what underscoring “Armoured,” which arrives as the first half-ish of the eight-minute “Armoured/Endurance,” the latter half of the track picking up immediately and letting the guitar come more forward to create Harsyra‘s most fervent wash (it’s no wonder they didn’t want to give it away by premiering the whole thing), vital and weighted and engulfing in its distortion and broad in its aftermath of noise and feedback. This builds on what Den Der Hale were doing previously, takes it someplace new, and there’s still enough context so that when the far-back programmed beat behind the guitar of the two-minute “Tinktur” comes in, it’s not at all out of place.

“Tinktur,” while short, is more than an interlude. Its soothing vocal calls back to “Carcassonne” at the outset and while it provides a convenient basis for contrast when the immediately motorik guitar chug begins at the start of “Harsyra” itself, it’s not without a presence of its own either. Still, once the Hawkwindian launch sequence begins, Den Der Hale make it clear they’ll not be returning to ground anytime soon. The melody remains fluid as the finale finds its grandness, guitars and drums leading an outward procession that’s loyal to the core rhythm while teasing the payoff to come and still giving the vocals room when necessary. It is tense, exciting. And then they’re off again. God knows what the lyrics are about — the title refers to a wood-sorrel, a three-leaf clover, which blooms from Spring to Midsummer, so maybe there’s some alignment with the June release — but the echoing voices provide a reassurance just the same. You’re not on this trip alone, and that becomes comforting as “Harsyra” is brought to its end. It’s not as cacophonous a blaster as “Armoured/Endurance” becomes, but it sure is fascinating that they put both those songs on side B to set up the contrast between them. Almost enough to make you think there’s been a plan underway the whole time.

And maybe there has, but Den Der Hale aren’t telling, and though Harsyra‘s accomplishments across this first 12″ are significant, they’re all the more so for the potential they hold. I’m no arbiter of cool and I never have been, but this one speaks to me and so I wanted to cover it. It’s as simple as that. I hope you find it speaks to you too. If you check out “Armoured” on the player below, it’s not going to tell you everything you need to know about the album. Don’t expect it to. It’s a teaser. Half a track. But it’s what I could get, and no one pays attention to anything that isn’t a premiere anymore and I thought this was worth someone paying attention to it, so here we are. I’ve put this record on my list of 2021’s best debuts, and I look forward to hearing what Den Der Hale do next.

That and preorder links is all I got, friends. PR wire info follows the song below.

Please enjoy:

Preorder: https://www.soundeffect-records.gr/harsyra
https://denderhale.bandcamp.com/releases

After forming in late 2019, Den Der Hale quickly wrote and put out a number of singles, straddling the genres of post-rock and psych. ‘Harsyra’ is their debut album, a 5-track output which crystallizes their particular brand of post-psych. Tracks range from anthem-like and earthy, to fast paced and grimy, all while keeping an ethereal atmosphere throughout. “Harsyra” is out, on limited edition black and bone color vinyl, on June 11th via Sound Effect Records.

Born in Oljehamnen, the industrial harbour of Malmö, Den Der Hale rose from the remnants of former neo-folk project Insaunas. The addition of new members saw the sound evolve in a heavier and more complex direction, drawing on a wide array of influences. After putting out two singles during 2020, and polishing their sound through a number of live shows, guitarist Max Bredberg dubbed their new brand of music ‘post-psych’. The continued lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to a sharp decrease in opportunities to play live shows. For Den Der Hale, this meant that the creative energy had to find some other form of outlet.

That outlet is what would eventually become the debut album Harsyra. Recorded and produced by the band itself in a studio located in the old railway roundhouses of Malmö, the album features five tracks, ranging in tone from earthy, grimy and ethereal to heavy hitting and fast-paced. Until the day comes when we can again enjoy music performed in the flesh, this post-psych oeuvre can best be experienced on vinyl, put out by Sound-Effect Records.

Tracklisting:
1. Carcassonne (5:34)
2. Ant Mill (13:21)
3. Armoured/Endurance (8:08)
4. Tinktur (2:19)
5. Harsyra (6:25)

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