The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be releasing the new single "Earthmover" on June 29 and you can stream a preview of it at SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/bonnieramigomusicgroup/the-soundtrack-of-our-lives-earthmover
The band is currently releasing a new (digital) single every month up until the release of their 7th album "Origin vol III" in 2011.
Swedish Radio has posted a bunch of archives from their classic punk/new-wave show "Ny Våg" on their website for streaming: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1602&artikel=3789980
If you're into 80s punk rock, this stuff is essential. Say thanks to the Facebook group that made it happen.
Both José González and Junip's music is best suited for a seated theater than a standing-room only club, but that didn't stop the latter from putting on an excellent show at the last stop of their premiere US tour in Seattle on Saturday night. Expectations were met and exceeded and the new material sounded great once I let myself get into their hypnotic groove. Great heavy 70s vibe too, with the driving organ and extra percussionist on stage -- definitely got the feeling they could easily let things ramble off into spacier territory with quality results. Maybe next time, in November? When they come back with a more established repertoire?
Though I really did enjoy the show, I still have a few bones to pick. One, and this is more of a general complaint not specific to Junip, the mandatory/expected encore is bullshit. I love seeing a band play a solid, well-planned and focused set; even better if they leave the audience wanting more (and don't give it to them). Second, Mr. González needs to ween off the covers. I fully expected "The ghost of Tom Joad" since the band recorded it for the "Black refuge" EP, but had I left pre-encore, I would have missed it and been none the wiser. In fact, I kinda wish I did leave pre-encore because what they did play was not worth sticking around for. Two covers (the aforementioned Springsteen plus a Nico song) with an unmemorable original sandwiched between? Lame. Shame to go out on a bad note.
Junip - Far away
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Baby Alice - Piña colada boy
02. TALK 1
03. CEO - Come with me
04. Faster Katt - The girl and the crow
05. EL-SD - Walking sideways
06. Masshysteri - Dom kan inte höra musiken
07. TALK 2
08. Champagne Riot - The champagne anthem
09. Khoma - In it for fighting
10. Dear Euphoria - Rescue
11. Haust - Anti-reproductive
12. TALK 3
13. This Is Head - 0011
14. Familjen - Det var jag
15. Mikkel Meyer - Tunge (feat. Non)
16. TALK 4
17. Rasmus Kellerman - The greatness & me
18. Grande Roses - The astronaut
19. We Live In Trenches - White knuckles
20. The Amazing - And it looks like today
21. 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.
Two new Underachiever demo tracks were just posted for free download. The first one "Triumph of emptiness" takes a different path than before, showing a new, more melodic side of the band. More syncopation too, taking them more towards the offset rat-tatat of, say, Helmet as opposed to the steady 4/4 caveman drubbing they excelled at on demo #1. Not that I want to be one to discourage growth and progress, but I miss the ready steady lunkheaded singlemindedness of their eighth note pulse and furthermore, I am not feeling the melody, not at all. Vocally, they can't match it either, nor would I want them too. There's certainly something to be said for keeping it simple.
Underacheiver - Triumph of emptiness
has just released a new 7" from Stockholm-based indiepop act Twig: http://www.fractiondiscs.se/content/thelabel.html
Pitchfork talks to Eric Berglund (The Tough Alliance) about his new solo project CEO, among other topics: http://pitchfork.com/news/39189-meet-ceo-inside-the-mind-of-eric-berglund-of-the-tough-alliance/
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Texas
02. Oskar Linnros - Vilja bli
03. Robyn - Body talk pt.1
04. Eric Saade - Masquerade
05. Kalle Mmoraeus - Underbart
06. Jannez - Se på oss nu
07. Erik Grönwall - Somewhere between a rock and a hard place
08. Sabaton - Coat of arms
09. Teddybears - Musik ur teaterföreställningen Don Carlos
10. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
11. Timoteij - Längtan
12. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
13. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
14. Titanix - Drömmar får liv
15. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
16. Johnossi - Mavericks
17. Wahlströms - Vårt älskade 80-tal
18. The Ark - In full regalia
19. Scotts - Vi gör det igen
20. Anna Bergendahl - Yours sincerely
have started a new Stockholm clubnight called Atlantis which kicks off on July 16 at Debaser Slussen and will feature the live debut of DJ/producer Suck Shaft. To promote the event, the label is giving away a track: http://www.despotz.se/email/suck-shaft_-_there-are-children-here.mp3
Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble has completed work on their new album "Lover man" which will be released in late summer via . Expect coinciding tourdates to be announced soon.
Now streaming at 's myspace, an anthem for the lactose intolerant: http://www.myspace.com/formogenhet
I really wanted to like the new Familjen album "Mänskligheten", but it is tragically marred by gratuitous neo-soul diva vocals. Not that the debut "Det snurrar i min skalle" was wholly immune, but one track ("Kom säger dom") and a b-side ("Feber") make it the exception, not the rule. It's not all bad for the new one though, lead single "När planeterna stannat" is a solid dancefloor stomper and the instrumental "Viggo" would fit right in on Håkan Lidbo's interesting "Musiken från framtiden" comp. My favorite track though, would have to be "Det var jag", which sounds like a combination of those two tracks into something greater. It's got the driving beat and bassline of the former as well as the Eastern melody of the latter and is supremely catchy in the way I expect from Familjen. And no damn distracting vox. Thank god.
Familjen - Det var jag
Monty (nee Montt Mardié) reports that he's already begun work on his second album, tentatively titled "Autokraten": http://www.entillhimmel.se/news/sommaren-2010/
I don't much for the song, but the stop-motion animation in this new Nervous Nellie video is pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DObMR7sRD24
Another new video from Dyno? Not nearly as pro-looking as the last one, but hey, the song is good. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbPCmhxQrc