Posted on July 8, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Give yourself another fountain rag

“Do you feel far too old and far too sad, and you feel it should be over by now?”

Having Ragnhild Hogstad Jordahl willing to carry on and writing songs, is like being sure to holding on to something really solid and safe while tracking your years as indie fan. First time I even heard mentioning her name was during one of the first gigs of the Italian indie band “Le Man Avec Les Lunettes“.  The now a six piece band were just an electronic duo back to then, and Alessandro co-hosted a radio show he used as the sweetest excuse to kept us up to date with his beloved north European indie artists. The night of the gig Alessandro told me if I ever heard about Soda Fountain Rag, and a quirky smile rose upon is glassy face once I told me that I actually did thanks to some obscure blog (Math’s Indiepages? Can’t really tell).

I’d never have thought at the time that I would have become a DJ, started a band, and seen thousand of gigs. Most of them were concerning Ragnhild and her friends from Bergen, from Catastrophes and April Skies members to the genius crazy Princess Niko, having the chance to make some new precious friends I keep on talking to quite often and remembering releases and adventures just like when I had 12 hours of time to find out a bass and bring it to their show. Times we put SFR songs on our parties or compilation are countless.

Alessandro always did great things for Reggie. Never the less we can quite physically touch his efforts to pull out the best from SFR potential with his last production “Reel Around Me”, with old and new songs recorded at their  best. We can see a relevant difference on the quality of the songs and mixing since the opening “Are Philosophers Lonely”, with a countless amount of unconventional instruments and an almost picaresque arrangement bringing the song at the apex of its etno-indie level, quite like having Go Gol Borello deeply sedated with an impressive amount of popper by Billie The Vision and The Dancer.

Tracks like “The Catcher” and “Give Yourself A Break” are more faithful to the original SFR spirit, with quirky keyboard sounds and garage drum hits, very spontaneous lyrics painting Ragnhild ordinary life with simple joys and worries and melodic vocal lines reminding Would Be Good. And after having heard it so many time live, it’s a real pleasure spinnin’ “You Can’t Stop Me” on the turntable playing the tune at the maximum volume.

“Too Late for Us” the perfect way to close the album with a good ol’ typical Soda Fountain Rag song, having finally San Francisco rhyming with “Bistrot” instead of just “Roller Disco”. Grownin’ up hand having to fall apart. Hope Ragnhild will never roll too far from our tiny indie rooms. We still need her songs to brighten up our hearts.

Soda Fountain Rag – “You are not invited to my wedding”

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