Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Jens Lekman
02. Kent
03. The Bear Quartet
04. The Radio Dept.
05. Håkan Hellström
06. Familjen
07. The Concretes
08. Robyn
09. Anna Ternheim
10. Tiger Lou
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LiechtensteinLiechtenstein are a neat little twee band from Göteborg who have been going for a few years and they just released this 3 track EP. Their lyrics deal with typical twee subjects and have no-nonsense song titles ("Passion for water", "Spending time with you" and "On the tram"). The music is a mix of shoegaze meets twee with a pinch of punk, resulting in a sound like a less-tattooed version of Vivian Girls. It's not exactly game changing, but definitely better than other similar artists out there. It gets a bit repetitive now and then though, as Liechtenstein are really hammering their choruses into the listener's brain. I guess that is part of their musical heritage, but annoying nevertheless. However, all in all, it's a sweet EP that showcases a band that has progressed nicely from their debut ("Survival strategies in the modern world", released last year) and I'm quite keen to hear their forthcoming album.
- Stefan Nilsson
Swedish electro duo Kite have confirmed that they will be following up their previous two EPs with... yet another EP. And with the extremely imaginative title of "III". Regardless, I'm excited to hear it -- they're a great act.
Sweden-focused experimental label is relaunching as with a series of white label 12"s focusing on "interesting and exploratory sounds from Sweden and somehow-related lands from this fair planet." First up: a split pairing the excellent Ljudbilden & Piloten alongside Vidderna, another Malmö-based act. More details and preview samples here: http://www.nosordo.com/
Night Minutes is the new project of the always-charming Max J Hansson of the soon-to-be-departed Cut City in which he collaborates with Ms. Anna Knutsson of the likewise-great/still-going-strong We Live in Trenches (who still need to send me mp3s of the album btw). While it is surely a shame that CC is going under, the prospect of Max playing in a far more actively active band is far more exciting. You see, Max lives in Göteborg and the rest of those dudes live down in Malmö... it's not that far, but far enough to cause complications. With Night Minutes there are no such issues, just quality JAMC-inspired jangle noise. The Raveonettes are an obvious point of comparison too, though Night Minutes' fuzzy sheen is more trve lo-fi in comparison to the Dane's well-manicured gloss. Anyhow, "Sweetheart of the funeral" is my favorite of the three songs off their forthcoming self-titled debut EP, due out soon via offshoot -- heavy on the girl group vibe, but not overselling it. The female/male vocal tradeoffs in combination with the cheap and raw organ tones make for quality noisepop, that's really all there is to it. It's easy to like and I'm immediately smitten.
Night Minutes - Sweetheart of the funeral
Danish/Swedish indie/psychrock act Black Light White Light have a new video for the song "Higher than low": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smxU7Nv7eGY
Swedish indierockers Leaders Off have added a new track to their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/leadersoff
The excellent Swedish industrial act Agent Side Grinder will be releasing a 2-track 7" in September via US label . Both songs will have been previously released on the "Irish recording tape" album, but have been re-recorded live "in a true back-to-basics punkrock style." Also look for a similarly produced live cassette + LP to follow from the label later on.
Traktor have cancelled the European tour they had scheduled for October.
I already told you that Maim has a new album on the way; now there's a sample tune streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/maimdeathmetal
Vice continues their coverage of Swedish death with a new interview with Bastard Priest: http://www.viceland.com/music/2010/07/a-fist-in-the-face-of-god-bastard-priest/
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Niels Nielsen - Dpend
02. TALK 1
03. Haleiwa - Pure vida dude
04. Óðmenn - Einn ég ræ
05. The Bear Quartet - Lovers goodbye
06. Night Minutes - Sweetheart at the funeral
07. TALK 2
08. A Swarm of the Sun - The worms are out
09. Logh - An alliance of hearts
10. Tomas Halberstad - I must be in love
11. TALK 3
12. Liechtenstein - On the tram
13. Scraps of Tape - Blindspot
14. Dear Euphoria - Coming down
15. Dyno - Emotional
16. TALK 4
17. Kvelertak - Ordsmedar av rang
18. The Social Services - Baltic Sea
19. Oriel Joans - Knuckles whiten
20. TALK 5
21. Ted Gärdestad - Oh, vilken härlig dag
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.
Husband/wife film team Schlussel Films heard me play Grande Roses' "The astronaut" on my radio show and approached the band about filming a clip, the final result of which you see above. I'm stoked, pretty sure everyone else is too. Direct link: http://vimeo.com/13470500
Johnossi and Moto Boy are touring together in September:
09/22 - Pumpe, Kiel (GER)
09/23 - Reeperbahn festival, Hamburg (GER)
09/24 - Batschkapp, Frankfurt (GER)
09/26 - Grabenhalle, St Gallen (CH)
09/28 - BHF Langendreer, Bochum (GER)
09/29 - Haus Der Jugend, Osnabruck (GER)
09/30 - Stollwerk, Cologne (GER)
10/01 - Substage, Karlsruhe (GER)
10/02 - Backstage, Munich (GER)
10/03 - Hirsch, Nurnberg (GER)
10/06 - Beatpol, Dresden (GER)
10/07 - Muzikzentrum, Hannover (GER)
10/08 - Postbahnhof, Berlin (GER)
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Kent - En plats i solen
02. Robyn - Body talk pt.1
03. Oskar Linnros - Vilja bli
04. Brolle - Best of
05. Lisa Nilsson - 20 - En jubileumssamling
06. Lasse Stefanz - Texas
07. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
08. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
09. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
10. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
11. Håkan Hellström - Samlade singlar 2000-2010
12. Kalle Moraeus - Underbart
13. Eric Saade - Masquerade
14. Timoteij - Längtan
15. Eddie Meduza - Rockabilly rebel
16. Eric Gadd - Rise up!
17. Jannez - Se på oss nu
18. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland - International version
19. The Ark - In full regalia
20. Cookies n Beans - Beg, borrow and steal
