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Scandavia’s Artur U & the New City Limits certainly manage to carve out a sound rarely approached as found on their new, debut album, Holiday From Eternity. The band is like a post punk vision of garage rock and proto punk, as if Iggy Pop were to front an act like Wire. They occasionally channel the angular guitars of Wire, but more often than not they seem to be influenced by the later, synth-laden era on such songs as the mood, gothic “Wind.”
They also show a surprising amount of range as well. The New City Limits even manage to get funky at times like “Back Inside the Shell,” combining a Philadelphia soul bassline and African rhythms. But the multiple, screeching guitar solos are nothing but pure garage. They’re really adept at combining genres and styles not commonly thought to pair well together and somehow making it work extremely well.
The numerous layers of vocals and overdubs occasionally muddy the waters and make the texture too dense—essentially weighing what would otherwise be a danceable burst of soul. Regardless, at its core there are some great jams here by a group of finely skilled musicians. They still might be finding their footing a bit, but they don’t have far to go. Holiday From Eternity is a fine debut album.
