Ludwig Bell - Silvertejp (video)
Ludwig Bell's new video for the song "Silvertejp". Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa4Snuk4iHI
Country: Sweden
Roxette
Charm school
EMI
Reunions are a tricky thing, especially if it's been a decade, a health scare and a few middling solo releases in between albums. Roxette will always be one of Sweden's most successful and beloved commercial pop bands; no one can take that away from them. Fans were understandably eager to see them reunite, but once you get past the "oh, it's Per!" and "ooh, it's Marie!" nostalgia trip of the new album's opening tracks, it's a long slog through shadows of former glories (chiefly, "Listen to your heart", repeated ad nauseum in slightly different formats). It all sounds like what I feared it might -- a Per Gessle album. Why, when you're known for your bright, shiny pop songs, record an album of plodding, quasi-rock grasping for credibility that it'll never achieve? To many critics, Roxette will never be "credible, and that's part of the reason we fans like them. I wish they would have embraced their glossy pop side (which pokes through on tracks like "Big black Cadillac" and the should-have-been-better lead single "She's got nothing on (but the radio)"). At least if you're going to repeat yourself, have some fun with it.
- Nick James
Jeniferever - Dover / Waifs & strays
There's a couple new tracks from Jeniferever up on SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/monotreme-records/sets/jeniferever-dover-and-waifs
Text & Musik, the festival
"Text & Musik" is the name of a new Swedish festival celebrating just that; two nights, two cities, twelve bands, including Mattias Alkberg, Kajsa Grytt, Pascal, Ulf Stureson, Conny Nimmersjö, Magnus Ekelund, The Bells, Hospitalet and more. The first night will take place July 27 at Kägelbanan in Stockholm and from there it will move to Storsjöyran in Östersund way up north for the 29th. Full details at Mattias Alkberg's website: http://www.mabd.se/?p=700
Pato Pooh - Kill Cupid
Swedish rapper Pato Pooh is giving away his new single "Kill Cupid" as a free download: http://patopooh.com/pato-pooh-kill-cupid-mp3/
Best of Imperial Recordings
will celebrate 9 years as a label on March 1 with the release of a new digital-only 41-track greatest hits collection, simply titled "Best of". Featured artists include José González, Promise and the Monster, Zeigeist, Martin McFaul, Melpo Mene, Eskju Divine and Samuraj Cities.
Despotz signs The Unguided
has signed Swedish melodic metal act The Unguided, a new band featuring ex-members of Sonic Syndicate. Look for the band's debut EP "Nightmareland" to be released this spring.
Out of the Black, a decade of Norwegian music
Drowned in Sound takes a detailed look at the past decade of Norwegian music with a special focus on its presence in the UK: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141322-out-of-the-black-%E2%80%93-norway-2000-2010-and-beyond
New Kaka album pushed back to March
Kaka, the solo project of Richard Karlsson from The Mo, will now release his new album "The two" on March 30 via . The new single "Stars" is out now I believe.
This week's Last.fm chart
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week unique to our group:
01. Firefox AK
02. The Bear Quartet
03. Håkan Hellström
04. Kent
05. Veronica Maggio
06. Cut Copy
07. Lykke Li
08. Säkert!
09. The Radio Dept.
10. Britta Persson
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Familjen - Man ser det från månen
Familjen's latest single "Man ser det från månen" is out today via and the label is giving away the radio edit as a free download: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=310
The Quietus interviews The Skull Defekts
The Quietus interviews The Skull Defekts about their new record "Peer amid" which they recorded together with Daniel Higgs: http://thequietus.com/articles/05691-fukked-in-the-head-the-skull-defekts-daniel-higgs-interview
The Shiloh - Head vs. heart (video)
The Shiloh's video for their new single "Head vs. heart". Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XrNYUhIJs0
Erik Hassle - Are you leaving
The new Erik Hassle single "Are you leaving", the first result of his collaboration with Kent songwriters Jocke Berg and Martin Sköld, is now streaming at Aftonbladet: http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/article8570260.ab
Terra Tenebrosa - Probing the abyss
At last, a full-length preview of a Terra Tenebrosa track off their forthcoming album "The tunnels", due out March 4 via . The band features ex-members of Breach and is totally crushing, as one would expect.