Sweden is a country with a rich musical heritage that rivals, if not surpasses our own. The likes of ABBA were fundamental in laying the foundations of modern pop music - but even modern acts like Robyn and Lykke Li, the country's thriving indie scene, as well as the plethora of death-, thrash-, doom- and speed-metal bands the Swedes nurture, proves that the Scandinavian nation has a long tradition of musical diversity.
Well, 23-year-old Jonas Erik Altberg - a.k.a. Basshunter - is here to obliterate that custom with his robotic, vapid, soulless trance tosh. Now You're Gone is the follow up to the DJ's second album (titled, in all seriousness, 'LOL ', which should tell you all you need to know), and encompasses English language versions of his biggest hits to date, as well as some new tracks.
Disliking this album has absolutely nothing to do with music snobbery - it's about preserving your sanity. With the right materials (i.e. one of those 'Make Your Own Bleedin' Trance Anthem' games for the Playstation), enough money and a lot of spare time, anyone could come up with this sort of rubbish eventually, and Altberg, to his credit, has stretched out the same dreary Eurodance beat fourteen times on this album. From the synthesised, pulsating title track, to the synthesised, pulsating I'm Your Basscreator, this album is an unrelenting barrage of brain-numbing shit masquerading as music.
The only saving grace - and it brings new meaning to the term 'clutching at straws' - are the two remixes of the mammoth singles Now You're Gone and All I Ever Wanted by Dublin-born DJ Fonzerelli, which at least renders them listenable. Otherwise, it's impossible to understand how anybody could feel anything by listening to 'music' like this. Do skangers have hearts? It would appear not. Ban this filth.
