Junip fall tour
Junip's extensive fall tour has been announced with dates across Europe and the US: http://www.junip.net/?page=tour
Country: Sweden
New Johan Heltne LP in October?
The new Johan Heltne LP, one of my most anticipated releases of 2010, is now said to be on track for October: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=114166952&blogId=537916856
Ludwig Bell album gets release date
has announced that Ludwig Bell's debut Fredrik Swahn-produced solo album "Jag har försökt att förklara" will be released on August 25.
Non Tiq - Quiet (video)
Playground Music has posted a new video for "Quiet", the debut single from Swedish pop artist/new signing Non Tiq: http://blogs.playgroundmusic.com/intlpub/debut-video-quiet-new-playground-signing
There's an Addeboy vs. Cliff remix posted as well.
Champage Riot to release 7"
Champagne Riot will be releasing a double a-side single via UK label on September 27, or at least so says Off the Radar. The featured tracks will be "Heart stab" (see the aforementioned link for a d/l) and "A friend of a friend" and no, I'm not sure if XXX Records is the legit name or just a placeholder, but it's certainly the least original name I've heard in ages if it is indeed a new English label.
Death Invocation to release Usurpress demo
Swedish cassette label has announced that their next release will be "Demo 2010" from d-beat/death/crust act Usurpress.
Richard Wilson - Blame it on me
Richard Wilson aka Racingpaperplanes is back and making new music under his own name -- hear a new song at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/richardwilsonmusic
MP3: Pettersson & Fredriksson - Brand
Beautifully simple; simply beautiful. Everything a folk duo should be, though not all can claim such eloquence. Pettersson & Fredriksson are the pairing of nyckelharpist Daniel Pettersson and mandola player Daniel Fredriksson of Umeå, Sweden where they have played together since high school and "Sotali" is their 3rd album and my first introduction to the group. I don't spend much (any) time chasing down new folk music on my own despite my interest, so I'm always grateful when something this good drops in my lap and of course, am more than happy to share alike. I've spent a good deal of time listening to hardanger fiddle music this past year or so, but I must say that the buzzing of the nyckelharpa is more pleasing to my ears, 2nd only to the hurdy gurdy, to which is more closely related. The resonating effect of the sympathetic strings aptly fills the soundspace, likewise the double-strings of the mandola, so that the two are more than enough instrumentation on their own. Listen to "Brand", the first song on the album, and pay attention to the way they maintain space, consistently shifting and stepping aside to let small parts shine through. The track builds significantly as it progresses too, but they always hold back just enough so that it never gets overwhelming. Like I said, it all sounds so simple, so easy, but it is anything but. Listen to the rest of the album (or order a copy for yourself) at BandCamp: http://petfred.bandcamp.com/
Pettersson & Fredriksson - Brand
Shout Out Louds to tour France
Shout Out Louds are heading to France in October:
10/13 - La Maroquinerie, Paris
10/14 - Ubu, Rennes
10/15 - Nancy Jazz Pulsation Festival, Nancy
10/16 - Marche Gare, Lyon
Watain back in North America
Watain will be coming back to North America in November to support Behemoth on what they're calling the "Lawless States of Heretika Tour". Dates:
11/04 - Club Soda, Montreal, QC
11/05 - Opera House, Toronto, ON
11/06 - Mr. Smalls, Pittsburgh, PA
11/07 - Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
11/08 - Station Four, Minneapolis, MN
11/09 - Granada Theatre, Lawrence, KS
11/10 - Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO
11/12 - Hawthorne Theater, Portland, OR
11/13 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
11/14 - Rickshaw, Vancouver, BC
11/16 - Boardwalk, Sacramento, CA
11/17 - Slims, San Francisco, CA
11/18 - House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
11/19 - Ramona Main Stage, San Diego, CA
11/20 - Marquee Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
11/21 - Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM
11/22 - Palladium Showroom, Dallas, TX
11/23 - Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
11/24 - White Rabbit, San Antonio, TX
11/26 - Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
11/27 - Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
11/28 - Club @ Firestone, Orlando, FL
11/30 - Jaxx, West Springfield, VA
12/01 - Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
12/02 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
12/03 - Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
12/04 - Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
West Side plans fall releases
Norrland label has confirmed that besides the new Bedroom Eyes album due out in August, they'll also be putting out a new album from Penniless (their 5th), a debut EP from Popterror and also a single from the band The Blues. Beyond that, Amber Oak's debut album is still in the pipeline as well, but apparently there's no confirmed date on that one yet.
Mono Stereo
On and on / A matter of confusion 7"
MPLS Ltd
Mono Stereo are a Swedish band mining the same sort of aimlessly rambling psych/garage-rock territory as Norwegians Serena-Maneesh, swapping out the latter's wall-of-noise footswitch overkill for a vaguely 60s retro bent. A-side "On and on" is anchored by a looping pseudo-sitar riff that befits the title, run over deeply buried vocals and a simple 2-chord vamp that neither builds nor excites until the mix mercifully fades out sometime before we hit minute five. The flip places the vocals a bit more up front, but it's still more or less the same sort of endless go-nowhere droning, bereft of hooks or dynamics. At least with S-M, the records sound interesting even if the songs do not, this really isn't anything other than tedious.
- Avi Roig
Comviq presents Britta Persson
Britta Persson is Swedish cell service Comviq's artist of the month for August: http://www.comviq.se/britta_start.html
Check out the link for free download of the new track "Big fuss".
Säkert! - Fredrik
Säkert!'s brand new single "Fredrik" is now streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/razziarecords
PopMatters reviews Kent
PopMatters reviews the latest Kent album "En plats i solen": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/128541-kent-en-plats-i-solen/