The Howard Way, a long-running Americana act from Umeå, Sweden featuring Pelle Henricsson of the famed Tonteknik Studios on drums (he's probably recorded at least a dozen stone-cold classic Swedish records in your collection -- Fireside, Ray Wonder, Refused, Komeda, Starmarket, uh... pretty much every significant Norrland act and then some), will finally release their debut album "Never mind the country" on May 5 via Rootsy. Check out an e-card here: http://formton.se/thehowardway
Three million! That answers the question: how many bands do The Graviators sound like? There's not really much else to say but, for the purpose of letting you all know exactly what you're getting, let's do a little exercise. By the end of this review you will know exactly what the The Graviators sound like, and I'm not even going to describe their music. Let's begin. Look at your CD collection. Check out all your treasured '70s-inspired doom/stoner albums, bookended with Black Sabbath and Pentagram. There's a load of them, right? A good percentage sound pretty similar, but there are a few in there who are doing something a little bit different. They've got the old-school fundamentals, yet they have an original, goosebump-inducing take on the style. They're awesome! They're constantly crumbling plaster off the ceiling. But the others are just good. They might get one listen a year, just for a wee change. But, not long in, you get a reminder as to why they only get one listen a year and you put something else on. As I sit here listening to The Graviators -- again -- I'm pretty sure it's not one I'll ever listen to again. I don't say that because it's a bad album; it's just that there's an abundance of better. Maybe I'll give it another spin in a year or so, just for a wee change. - John Norby
will be releasing Pearl Fiction's debut single "Ruby fever" on May 31, Pearl Fiction being the musical project from Pearl of Zeigeist. Hoob will also be putting out the debut record from Gbg-based jazz act Our Park on June 2.
Psykakuten is the name of a new project featuring Karolina Stenström of Steso Songs and guitarist Henrik Svensson from Moneybrother/Doktor Kosmos/Hets!/etc. Look for their debut single "If I could love I would" to be released via their own label on May 5 with the self-titled album to follow on June 23. Samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/psykakuten
Check out a video of Simian Ghost (aka Sebastian Arnström from Aerial) performing his new single "Star receiver" acoustically: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8US-qBh1Sw4
Swedish råpunks Giftgasattack are now up at myspace with two new tracks that will be appearing on their upcoming 12" "Noise hero", due out via "in a few months." If you're into harsh noisepunk, you can't do much better than this.
Faster Katt has been getting some well-deservedattention as of late, though it appears to be mostly attributable to their recently acquired star-power. It's the new music that interests me more than the personnel though, as I've been a fan ever since I first heard them and in the end, it's the music that matters most and their new 4-song demo kills. Everything is better this time out, from the clearer, darker recording, to the stronger, more concise songs and, best of all, the absolutely psychotic (psychoticer?) vocal performance. I thought they were twisted before, but they've reached new levels. Needless to say, I love it. I also love that they can throw in a Michael Wiehe cover and contort it as a natural fit to their sound. Peep the original below, check the Faster Katt version beyond.
The Graviators