New music from Swedish expat/New Orleans resident/one-woman-band Theresa Andersson off her upcoming album "Street parade", due out March 14 in Sweden/April 24 elsewhere (I think?). Seems like she's going for a bit of a bittersweet 60s girl-group vibe on this one, though not necessarily in the fuzzy, lofi way made popular by Vivian Girls et al. A bit more swing, a lot more horns, and, as always with Ms. Andersson, a clever amalgamation of novel percussion elements that make up the song's base. Hit up her website for another tune featuring Peter Morén of Peter Bjorn and John: http://theresaandersson.com/
New sounds from Swedish/German art-damaged punks Jailhouse Fuck off their just-released split 10" with the like-minded Glasgow-based act Divorce (). More here.
Swedish thrashers Infernöh will be releasing their debut 12" LP "War tjard" via featuring 5 new cuts b/w the 5-track demo. No exact release date yet, but pre-orders are being taken for the first pressing of 500. Hear two of the a-side ragers above.
I always make an effort to check out the various Manifest Awards nominees because, inevitably, there's always at least a few quality names that have previously escaped my attention. I don't worry so much about who actually won or who was unfairly passed over, I just want new music. As for the punk category: I'm already a fan of Vånna Inget and happily grabbed a copy of their excellent LP via 1-2-3-4 Go! Records; Obnoxious Youth's stiff thrashy hardcore is not my thing at all, but kudos to them for winning; and I must confess, I don't know Black Feet at all, but that will be remedied eventually. Which leaves Sju Svåra År, a band that I've been aware of for awhile, but never fully investigated until very recently. Shame on me, because they are ruling female-fronted melodic punk, not too dissimilar from the aforementioned Vånna Inget or other acts like Masshysteri and The Vicious. So yeah, right up my alley -- especially when they combine exquisite vocal harmonies with raw grit like on tracks such as "Pappa". I may have neglected to track down a copy of their LP before now, but that will soon be remedied.
"Strong & tall" is the first official single from the upcoming Kristofer Åström album "From eagle to sparrow", due out February 24. Sounds great, as expected!
Division of Laura Lee will be releasing a new 7" in coordination with their upcoming hometown gig in GBG on February 25. The a-side will feature "Cabin jam" and the flip will have the exclusive b-side "Hoover".