Swedish pop act Leopold will be going into the studio in late February/early March to record a new four-song EP with a tentative release date of September 23. More details to come soon.
Robyn will release the Knife-produced track "Who's that girl" as a UK single in April. A video is in production with director Diane Martel (The Killers, The White Stripes, Beyoncé, etc.) and b-side remixes will be handled by Seamus Haji, Rex the Dog and Drop the Lime.
Watch Ida Maria on "Later with Jools Holland": http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/shows/series31/episode02/idamaria/
Wichita Recordings/Cooperative Music will pick up Peter Morén's forthcoming solo album "The last tycoon" for release across most of Europe and Scandinavia. It comes out in Sweden on April 8 with other dates to be announced soon.
Here are the winners of the 2008 Manifest Award, Sweden's alternative Grammy:
Rhythm: Kapten Röd - Stjärnorna finns här (SwingKids/Border)
Pop/Electronica: The Honeydrips - Here Comes The Future (Sincerely Yours/Playground Music)
Rock/Rockabilly/Blues/Garage: High Hats - Too Much Is Never Enough (Alleycat/Sound Pollution)
Hardrock/Metal: Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (Century Media/EMI)
Hiphop/R&B/Soul: Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande (Juju Records/Playground Music)
Experimental: Rolf Enström - Quarks (Caprice Records/CDA)
Dance: The Field - From here we go sublime (Kompakt)
Folk/Ballad: Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden (Amigo/Bonnier Amigo)
Jazz: Ludvig Berghe Trio - An unplayed venue (Moserobie Music Production/Bonnier Amigo)
Synth: Terror Punk Syndicate - Extended Playtime (Progress Productions/Border Music)
Punk/Hardcore: Wolfbrigade - Prey to the world (Agipunk/Unrest/MCR/Sound Pollution)
Singer/Songwriter: Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her (Startracks/V2/Bonnier Amigo)
Best Live Artist: Säkert!
Digfi-prize (unsigned act): Emily McWilliam's Desert Soul (Stockholm)
Swedish/Finnish hardcore act Ääritila recently completed the recording of 19 new tracks for their next album, tentatively due out in May via US label Feral Ward. Hear samples on older stuff here: http://www.myspace.com/aaritilapunk
The release date for the new Majessic Dreams album "Beautiful days" has been confirmed for April 7 via PonyRec. The duo will play a release show at Art & Colour in Copenhagen on April 4.
The new Motorpsycho album "Little lucid moments" will be four songs. Of what length, I have no idea.
Check out Frivolvol's brand new video for "No money, no worries": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scFLnt0hV0
The Finnish hardcore band will release their new album "Who needs maps when we got time" on February 20 via If Society. This new track sound far less mathy and far more like early Die Kreuzen than their last album, so I'm excited.
Download an mp3 of Sophie Rimheden covering Bob Dylan: http://sophierimheden.com/promo/sophie_rimheden_i_want_you.mp3
She will be performing the song live on February 16 at a special Dylan tribute in Hässleholm alongside a bunch of other local artists: http://www.hassleholm.se/14203
In other news, look for her new album "Traveller" to be released on April 23. More details on that soon.
MP3: Benea Reach - New waters
Benea Reach are a frustrating band. One minute they'll neck-deep in metalcore cliché, but then all of a sudden they'll turn it around completely with a riff that'll blow your mind. You get both in the first 30 seconds of "New waters". It opens with a plodding stomp riff and then it opens up into pure epicness, replete with harsh screams and weirdo syncopation. It's those moments that redeem the band and elevate them above the rabble. Otherwise, it's nothing but tedium and generic e-chug Meshuggah riffs. They do the polyrhythmic thing well, but it's such a tired exercise at this point in time when you consider that "Destroy erase improve" came out over 10 years ago. There's so much uncharted melodic territory that's far more worthy of exploration. I hear it in bands like Mare (RIP) and Kayo Dot, but only in moments of Benea Reach. Perhaps it won't be until the next album when they completely abandon the mosh to embrace their progressive side. So much potential!
Benea Reach - New waters
This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Hot Chip
02. Radiohead
03. Feist
04. Jens Lekman
05. Belle and Sebastian
06. Shout Out Louds
07. The Shins
08. Lykke Li
09. Band of Horses
10. Vampire Weekend
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/
Lonely Crowd
Watching from a distance
Karisma Records
This is moody rock from Norway with a strong resemblance to The Auteurs, which makes perfect sense considering that much of this material was similarly recorded during that band's heyday in the late 90s. "Watching from a distance" collects Lonely Crowd's three early EPs and seamlessly tacks on two new tracks to pave the way for the band's re-emergence. As such, the sound is a tad dated, though not enough to stir up discontent. Nostalgia is a bitch. But really, why bother? Even at their best, Lonely Crowd are also-rans, not a lost gem. Vocalist Stig Jakobsen has a decent melodic and understated delivery, but he has neither the deadpan menace nor the charisma of Autuers mainman Luke Haines. Lonely Crowd simply pales in comparison. Yes, there are a few worthwhile tracks to be found here, but the new material is not amongst them and that does not bode well. Perhaps the promised forthcoming album will make me eat my words, but I'm not optimistic.
- Avi Roig
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Niccokick - The poet
02. TALK 1
03. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
04. David Sandström - Apropå det här med att finnas till
05. Mew - Why are you looking grave?
06. TALK 2
07. C.Aarmé - Rhythm
08. Dieter Schöön - Lot's of free Shoes but nowhere to run
09. Meshuggah - Pravus
10. TALK 3
11. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
12. The Bear Quartet - Volksblues
13. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Wedding
14. Lack - Naked girls
15. TALK 4
16. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
17. Namur - Marching
18. NEI - Trip to Luleå
19. TALK 5
20. Printer - All right
21. Moto Boy - Beat heart
22. Christel Alsos - Come back to me
23. TALK 6
24. Promoe - Headache
25. Mustasch - Dogwash
26. Montt Mardié - Too many songs unwritten
27. Pascal - Smärtstillande
28. TALK 7
29. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
30. Pekker - Ass electro
31. Regulations - Police siren
32. TALK 8
33. Deud - Lördag
34. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - Beyond the south tunnel
35. Barra Head - Undermine
36. TALK 9
37. Aerial - Kallisti
38. Paris - Office killer
39. Lukestar - The shade you hide
40. TALK 10
41. Jazkamer - Metal music machine
Systematisk Terror
Ueeehhh!
self-released
What we've got here is a 7-track demo of Swedish hardcore punk in the vein of DS-13 which means breakneck speeds, shouted vocals and songs that rarely extend beyond the 1:30 mark. It also means that the guitar tone is a bit cleaner than you might normally expect, though of course that is relative for the genre. Being that it is a demo, the sound and the performance is not totally on-point, but it's good enough to give a clear idea of what they're after. As for the songs, there's enough little quirks and changes to keep things interesting, though they start to lose me a bit with the extended breaks that tend towards crusty dissonance. It's not that they're incompatible with the no-slow/all-go hardcore style that makes up the bulk of the material, they're just not as well-integrated as they could be. Anyhow, minor quibbles aside, I enjoyed this.
- Avi Roig
