The Sounds will be doing a few shows around South America before ending up in LA to record their next album:
08/28 - HellowFest, Monterrey (MEX)
09/01 - Blondie Club, Santiago (CHL)
09/02 - La Trastienda Club, Beunos Aires (ARG)
09/04 - Pacific Festival, Costa Mesa, CA
Mixtapes & Cellmates are done: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=45573432&blogId=538015369
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU, an all-Swedish synth show (aside from the new Säkert! single of course):
01. Säkert! - Fredrik
02. TALK 1
03. The Knife - Girls' night out
04. Optic Nest - Thirst
05. Dmitry Fyodorov - Thinking of space
06. TALK 2
07. Strip Music - Oh my god
08. The Kid - Transient dance
09. Universal Poplab - I could say I'm sorry (Zeigeist remix)
10. TALK 3
11. Pearl Fiction - The ruby fever
12. Adolf Filter - 1982
13. Agent Side Grinder - Life in advance
14. TALK 4
15. Adolphson & Falk - Blinker blå
16. Ståålfågel - Stålfågeln
17. Kite - Ways to dance
18. TALK 5
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Kent - En plats i solen
02. Robyn - Body talk pt.1
03. Eric Saade - Masquerade
04. Lisa Nilsson - 20 - En jubileumssamling
05. Oskar Linnros - Vilja bli
06. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
07. Brolle - Best of
08. Lasse Stefanz - Texas
09. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
10. Kalle Moraeus - Underbart
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
12. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
13. Håkan Hellström - Samlade singlar 2000-2010
14. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland - International version
15. Cookies n Beans - Beg, borrow and steal
16. Eric Gadd - Rise up!
17. Eddie Meduza - Rockabilly rebel
18. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
19. Mando Diao - Give me fire!
20. Timoteij - Längtan
Audio Suede has a comprehensive review of the new Haleiwa album "Pure vida dude": http://audiosuede.com/haleiwa-pura-vida-dude/
is following ¹ into the publishing business with "Va för jävla pack e ni?", a tome on Sweden's football hooligans. Or something like that. More info at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Va-for-javla-pack-e-ni-Berattelsen-om-Stockholms-fotbollsklackar/115792455139673
My mind is on vacation, so I'm letting contributor Lars Garvey handle today's mp3 post:
With "Narcissus can wait", Cut City came fully into their own, exceeding even my highest expectations and demonstrating a breadth of expression and talent so often lacking in contemporary post-/art-punk outfits. There were numerous intimations of this level of songwriting throughout their career, most notably "Just pornography (for M.E.)" off their debut full-length "Exit decades" and the anthemic "Replacement" from their split 7" with Cat Party, but the craftsmanship on "Narcissus can wait" revealed a maturity and confidence that placed Cut City decisively in a class of their own. With "The sound and the sore", Cut City continue their upward ascent. The song crackles with all the vigor we've come to expect from the band, brimming with the cautiously optimistic energy of a track like New Order's "Ceremony". Starting strong, the composition builds brilliantly to its massive, stratified close -- the final moments of the track are phenomenal, eclipsing most of what I've heard this year. Unsurprisingly, "The sound and the sore" has quickly become one of my favorite Cut City tracks, and, like much of their catalogue, it continues to grow on me a little more with each listen. While I am delighted the band had yet another gear to move into, the fact that the upcoming album "Where's the harm in dreams disarmed" is set to be Cut City's final offering is now rendered that much more heartbreaking. At least their swan song is set to be something amazing.
Cut City - The sound and the sore
Ef is getting Magnus Lindberg (Tonteknik Studios/Cult of Luna) to remix and remaster their debut album "Give me beauty... or give me death!" for a vinyl rerelease. They'll also be tacking a previously unreleased track from 2006 onto the album called "Misinform the uninformed" that they never finished but recently remedied by added extra adornment. German label will be handling the pressing and it will be 2xLP with heavy silkscreened sleeves in a limited edition of 600 copies with the first 100 being extra special for preorder customers. And speaking of , they're also doing the vinyl press for Immanu El's recent release "Moen". Details: http://www.kapitän-platte.de/
The new Robyn + Snoop Dogg collaboration "U should know better" can be streamed here: http://soundcloud.com/somekindofawesome/07-u-should-know-better-featuring-snoop-dogg
The new Robyn single "Hang with me" gets playlisted at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11952-hang-with-me/
ViridifloraSeems kinda weird for such an obviously mainstream pop-aspiring artist to release their debut via the self-limiting 7" format, but it's not as if I mind. The full-color foldover and white vinyl makes for a nice package that befits the ambitious music contained therein. And ambitious it is: both tracks soar with grandiose Swedish melancholy, no doubt helped considerably by the talents of producer/engineer Rikard Löfgren (Bay Laurel/Leon Music), who also happens to share songwriting credits alongside Jessica Johansson, the artist herself. While Viridiflora's electro/pop is in no way groundbreaking, it is well-executed, especially on the b-side "I bleed you out" which attempts a more personal and mature lyrical approach that appeals to me far more than the vague generalities expressed in "High on you". There's still a bit too much guitar on the far side of corny for me to give it a wholehearted recommendation, but it's still enjoyable.
- Avi Roig
Hellsongs are pure schtick and I can't fully back them, but I do enjoy a good number of their well-chosen covers. This Iron Maiden tune translates to their style amazingly well and I think I may also like their new vocalist better than the original. If I believed in guilty pleasures this would surely qualify, but there's no shame in having a little fun. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8JgkhsEjzg
has announced their upcoming release schedule:
09/01 - Aerial – Black rain from the bombing [digital only + remastered + 1 bonus track]
09/13 - First Love, Last Rites – Slow wind [digital single + video]
09/13 - Simian Ghost – Sequenced dreams of independence [digital single]
10/06 - Robert Svensson – The madness [digital single + video]
10/26 - Robert Svensson – You're a wasteland honey [LP]
11/11 - Simian Ghost – Sequenced dreams of independence [LP]
tba - Love is a Burning Thing [LP]
tba - First Love, Last Rites [LP]
Teaser videos are a bumout, but it does provide extra content with the news that Familjen's next single "Det var jag", due in late August, will be released in two separate digital editions as well as on 12" vinyl. And with a full-length video too.
Here's a new cyptic video from iamamiwhoami aka Jonna Lee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEoGQU_k78k
