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The Reference Group — File under Unpopular
(Cuneiform Rune 3398, 2008/2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-06-29

File under Unpopular Cover art

It was about a year ago that I received an email from Michael Maksymenko regarding an error in my review of the Kräldjursanstalten CD way back in 1997 (printed edition, issue #11); after correcting the online version, I asked if he had any new music in the works, and he said that recordings by The Reference Group would be coming out on Cuneiform soon. First I heard of them, but here they are, the eight tracks they recorded during the band’s brief existence from 2007-2008 under the title File under Unpopular. This is a mostly instrumental workout — what vocals there are on a couple tracks are are buried deep in the mix under a noisy klang of drums, electric guitars, and whatever else, superbly executed throughout. The band features Maksymenko on drums (and composition on four tracks), Ralf Nygård on digital bass with a Zanzithophone (or Casio Digital Horn) and composition on the remaining four tracks, Jimmy Ågren on electric slide guitar, and Mathias Danielsson on electric guitar. All these players have long histories and abundant accomplishments with numerous other bands, but apparently the reason The Reference Group didn’t last is because of logistical issues with the geographically far flung members getting together to rehearse, although they were able to play a single live gig at some point, and of course these studio recordings speak for themselves. What do they sound like? There’s no denying that the bold influence of Trout Mask era Captain Beefheart is pretty much in evidence everywhere, but in addition one can hear a bit of classical influence that the Captain and his band never had, and of course without the vocals, but the best bet is to follow the link below and take a listen for yourself, I think the first three tracks are available for listening, and if those suit you, the whole album will surely be to your liking.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases, 2008 recordings

Related artist(s): Jimmy Ågren, The Reference Group

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/file-under-unpopular

 

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