Morbus Chron - In obscuritas
Morbus Chron are streaming a new track on myspace from their just-completed demo "Splendour of disease": http://www.myspace.com/morbuschronband
Country: Sweden
This week's Last.fm chart
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Shout Out Louds
02. First Aid Kit
03. Jonathan Johansson
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Kent
06. The Magnetic Fields
07. Oh No Ono
08. Beach House
09. Loney, Dear
10. The Radio Dept.
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/
Brothers of End go international
Brothers of End will have their debut album "The end" released in Europe in March with other territories to follow including Greece, Romania, South Africa and South Korea. Details on labels and relase dates confirmed so far can be found here: http://www.brothersofend.se/licence-booking/
Pitchfork reviews Anna Ternheim
Better late than never, Pitchfork reviews the US release of Anna Ternheim's "Leaving on a Mayday": http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13889-leaving-on-a-mayday/
BQ - 89 LPs are here
I just received a package with a few copies of The Bear Quartet's excellent 2009 album "89" on glorious vinyl and man, do they look good! Want one? Email me. $20 plus postage.
Absolut Noise turns 4
France-based Swedish music blog Absolut Noise celebrates its 4th birthday by posting a bunch of rare tracks: http://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2010/02/absolut-noise-4-years-old-birthday.html
Punk nostalgia not dead
Speaking of Patrik Wirén (see below), he reports on his blog that there will be a massive 1st-wave Swedish punk fest happening April 1-3 at Göta Källare in Stockholm. Read more: http://rogertsblogg.blogspot.com/2010/02/punknostalgi.html
Artists include Bitch Boys, Usch, Kitchen & the Plastic Spoons, Warheads, Imps and tons more.
Umeå Hardcore, the book
Swedish rocker turned journalist Patrik Wirén (Misery Loves Company, Alpha Safari) is working on a book about the history of the Umeå hardcore scene in the 1990s, which will fortunately not just be a book about Refused as he adamantly states: http://rogertsblogg.blogspot.com/2010/02/boksnack.html
Not sure yet if it will be Swedish-only or what, but I'll post an update as soon as Patrik gets back to me.
Friendly Noise #3
Issue #3 of the always-gorgeous webzine is now online: http://www.friendlynoise.se/fzn/3
Sambassadeur track review at Pitchfork
Sambassadeur's "Stranded" gets a mediocre track review at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11747-stranded/
Näääk - Namnet ba Näääkish (video)
Check out the video for "Namnet ba Näääkish" from Swedish hip-hop artist Näääk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ru-chk21YI
New Teddybears album in spring
There's a new Teddybears album called "Devils music" coming in late March/April and it will reportedly feature a collaboration with Atlanta-based rapper Cee Lo and The B52s on the same track, among other treats I'm sure.
MP3: Regulations - Baghdad beach party
Got the new Regulations LP "To be me" in the mail yesterday and it's pretty sweet, just like I expected. The bonus "Live radio EP" 7" that I picked up along with it is pretty damn good too, perhaps even a bit moreso than I anticipated. Regulations continue to deliver solid, tightly wound punk rock as always and once again they pull off the magic trick of sounding timeless. Classic sounds made fresh; it's a rare feat, especially when talking about a blueprint that was more or less codified and set in stone back in 80s. Whatever, here we are decades later and these dudes are nailing it. Witness "Baghdad beach party" with its ringing two-note melody and sardonic lyrics -- that's all you need.
Regulations - Baghdad beach party
Paper to release "Before that day" as a single
Paper will be putting out "Before that day" as a new single to coincide with the re-release of their album "An object" on vinyl via . The official release date is February 4 for radio, March 1 elsewhere. Not sure if there will be a 7" version or what, but I'll keep you posted.