Check out a track from the new Sambassadeur EP "Coastal affairs": http://www.labrador.se/mp3/sambassadeur-kate.mp3
Norway's Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band has signed to Virgin Records Norway and will be releasing their major label debut later on this year. The first single from the forthcoming album will be called "Kill the DJ" and it will be released to radio in just a few weeks.
Lords of Metal e-zine on the new Cult of Luna: http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=7510&lang=en
I should've posted about this last week but, in case you didn't already know about it, Lordi (Finland's answer to Gwar) became a bit of a hot topic with their entry into the Eurovision Song Contest: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/news/4EFDEE109852C242C2257163003C7F8B!opendocument
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Magnus Carlsson - Magnus Carlsson
02. BWO - Halycon days
03. Eric Gadd - Eric gadd
04. Totta & Wiehe - Dylan
05. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
06. David Urwitz - I väntan på vad
07. Anna Book - Let's dance + 13 favoriter
08. Sebastian - Sebastian
09. Backyard Babies - People like people like people like us
10. The Refreshments - 24-7
11. Magnus Uggla - Ett bedårande barn av sin tid
12. Andreas Johnson - Mr johnson, your room is on fire
13. I'm From Barcelona - Let me introduce my friends
14. Linda Bengtzing - Ingenting att förlora
15. The Knife - Silent shout
16. Laleh - Laleh
17. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
18. The Radio Dept. - Pet grief
19. Anna Christoffersson/Steve Dobrogosz - It's always you
20. Lotta Engberg - Världens bästa lotta
Curious as to what the new Sirius Radio "Nordic Rox" program is playing? Check it: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=FlexContent&cid=1146347242424
Absolut Noise talks to Mattias Alkberg of The Bear Quartet about their new album "Eternity now", his solo work with Mattias Alkberg BD and more: http://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2006/05/bear-quartet-interview-mattias-alkberg.html
MP3: Holy Madre - Shallow bay
When I first heard Holy Madre my initial reaction was fairly similar to what Nancy says in her review. Easy-listening 70s rock? Sounds awful, right? But I decided I should give them another chance just in case. While I'm still not crazy about every single song, the warm spring weather has definitely changed my outlook for the better. Holy Madre is the perfect soundtrack for a sunny afternoon drive with the windows down or for the boombox out in the backyard while you barbeque. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Check out the opening number "Shallow bay" which I've posted today and see if it doesn't brighten your day. [BUY IT]
Holy Madre - Shallow bay
I don't talk a lot about jazz here and that's not right. It's a bit out of my standard comfort zone, but that's hardly an excuse. Good music transcends boundries of genre. I've actually been listening to quite a bit more jazz since my wife put a moratorium on heavy/screamy music in our home office. Go figure! The selections have been mostly the classics: Coltrane, Bird, Mingus, etc., but I do like to branch out into more modern stuff like John Zorn's Masada and the Swedish act Esbjörn Svensson Trio (EST). I'd listen to more, but honestly, I really have no idea where to start. Thank goodness bassist/bandleader Oskar Schönning got in touch. His new album "Happy jazz, please" (see the title track posted today) hits all the right notes, both figuratively and literally. The compositions and arrangements are firmly grounded in tradition, but Schönning's ensemble adds enough of their own pizazz that it's most definitely not a retread. I especially enjoy the liberal use of clarinet - it adds just the right amount of klezmer/Don Byron flair to the tracks. It also keeps things sounding fresh since I feel it's an underused/underappreciated instrument in the genre. Schönning's new album comes out today and he'll be playing a record release show tomorrow at the restaurant Landet, just outside of Stockholm. And don't forget to check out his contribution to the recently released "Fellow birds" 7" on Jezebel Recordings.
Check out a remix of The Alpine's latest single "Trigger", as done by NYC-based DJ duo A Touch of Class: http://www.thealpine.dk/ver2/music/soundFiles/05.mp3
I'm pretty sure it's old news that Norwegian hardcore act The Spectacle is breaking up, but member Fredrik has posted a new epitaph for the band: http://www.the-spectacle.com/
I'm bummed that their plans to do a final US tour never came to fruition, but what can ya' do?
Satura Lanx will be heading out on their first European tour in June and the first batch of dates are now posted: http://www.saturalanx.com/home.php?page=shows
In other news, bassist Aleksi has left the band to concentrate on his other screamy hardcore act City of Breach (more City of Caterpillar than Breach).
Labrador has posted a new Radio Dept. track for free download: http://www.labrador.se/mp3/the_radio_dept.-a_window.mp3
This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:
01. The Radio Dept.
02. The Knife
03. Death Cab for Cutie
04. Belle and Sebastian
05. Morrissey
06. Radiohead
07. The Flaming Lips
08. Håkan Hellström
09. Architecture in Helsinki
10. Gnarls Barkley
As for the top 10 tracks for the week, the Audioscrobbler website appears to be broken. Awesome. Anyhow, if you want to see your favorites listed here you should join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Housewife Lovers have a new website and some new songs for download: http://housewifelovers.tk/
Norwegian jazz vocal artist Solveig Slettahjell will make her US debut at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina on May 26-27. Ticket info and other details available here. In other news, Slettahjell is currently in the studio with her Slow Motion Quintet recording her fourth album for the label Curling Legs, due out this coming fall.