This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:
01. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
04. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
05. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
06. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
07. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
08. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
09. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
10. Leif Ove Andsnes - Mozart Piano Concerto Nos 9 & 18
11. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
12. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
13. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
14. Beady Belle - Belvedere
15. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
16. Celine - Bæstevænna
17. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
18. Trond-Viggo Torgersen - Det du kan + noe rart & noe nytt
19. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
20. Minor Majority - Candy store (2 CD edition)
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Neverstore - Heroes wanted
02. Tomas Andersson Wij - En sommar på speed
03. Fernandoz - Anders & Git - En helt ny dag
04. Carola - Främling 25 år
05. The Cardigans - Best of
06. Lykke Li - Youth novels
07. Takida - Bury the lies
08. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
09. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
10. Majornas 3dje Rote - Majornas 3dje Rote med Tomas von Brömssen
11. Within Y - The cult
12. Kikki Danielsson - Kikkis bästa
14. Jill Johnson - Music Row
15. Hellsongs - Hymns in the key of 666
16. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
17. El Perro Del Mar - From the valley to the stars
18. Pacific! - Reveries
19. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
20. Säkert! - Säkert!
Stina Nordenstam will reportedly have a new album out later this year. See her recently revamped website: http://www.stinanordenstam.net/
Norwegian postpunk/noiserockers Hypertext (remember?) have a new demo track on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hypertextband
I first posted a track from The Social Services back in July and now I'm very excited to report that they've recorded new material and have given me permission to share a song with you. As I said way back when, The Social Services are a promising up-and-coming indiepop band out of Stockholm - cute, not cloying, more bittersweet than sweet and overall, incredibly charming. Another thing I like about them is their outsider status and the way it comes through in their songs- 2/3rds of the members are Scottish expats and without that, you'd never get a song like "Baltic Sea". You want insight into what it's like to be a foreigner in Sweden? Listen to this song. It's a love affair to be sure, but it's not without it's troubles. As I'm sure you know, the cold Scandinavian personality is legendary whether you know it through the films of Ingmar Bergman or have experienced it first-hand. Supposedly it even carries over here in the Pacific Northwest, where the population is heavily weighted towards people of Nordic heritage. Anyhow, the song is great and I love the wilting waltz feel, though the vocal counterpoint on the outro is by far the best part. It's so well-orchestrated and comforting, considering it's wholesome optimism. Expect to hear more from these guys soon, I promise you.
The Social Services - Baltic Sea
8
It's always great when one of your favorite Swedish acts comes over to play some shows, especially one whom you've never seen before, and such is the case with Tiger Lou. With their second album "The loyal" finally being released Stateside, it was a bit of a surprise that they'd be here a mere week or two afterward. The strange thing about the show was that the band was only allowed to play five songs. Just when they had started to get all warmed up in spectacular fashion with "Nixon" and "The wake/Hooray hooray", the set had to be disappointingly cut short. This was not the band's fault though, as they had the limit put on them. I just cannot wait for them to come back around and play a full, proper set.
- Matt Giordano
New live dates for The Whitest Boy Alive:
03/23 - Tape, Berlin (GER)
03/25 - Kassablanka, Jena (GER)
03/26 - Palac Akropolis, Prague (CZ)
03/27 - Pling Plong Klub @ Fluc Wanne, Vienna (AUS)
03/28 - 59:1, München (GER)
05/21 - Koko, London (UK)
The LK have posted updates US tourdates on their website: http://www.thelkhideout.com/
I'd copy and paste them for you here, but I can't since it's a shitty Flash site.
Racing Junior and The Norwegian Council for Mental Health have created a new memorial trust in the name of singer/songwriter Saint Thomas to raise money for improved mental health care and support for young people and to help produce more public dialog on the subject. A box set and memorial concert is being put together for October to help raise funds for the cause.
Swedish crusties Massgrav have posted the cover art, tracklist and a couple samples from their new LP, "This war will be won by meat eaters" which is due out later this summer via Sound Pollution. Check it: http://www.massgrav.com/
The first batch of CDs I got from And the Sound blew out of here mighty quick, but fear not! More have arrived! Check it:
Ef - Give me beauty... or give me death!
Immanu El - They'll come, they come
Ef - I am responsible
New Loney, Dear tourdates:
04/26 - Indigo, London (UK)
05/07 - Abart Club, Zürich (CH)
05/08 - Kleine Elser Halle, München (GER)
05/09 - Starclub, Dresden (GER)
05/11 - Batschkapp, Frankfurt (GER)
05/12 - Lido, Berlin (GER)
05/13 - Übel + Gefährlich, Hamburg (GER)
05/14 - Saal Tepfer, Haldern (GER)
05/15 - tba, Utrecht (NL)
05/16 - tba, Bryssels (BEL)
The new Juvelen single "Don't mess" is now streaming on myspace along with the Krazy Fiesta b-side remix: http://www.myspace.com/juvelen
Danish label VUF is offering up a new Dúné remix EP for free download: http://vuf-empire.dk/
Tiger Lou