The Virtues have posted their new single "Losing you" for free download: http://www.smalls.nu/thevirtues/
More on the Metallica vs. the Swedish metal workers union domain name battle: http://swartz.typepad.com/texplorer/2006/04/wellknown_rock_.html
Hjärtats Orkester's new EP is out now and available for free download: http://www.hjartatsorkester.se/
Norwegian hardcore act Dominic has posted the first batch of dates for their summer tour:
06/14 - tba, Copenhagen (DK)
06/15 - tba, Berlin (GER) w/Syn*Error
06/16 - tba (GER) w/Syn*Error
06/17 - tba, Tournai (BEL) w/Dying in Motion
06/18 - need help, Paris (FRA)
06/19 - tba, Lyon (FRA) w/Dying in Motion
06/20 - tba, Geneva (SWI) w/Dying in Motion
06/21 - theoffice, Gossau (SWI) w/Dying in Motion
06/22 - need help
06/23 - need help
06/24 - need help
06/25 - kafekult, Munchen (GER)
06/26 - Movimento, Wien (AUS) w/Dying in Motion
06/27 - Zluty Pez, Pardubice (CZ) w/Dying in Motion
06/28 - tba, Ostrava (CZ) w/Dying in Motion
06/29 - tba, Nymburk (CZ) w/Lakmè, Dying in Motion
06/30 - AZconni, Dresden (GER) w/La Casa Fantom, Dead Silent Days
07/01 - tba, Leipzig (GER)
07/02 - JuZ, Leer (GER) w/Only for the Sake of Aching
07/03 - need help, Versmold (GER)
07/04 - tba, Atwerpen (BEL) w/Autumn Delay
07/05 - tba, Gent (BEL) w/Autumn Delay
The band's new album will hopefully be released in time for tour. The CD version is being put out by Great Northern Records and Dead Letter Records and the LP will be handled by LilacSky, Ape Must Not Kill Ape and some other as-yet-unnamed labels. Listen to a sample: http://dominic.breadshaker.com/foreachhisown.mp3
Norwegian sludge-rockers Årabrot will record a new full-length album at the end of May with producer/engineer Billy Anderson at Athletic Studios in Halden.
This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:
01. (01) Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
02. (04) Laakso - "Never satisfied"
03. (20) Arctic Monkeys - "The view from the afternoon"
04. (03) SLS - "Get back"
05. (08) Dirty Pretty Things - "Bang bang you´re dead"
06. (05) Plan B - "No good"
07. (07) Martha Wainwright - "Factory"
08. (05) Supersci ft. Chords - "On the grind"
09. (10) The Sounds - "Tony the beat"
10. (08) Lil' Kim - "Whoa"
11. (NY) Justice vs. Simian - "We are your friends"
12. (14) Las Palmas - "Du har mail"
13. (ÅT) Ghostface Killah ft. Ne-Yo - "Back like that"
14. (15) Lo-Fi-Fnk - "Wake up"
15. (19) Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California"
16. (NY) Johnossi - "Execution song"
17. (16) Mystery Jets - "The boy who ran away"
18. (13) The Fine Arts Showcase - "The shoplifter's union"
19. (12) Up Hygh ft. Little Brother - "Keep on"
20. (NY) Sture Alléns Dansorkester - "Lita på mig"
Leaving the chart: Matisyahu - "King without a crown", USCB Allstars - "Let's keep it on baby", Franz Ferdinand - "The fallen" and Sean Paul - "Temperature".
MP3: Khoma - One of us must hang
All-star bands are rarely, if ever, any good. There are a few notable exceptions, but what looks good on paper rarely adds up to quality in real-life. Khoma is one such exception. Who would've thought that combining members from such dissimilar acts as Cult of Luna and The Perishers would work so well? Oh, but it does; in fact it sometimes eclipses the other acts altogether. I was excited about Khoma as soon as their first album "Tsunami" was released, way back in 2004 before they added the H to the name. With so many lackluster mid-tempo heavy acts polluting the airwaves I wanted to shout Khoma's name from the mountaintops to let everyone know how good they are. The band's new album "The second wave" is even better than the debut. I had some trepidations about they rerecording some of the songs from the first, but I reluctantly agree that it makes sense now that they have a much bigger potential audience through Roadrunner and heck, they sound great. Why complain? Kudos to Magnus Lindberg at Tonteknik - the drums recording is killer. I'm sure some it is Thomas Hedlund's constantly improved playing and maybe his kit, but whatever it is, the tones they got on tape are stunning. For today's mp3 I've decided to revisit the track "One of us must hang" which I used to close out the first "Reader's companion" disc. The new version is a tad faster, but it's just as powerful. Check it out.
Khoma - One of us must hang
Did I mention that I'll be posting new music five days a week from here on out? I know that's been the case for the last few weeks, but I'm making it official. It's hard to believe there's so much quality stuff coming out that my posting schedule is booked weeks in advance. I try to be fickle, but there's no arguing with quality.
Today's track comes to us from Skywriter, a dark and brooding rock act from Denmark. Reverbed-soaked guitars and lots of hanging chords, a frontman with a deep-voiced croon, nice sparse arrangements - imagine Madrugada, but more solemn, more sullen. "Dead end street", the song I've posted today, is the centerpiece of the band's debut album "Where both worlds never meet". It smolders with a quiet intensity that builds slowly as it weaves its melodramatic tale of a man's doomed love with a prostitute: "All she ever gave him was a name / every other part of her he paid for / and all he ever wanted was his dream / her worn-out pride, her child inside / who can say love doesn't cost a thing?" Sublime.
New records from Jezebel Recordings now in stock! Go go go! And when I say records, I mean flat slabs of the vinyl - the real stuff.
Updated tourdates for Finnish artrock ensemble Cleaning Women:
04/26 - Indiego Glocksee, Hannover
04/27 - Freaks friends and players festival, Güterbahnhof, Bremen
04/28 - Mikrokosmos, Magdeburg
04/29 - Atomino, Chemnitz
04/30 - Neustadsfest, Dresden
05/01 - Treibsand Openair, Lübeck
05/02 - Zentrale randlage, Berlin
05/03 - Kunstkeller, Fürth
05/04 - Connewitz, Leipzig
05/05 - Gladhouse, Cottbus
05/06 - Clubs-u-nite, Mensa, Greifswald
Swedish electropop act Assid will finally officially release their debut single "Habibi" (as covered by Firefox AK on her latest album) tomorrow/April 19 via Kleen Records.
Norwegian singer/songwriter Morten Abel will begin working at Elektrolüd Studio with Pascal Gabriel (New Order, Dido, Kylie Minogue) in May. Come June he'll be off to The Strongroom in East London for more recording and mixing with Ian Dowling.
European tourdates for Swedish punk-rockers Regulations:
05/03 - Skylten, Linköping (SWE) w/Annhiliation Time
05/05 - 1000 Fryd, Aalborg, (DK)
05/06 - Ajz, Bielefeld (GER)
05/07 - Ajz Talshock, Chemnitz (GER)
05/08 - Sunny Red / Feierwerk, Munchen (GER)
05/09 - JuHa-West, Stuttgart (GER)
05/10 - C.S. Scintilla, Modena (ITA)
05/11 - Rivolta, Marghera (ITA)
05/12 - Sedel (Prison), Lucerne (CH) w/Nine Pound Hammer
05/13 - Farnroda / Eisenach, Wutha (CH)
05/14 - JUZ Youth Center, Mannheim (GER)
05/15 - tba, Ghent (BEL)
05/16 - tba, Amsterdam (NL) w/Bones Brigade
05/17 - Koepi, Berlin (GER)
05/18 - Beatclub, Hamburg (GER) w/Clorox Girls
05/19 - Hafermarkt, Flensburg (GER) w/Assassinators
05/20 - Showdown, Göteborg (SWE)