MONICA TORNELL Alrik 1973 AMAZING ELECTRO FREAK PSYCH L

$

38

MONICA TORNELL "Alrik"

Original 1973 LP on the Swedish PHILIPS label, STEREO 6316 033

COVER: EXCELLENT

VINYL: EXCELLENT

She looks positively p***ed on the cover of her second album Alrik, little Monica Tornell.  She’s Swedish, although her disgruntled elfin features and gymnastic vocal prowess had me thinking she might be Icelandic, like Bjork whom she very well could have influenced.  Certainly her trilling little girl-like vocals on the fluttery psychedelic march “Inte Ager Jag Gods Och Guld” brings to mind a Seventies Bjork, especially when she breaks into one of those growls mid-verse.  Most of the times, though, she’s Kate Bush’s mom, a breathy wispy helium-snuffin’ little girl of a voice with gentle, acoustic medieval folk backing, and sometimes, like on the title track, she carries the whole song herself, just her somersaulting vocals backed by the barely-audible rhythm track, which sounds like she made herself by slapping the back of her chair.  But give the girl some whippets or model glue, and she’s a psychedelic freaky chick, as on the menacing bad acid trip “Oje Brudmarsch,” a track as bizarre and frightening as anything that’s come out of Sweden since the Volvo.  Over a repetitive electronic horror show rhythm that sounds like evil Kraftwerk, she warbles like a possessed mountain fairy about a “sea otter, sea otter” or something, while a crazed fuzz guitar slashes and scrapes behind her, and someone freaks out on the synthesizer so much it manages to make Brian Eno’s contributions to early Roxy Music sound subtle.  There’s nothing else on here like “Oje Brudmarsch” – heck, there’s nothing else in the Free World like “Oje Brudmarsch” – but throughout Alrik, Monica Tornell’s always doing the unexpected.  She really is the Scandinavian Kate Bush, or the Seventies Bjork.  Somebody put her in a Lars Von Trier movie already.

UPDATE:  SORRY, I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.