TRANSLAETD REVIEWS FROM GERMANY

Thanks to Kai-Owe some of the "Time, Space and other stories" reviews from the German press are translated.

UNCLE SALLYS Juli/August 2006
Schtimm
Time, Space And Other Stories
Make My Day/Alive
You can count on the long hard winters in Norway. How else one could create such an atmospheric, playfull and bright Black Pop Music if it’s swimming weather ? Not at all ! Such a thing needs time and melancholy. Schtimm from Trondheim possess both. They deeply grab into the sound-box and bring one pearl after another to light.
Some horns here, some chimes there, some hammondsounds, small samples, Tom Waits guitars. Sounds like selfish soundboard junk, but it is unbelievable dense music, which seems to dance a waltz together with the voice of female singer B. A sugar-record that unfortunately is released in the wrong time of the year.
7
Text: Matthias Pflügner



Visions 08/06
Schtimm
Time, Space And Other Stories
Make My Day/Alive
More open, more playful, more obliging: The silent Norwegians still go for the intonic sadness, but now they also see some light. One doesn’t know exactly why but Schtimm seem to need a kind of higher theme for an album. After the Compilation-, Cover-, Featuring-album and the summer EP now a record of shortstories. Yes, that fits. Every song – from whose some of them can reach an epic length of up to nine minutes – tells a story on it’s own: different than the others, an isolated piece of music on it’s own. Alltogether a charming versatile collection of short stories which still has the strong succint trademark of the authors. And so it is more pithy and at the same time more ornate like the exact traces of a traditional and timeless calligraphy.
Where Schtimm sounded similar to their neighbours from Washington and Midnight Choir with a melancholic northern-atmosphere now is more move, power, more meloday and tempo: shortly: Pop.
Finally a record from inside, that possesses enough winter and darkness to put a spell on, at the same time it also works excellent as soundtrack for lying outside on the coloured summermeadows of this world.
Text: Sascha Krüger 9



Stereoplay 8/06
Schtimm
Time, Space And Other Stories
Make My Day/Alive
The band itself defines their music as Alko(holic)-Jazz or Darkpop. Well, the Norwegians in fact slowly sneak on their third album through spacious made soundscapes – a bit jazzy, carried by a gentle female voice they sing a spooky lullaby, and open with strings and windplayers the door to delicate, melodic Chamber-Pop. But not only contemplativness: With intense rhythmns, a certain sharpness and feelable fun of playing they suddenly create first class Indie-Rock-Songs on an energy and hystery-level we all know from the B 52’s.
An extreme open and nicely changing for fans of Beth Gibbons, Feist or Midnight Choir – but not only for those.
Michael Sons Music: 8-9/10
Sound: 7-9/10



Audio 8/06
Schtimm
Time, Space And Other Stories
Make My Day/Alive
One is thinking and thinking what he likes more: the clear voice
of female singer B or the cool spoken words by K (the members of Schtimm only tell their initials) – and finally the second last song „The Onceupontimer’s Theme’’ gives the answer: The magic is on the highpoint if both sing in duett.. Around it gives highly intensive with windplayers, violins and chimes ornanated Dark-Pop, marvellous full til (intentional) diffusivly produced.
Christoph Hammer Music: 4/5
Sound: 3,5/5



amm – all my music 8/06
Schtimm
Time, Space And Other Stories
Make My Day/Alive
The Norwigians Schtimm love dreamy Indiepop. Therefore we love
them. Time, Space And Other Stories simply is a beautiful album for feeling well/relaxed and for cuddling. Especially if female singer B starts singing with her charming voice.

Change of place
We don’t want to speak about spelling here. It would be truely presumptous to criticise a few Norwegians for taking such a strange word as Schtimm as bandname. Maybe a moose knows what this means in Scandinavia. Much more interesting is how it sounds, what the Norwegians create on their third album. With a tile like "Time, space and other stories we can guess what awaits us.
A bit Jazz and a bit Blues here, a desperating Chamber-Ensemble and a groove which is desperating on the world there. The organ sounds relaxed, the guitar twangs and female singer B purring voice is inbetween a fragile Vamp and a dirty fairy.
Schtimm prefer veiled hints instead of giving clear answers. No wonder that the musicans call themselves Æ, B, K und P.
And so one gets relaxed from very tender breathbreaks like "Don't blame the rain" and Pop with flute like "The onceuponatimer's theme"
Or the tiny Rocker „Grey void“ or the morbid grooves from "Dead, sparks and wine".
"Close your eyes / Just close your eyes", demands B in "Scccch". And then it happens: The eyes become heavy and the body takes a break in this tempting music.

Recordtests
But there is no way for sleep Rather about a formulation about the self-formulation from the band: „It still is a strange combination out of sleep-walking, falling in love, getting your heart broken, seeing Bjørn Einar Romøren jumping 260 meters in Planica and being drunk“.
Five wishes at the same time. Even for a famous german kidsurprise (Ueberraschungseier) this would be too much.
But "Times, space and other stories" is music for adults – and those who think they are adults.
7/10
Text: Oliver Ding