New Material - 2023

Levyn kansikuva

Rarely, if ever, has any song condensed into the dark droplets of despair when you have done everything you can, and yet that own loved one, your loved one, has disappeared beyond the reach of help, behind the smokescreen of addiction, into the darkness that cuts off any possibility of contact. The song describes how you walk alone in this destiny of yours when you wonder if there were any options that you could have helped with. However, the most devastating thing about this is to find that answer and the emptiness of being that you couldn't really have done anything. Everyone has their own path to follow until the west meets the east, until the east meets the west. Where have you gone depicts all this with the rhythm of the familiar Tølks cadence from behind the rock gauze and accompanied by a chorus that invites you to sing together, without self-pity, just sadness glued to the shadow of the wanderer.

2021

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From the shadows, The Tølks steps back into the Spotlight by introducing their new crown Jewel: Dancefloor. Within the beat you can hear the Echoes from the prom night, just before the final slow ones. It captures that Magical moment when the party hits the ceiling and young Souls feel free to feel free. The familiar Tølks groove drives the rock n roll again to its edges with a fresh twist. With no doubt, The Tølks will be taking the Dancefloor out to the Clubs and to the bars. And there, out in the wild ’n among you party people, it will surely be with its kind.

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Escape ”is a tribute from The Tølks to AC / DC and Deep Purple. The dynamics of the song are reminiscent of the golden age songs of these bands, where a motorcycle crashes through a scorching desert. The song now scrapes a memorable riff on the side of such a smooth rockenroll. The song confuses the listener, as the initial assumption of a criminal fleeing a crime scene changes from side to side as the singer goes through the inner Inferno. The end result remains to be guessed by the listener. Despite the darkness of the words, the song proclaims “only the riff matters”.

Levyn kansikuva

Beside the deathbed is the next classic of music. This - some might say - arrogant claim can be found to be true during the first 15 seconds of the song. In the background, you can hear a wide variety of classical instruments ranging from the cor anglais to the cello and from the violin to the oboe. The pain and agony radiating behind the light curtains, when a person realizes the limitations of life can be observed by the keen listener. One does not have to give up everything, only the loved ones. This wistful song diverges, however, from the usual gloominess, for the sorrow here is clad in noble robes.



Kuva bändistä

Malefunction - 2018

About the songs on the album

When these men stepped in for the first time and told me they wanted to make a record, I was not certain I could agree. I just did not think it was going to succeed. Now, after holding a mastered version of the disc in my hands, I can readily admit my mistake -- and do it with pleasure! I just cannot praise this album enough. The disc is full of hit songs rich with the vibrations of rock and concealing metal-plated pieces behind stories. Side one of the album is irresistibly rocking the rock while side two is devoted to issues bigger than life, carrying the concerns of the worlds on its shoulders, but with an intimacy that both touches and shocks.

The first track is the sturdy Middle of Something, a hymn to the lost. In Yellow Liquid, the perspective has changed as we peer through the eyes of an arrogant bastard. Next, the uncompromising Shut up (your fired) - the punchline of the one percent – blasts the arrogant bastard from his complacency. Empty Streets is a place after the rain when the summer heat is blurred and one is utterly alone. The stadium-massive Empty Streets is followed by the vibrant classic rocker of Miserable Wanker, which jauntily contains the lyrical autopsy of a broken relationship.

Why? The main character asks, in the song launching side two with a monster riff. This question of creeping self-disgust is followed by Jack the Reaper, a straightforward coup de grace. In Legacy of Man the band mines the 1960's for inspiration. Selfish Means comes as a startling juxtaposition – no piece of music could be more current and contemporary, hinting as it does at environmental Armageddon – let’s not shut off that last light…

Concrete Butterfly concludes the set. Built in layers, the song gradually builds and crescendos, as the lyrics tell of a murky story of mistreatment and cruelty.

Even though some might argue that I am ruining the listening experience with this song-by-song analysis, I simply cannot help myself. I have to insist: rock must be restored - to its roll!

So here is my final word. Crank those fucking speakers up and listen!




Dick Ollenberg

Copenhagen, June 2018

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