Prepared for a Nightmare by Mayflower Madame–Album Review
Prepared for a Nightmare by Mayflower Madame–Album Review
Fresh from their June 12th release Prepared for a Nightmare – Deluxe Version, Oslo-based Mayflower Madame’s lead single “Dresden” is seductive with a sense of urgency. Percussionist Ola J. Kyrkjeeide dives ahead with straightforward, impressive chops on drums undergirding guitarist Rune Øverby’s Fender Twin amp-driven psychedelic sound heavy on old-fashioned reverb and vintage chorus effects, alternating between Telecaster and Jaguar guitars seamlessly throughout the expanded album. Trond Fagernes’s sexy, haunting vocals echo across the up-tempo track in both familiar and tantalizing new ways, building on decades-old sonic architecture with delicate care and respect. A melange of similar artists spanning decades can be heard influencing the album’s 15 tracks like Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, Iggy Pop, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Cure, R.E.M., Tool, Muse, and Interpol.
After hearing “Dresden” and a few other notable songs like “Drown (again)”, “Sacred Core”, and “Ludwig Meidner”, one realizes this type of high-quality offering has the potential to build a wide following given the proper conditions and support within North America. Mayflower Madame would be filling seats, selling t-shirts, shooting music videos, making young front-row fans swoon, reinvigorating the stale music scene, and collecting lots of money in a College Rock Radio/MTV broadcast environment of 30-plus years ago with absolute ease. The tight group of psych-rock musicians can groove into several levels, changing direction and building energy throughout an individual song, each cut on the album feeling organic and alive.
I reached out to frontman Trond who graciously had time to answer some questions about the nature of their DIY recording process and how they were able to capture such energy and peak performance in a high-quality format.
“We recorded everything ourselves, including the drums, in our rehearsal space/studio. It’s an old industry building with concrete walls, but we have installed some sound dampeners to regulate the vibrations. There is nothing special about our approach – one mic for each drum as well as a room mic.”
-Trond Fagernes
The more I sample the updated version of Preparing for a Nightmare, the urge to score tickets to a future show grows stronger. Mayflower Madame would not only be a perfect opener for Tool, Modest Mouse, The National, The Black Keys, and other acts of the same genre but most likely be accepted by a large portion of those artists’ fanbase immediately at first look; a testament to the accessible nature the post-punk, psych-noir band projects while at the same time striking a magnetic musical identity and unique group persona.
Tim Harris
Preparing for a Nightmare – Deluxe Version feels in the moment, very post-pandemic in a chic, Tarantino-esque kind of way, making me want to dress like David Lynch and drive down Old Route 66 in a convertible at high speed drinking a chocolate milkshake while blasting “Swallow” or “Vultures”, hipsters be damned. I want to wake up hungover in a hot sheet motel room on the side of a dusty road with these old-school songs drifting softly in mono from a small transistor radio by a squeaky bed. This intoxicating, moody, self-described psych-noir rock vibe the modest band from Norway has perfected over the last few years speaks to my American cultural DNA, something perhaps we’ve all been missing in our lives lately. It is not a depressive Scandinavian quintet built on dreamy nostalgia, but a serious ensemble treading new ground across a dystopian, wide-open American music landscape in flux similar to the late 80s or early 2000s; it feels like anybody’s game and a relatively unknown band could break at any moment. I would not be surprised if it was due in part to Mayflower Madame’s latest contribution.
3 out of 4 donuts
Mayflower Madame–Prepared for a Nightmare Bandcamp page
Matt Ankney is the former frontman for the 90’s to mid-2000s alternative rock bands Project Mercury and Thoughtguild. Photographer, writer, accomplished outdoorsman, and wilderness guide based in St. Louis, he splits his time between hiking national parks and attending live events across the country.
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