Never heard of The Janitors? Neither had I until about an hour ago. They're a two man outfit from Stockholm, Sweden. The interweb arbiters of labeling call them shoegazer. psychedelic, and drone. The band describes itself as "giving love to noise, monotony and pop songs." I'd toss out monotony but add smokey atmospheric: This is music for post-coital listening in the dark.
While the labels may add some marbling they by no means get to the real meat. For me, as someone who's grayheaded enough to remember, their sound drops its bucket into the well of the 90s less than it does of the 80s, an era whose classic period was actually the late seventies. Think My Bloody Valentine without the glide, early Bad Seeds, earlier Banshees, the more ethereal parts of the Cure, a more disciplined and Xanaxed Cramps, The Black Keys, etc. (Their songs tend to clock long which might also explain the shoegazer/psyche comparison.) Whatever its called, I for one find their norse-ish take on gothic grunge refreshingly vintage, rather than derivatively retro. Their plodding tempos seem designed to provide no more BPMs than a bong-addled brain can process. The guitar sound is trés garagey and the grooves stomp like boots ankle-deep in mud. Despite this, the effect is much perkier and energizing than you might expect.
To get the free download of "Do It Again" from their SoundCloud page, go here. Find other songs to stream on the page as well.
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