The Goner is most definitely a grower! The first listen to any of Daniel Westerlund's releases always has the same result: it's always pleasurable with immediate effect; it always leaves a sort of eerie quirkiness that has you wondering what in the hell is going on in Westerlund's mind; and it always reassures you that the next few times the record gets a spin it's only going to get better. "Behold a new traveler" continues this particular aspect of The Goner's listening experience as unconventional vocals meet atmospheric, eccentric musical passages that interweave to create a truly captivating and addictive sound. The album's strongest moments are found on "Within the hour", one of the more uplifting sections of the recording, albeit in an oblique sort of way, and closing track "En route" with its drone-meets-grunge progression toward some pseudo-insanity. The production on "Behold a new traveler" is somewhat repressed, yet it fits The Goner's style perfectly. Anything brighter would definitely be to the detriment of the music and it's this choice of sonic output that really elevates the album to such high regard. Musically, he's hard to pin down. Think Rusted Root meets Wardruna meets Michael Stipe-gone-Cajun and you're pretty close to what Westerlund manages to create in his music. And the best thing about this album? The fact that even though it already sounds amazing, I know it's only going to get better! A tall order indeed, but The Goner has hit the nail firmly on the head. - John Norby
01. Familjen
02. The National
03. Jonathan Johansson
04. The Radio Dept.
05. The Concretes
06. Beach House
07. Anna von Hausswolff
08. Robyn
09. Johnossi
10. Kent
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/
From "The mellow turning moment", aka Embee makes an album of boring r&b that, despite the presence of many high quality guest vocalists such as Maia Hirasawa, absolutely cannot be saved. This is about as good as it gets and it's still not very good. File under: sleep aids.
I suspect this is total bullshit, but it's still somewhat entertaining regardless: "Enjoy this making of the video documentary below as the official video made for the Sidechild single "You Are The One" will never ever be officially shown… The video director and his whole crew were complete assholes, amateurs and just full of shit and did not get the artists image and style at all. But we are happy about the behind the scenes footage and we aim to use this in court, for real!"
Jesper Norda took the tracks from his various "April archives" mp3 releases, got them remastered by Dan Lissvik (Studio) and will be releasing them on CD: http://www.aprilarchives.se/8/
Resurrected cult label has compiled a 12" from Swedish act Obscurity featuring the band's two demos from 1985/86, "Damnations pride" and "Ovations to death". 400 copies, official release on May 24, to be distributed via .
Can't say that Anna von Hausswolff's debut album "Singing from the grave" is hitting me as hard as I'd expected or hoped for, but this song, "Track of time", is a monster. It's a vicious gut-wrencher, much in the same way as The Tiny's "Last weekend"; it aims straight for the chest and claws on through, digging deeper with every swell, every anguished vocal tic. Pure manic devotion, not for the feint of heart.
The "Beat EP" is a bizarre three-track journey, even for indie pop wunderkind Robert Svensson: the title track and closer "Unpredictable" elicit memories of the '90s rave scene with their piano stabs and driving electronic undercurrents, while sandwiched in the middle is "Talk", a gorgeously layered, slower track more akin to reflective M83 than to dancehall destined remixes of Shout Out Louds (and there is definitely some common ground to be found between "Impossible" and "Unpredictable"). With the exception of "Talk" and the inspired breakdown towards the end of "Unpredictable", the "Beat EP" is not quite of the same caliber as "Young punks are on the never-never". That said, this EP is two parts dancehall exhilaration and one part hauntingly introspective ( "Talk", while perhaps misplaced on this EP, is a brilliant track), and charming the whole way through. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Swedish tweepop act Les Issambres will be releasing their sixth album "Me, Amelia, Phil & Heather" on June 11 and are currently offering a few tracks for preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lesissambres
label partners (Khoma) have signed the wonderful and talented Britta Persson and will be releasing her new album "Current affair medium rare" in either August or September. Full press release here: http://selectivenotes.com/?p=224
Sonic Ritual has announced that Gottfrid Åhman (In Solitude, Invidious) will be filling on bass guitar following the departure of Christoffer Jonsson who will be playing his final show with the band at the Punk Illegal Fest in Göteborg on June 11-12.
The Goner
Robert Svensson
