The best new music is old, that's a fact. I may have an ever-increasing list of upcoming releases I'm excited about, but when I go to the record store I'm either thumbing through used bins or, more likely, checking out all of the excellent vinyl reissues that have been hitting the shelves. Another fact: wwo of 2009's best releases were from Death and Zero Boys, two mostly forgotten acts whose OG material smokes current up-and-comers. Similarly, the reissue of Nirvana 2002's discography by Relapse Records proves they don't make 'em like they used to when it comes to Swedish death metal. Yes, we are in a genre resurgence and there are plenty of fine acts out there keeping the flames burning, but I don't think any of them are this good. Nirvana 2002 was always a band I saw referenced in countless thank-you lists back in the day, but whose music I never heard, so I'm way stoked to finally get a chance to hear what I was missing and damn, I was missing a lot. Not all lost gems are worth recovering, but this one certainly qualifies.
"Slumber" first appeared on the "Disembodied spirits" EP back in 1990, released by Fredrik Holmgren's , the precursor to (not that you'd know it style-wise). This particular version is newly remixed for the reissue and sounds much clearer and more brutal than the original, but even that take is included on the flip of the LP just in case you miss the tape hiss. In case it wasn't obvious, the sound is pure Sunlight Studios, the blueprint for the burgeoning genre to come. And of course, the song itself totally slays. It's a fact!
"The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González", a documentary film on the namesake artist directed by Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand, will open the 33rd annual Göteborg International Film Festival on January 29 at Draken Cinema. Read more: http://www.giff.se/us/nc/public/artikel/post/jos-Gonzalez-opens-the-festival-114.html
No word on any other screenings yet, but I'll keep an eye out.
Blue for Two (Freddie Wadling) has signed with Kning Disk for the release of their next, long-awaited album. No title or release date yet, but it should be out before summer.
I didn't listen to the new Thee Gutted String"Christmastime In Hagarna" EP back when it first posted over my brief winter break because I didn't really listen to any music over break. Instead, I enjoyed the silence of a clear mind and the company of family, a much-welcome respite for tired ears. When I did get to it however, it was immediately after sampling David Åhlén's new EP, so a compare/contrast was inevitable. David's music is, as always, pure holy devotion, and both him and Thee Gutted String perform (mostly) solo and acoustic on these new releases, but the latter is far more secular, corporeal. They do however cross paths though on "White", a song whose refrain asserts the denial of God. It could be argued that such sentiments are irreligious or even anti-religious, but I think that the struggle to attain spirituality is religion, despite the outcome. Defining the absence lends it power; a crisis of faith is still faith. Churches and denominations are irrelevant, the personal experience trumps all and in that way, both artists are exploring the same territory. 'Tis the season.
The CD release of the studio version of "Tomorrow, in a year", the Darwin-inspired Opera composed by The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, will now be released on March 1 via the band's own . Check out a sample tune and get more details: http://theknife.net/tommorow-in-a-year-information.html