Shining - Fisheye (TV edit)
Shining are streaming a new track at myspace off their forthcoming record "Blackjazz": http://www.myspace.com/shiningofficial
Country: Norway
Susanne Sundfør's The Brothel gets release date
Susanne Sundfør's new project The Brothel (see here) will release their self-titled debut on March 15 with the title track single preceding it on Feburary 1.
Upland monochrome megamix
The new Upland album "Monochrome adventures" is finally out and to celebrate, he's created a 20-minute mix of old tracks for free download: http://upland.no/mp3s/upland_monochrome_mix.mp3
PopMatters reviews Fire!
PopMatters reviews Rune Grammofon act Fire! and their album "You liked me five minutes ago": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/116610-fire-you-liked-me-five-minutes-ago/
The Samuel Jackson Five to release vinyl box
Denovali Records will be doing a 3xLP boxset for Norwegian instrumental postrock act The Samuel Jackson Five that will include the band's three albums with new artwork. No release date yet, but expect preorders around January/February.
It's the End
s/t
Musea Records
It's the End are clearly a band with some talent who, in an attempt to cover the plethora of musical genres that they are quite obviously into while simultaneously trying to be overly-clever with their compositions, come across as being seriously self-indulgent and have offered us a debut album that sounds as though it would only ever find an appreciative audience in some 3am pretentious-as-hell jazz bar. Most of the material on here just sounds too samey and, with boredom setting in very quickly, the album struggles to retain attention for any length of time. It doesn't get much more boring than on "Internal combustion" or, likewise, much more incoherent than on "Drakes equation". And I don't think I've ever heard a worse metal rhythm guitar tone! I'm sure that It's the End would go down a storm on The Fast Show's Jazz Club where, mercifully, we're only exposed to a minute or two of bands' pretentious twaddle. I'd certainly get a good laugh out of that. I'm not laughing, however, after enduring 80 minutes of this pretentious crap, and as closing track "Tautological torment" (a perfect summing up of the album as a whole) winds down, I sit with the onset of a headache and I'm glad that now, it really is the end.
- John Norby
Musik med Kings of Convenience
PSL's latest live guests are Norwegian act Kings of Convenience: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2009/11/30/musik-med-kings-of-convenience/
Oslo Grammofon giving away Monobird album
Oslo Grammofon is giving away Monobird's album "Christmas greeting me" as a free holiday download: http://www.oslogrammofon.com/
The Silent Ballet reviews Beneva vs. Clark Nova
The Silent Ballet reviews the new album "Dramadadatic" from Norwegian electronic act Beneva vs. Clark Nova: http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/2926/Default.aspx
"Heavy metal fruit" details
Rune Grammofon has posted details for the new Motorpsycho album "Heavy metal fruit", due out January 15: http://www.runegrammofon.com/artists/motorpsycho/rlp-2093-motorpsycho_-heavy-metal-fruit
Alernativ Julekalender 2009
Norway's Alernativ Julekalender will once again be happening this year: http://alternativjulekalender.blogspot.com/
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Ex-Animal Alpha vocalist announces new band
Djerv, the new band of ex-Animal Alpha vocalist Agnete Kjølsrud, now have a myspace presence with a few videos from the studio: http://www.myspace.com/djervmusic
New Susanne Sundfør album almost ready
Superb Norwegian artist Susanne Sundfør has announced that her new project The Brothel, a collaboration with artist/painter Kristin Austreid, is just about done and will be released in the spring.
Bouvet 7" finally out in January
Bouvet, the new Oslo act featuring members from Death Is Not Glamorous and The First Cut, have finally confirmed that their debut 7" will be released on January 5. 250 copies, transparent blue vinyl, packaged in a letterpress arigato pack.
Mental Overdrive to release new album
Norwegian electronic act Mental Overdrive has confirmed that their new album "Anti-LBM" will be released on December 7 and will be released as part of their "Exclusive Music" series of one-of-a-kind eBay auctions. Otherwise, for those not willing to try their luck at the auction, the music from said album will be heard "in darkened clubs around the globe" at various live performances.