Rumskib
2007, Darla
I feel rather bad for the other CDs that have been piling up on my desk over the past week or so, because Rumskib’s self-titled debut has been taking up way more than its fair share of time in the CD player. But it’s not really my fault, I swear.
The Danish duo of Keith Canisius Baerken (vocals and instruments) and Tine Louise Kortermand (vocals) is thoroughly rooted within the shoegaze tradition, and so their debut is absolutely full of the sorts of glorious sounds for which I have an acute weakness. And so, when confronted by such songs as “Springtime” and “Dreampoppers (Tribute),” which are some of the finest slices of shoegaze pop I’ve heard in a long time, what else am I supposed to do but give it my full attention?
Listening to Rumskib‘s twelve tracks, you’d think that the only albums the duo had access to while growing up were My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and the earliest moments of the Cocteau Twins’ discography (Garlands, Treasure, etc.). A combination which, when mixed with the producer Jonas Munk’s (Manual) trademark electronic beats and atmospherics, makes for quite a beguiling mixture indeed.
The album begins with the three-song salvo of “Hearts On Fire,” “Springtime,” and “Dreampoppers (Tribute),” all of which plunge headlong into the shimmering-yet-shredding guitar sounds one normally associates with Kevin Shields at the height of his powers—and Baerken and Kortermand take the plunge with such glee and delight that you can’t help but want to follow them into the maelstrom.