Not so much an album as an overview drawn from the band's various self-released CDR efforts, as well as mp3 uploads and compilation pieces,
Come On and Bring Back the Brjokén Sounds of Yore! is a fine introduction to the calm, restrained experimentalism of
Differnet. While many would see this as a post-
Radiohead band (circa
Kid A) perhaps a more accurate comparison point is the underrated Hood -- there's the same sense of haunting beauty spiked with any number of electronic twists and turns, though with less obvious roots in spare post-punk or lo-fi. If
Differnet is not yet quite so distinct and strong as that band, they are definitely off to a good start, regardless. While the piano/vocal/distortion start of "Vilolage" is a good beginning, it's when the strong, steady beat-into-static pace of "Mikrophonie" kicks in immediately after that
Differnet start coming good on their promise, Anna-Karin Brus' vocals are a keening, quietly lovely element slipping between the electronics like a calm ghost. If the core of
Differnet's approach is contrast, their strength lies in the various ways they can make that contrast work well -- thus the snarling electronic howls at the start of "Mycobacterium Tuberculosis" cross-fading into calm guitar, or the sudden appearance of a string synth piece in the roiling chaos of "Settled." Tomas Bodén's arrangements, though the core of
Differnet's work, don't operate in a 'call attention to itself' sense; songs like the synth pop-beats/guitar-stuttering chop-ups of "Revolution Nein" and the
Sophie Rimheden collaboration "How?" easily flow instead. The downside of the compilation is that while enjoyable, it suggests for now that the trio have already found a particular métier that they're content with -- the basic approach is established and then reworked many times, and no one song stands out as a killer example of it. But this is still very promising for now, a band to keep an eye on. ~ Ned Raggett