This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Laleh - Laleh
02. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
03. In Flames - Come clarity
04. Lisa Ekdahl - Pärlor av glas
05. Mia Marianna & Per Filip - Våra mest älskade sånger
06. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
07. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
08. Thåström - Skebokvarnsv 209
09. Agnes - Agnes
10. Darin - Darin
11. Sven-Ingvars - Livet är nu - 50 år det bästa med sven-ingvars
12. Son of a Plumber - Son of a Plumber
13. Kent - Du & jag döden
14. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
15. Monica Zetterlund - Z - det bästa med monica zetterlund
16. Torgny Melins - Dansbander
17. Björn Afzelius - Björn Afzelius bästa
18. Håkan Hellström - Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått
19. Lena Philipsson - Jag ångrar ingenting
20. Jenny Wilson - Love and youth
It almost seems redundant for me to talk about The Knife will all the praise they've been getting recently. But the fact of the matter is that they deserve every bit of it and I'd be remiss if I didn't throw my $.02 in. Everyone knew to expect something amazing, something unique when we first heard the new album "Silent shout", but I think the duo surpassed even the most lofty expectations with what they delivered. There really isn't anyone else out there doing anything even remotely similar - The Knife stands alone. I chose "We share our mother's health" for posting today because I just love that beat with those crazy ping-pong sound effects and the cymbal crashes of pure white-noise. I know it's only February, but I think we can safely assume that this is one of the best record's were gonna hear in 2006. It's a given.
Swedish rockers Wired for Mono are playing a few shows in Germany this March:
03/22 - Harmonie Crossroads, Bonn (GER) w/Chris Farlowe
03/23 - Unicum, Osnabrück (GER)
03/24 - Barfly, Schönebeck (GER)
03/25 - Treibsand, Lübeck (GER) w/The Skreppers
Swedish dance artists Stisch will follow-up their very successful collaboration on "Beauty in me" with the new single "Sawdust Caesar". A new version will be released of the album track with additional guitarwork provided by Ian Person (Soundtrack of Our Lives) and remixes from Sharam Jay, Manuel Neztic and Karton. It comes out February 22.
Phaser has posted another new track from synthpop act Social Ambitions: http://www.phaser.se/2006/02/15/more-songs-from-social-ambitions/
Morningside rounds up all the press so far on the North American release of the Figurines and their album "Skeleton": http://www.morningsiderecords.dk/
In Swedish, but still worth mentioning: the art blog Groupies interviews Andreas Nilsson, visual artist (The Knife, etc.) and guitarist for Silverbullit: http://groupies.plansanddesign.com/2006/02/intervju-med-andreas-nilsson.html
Holiday with Maggie has posted the brand new song "From Sweden with love" on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/holidaywithmaggie
The band's new album "Welcome to hope" comes out March 11 in Japan, March 15 in Sweden and March 31 in Italy and GAS.
Håkan Hellström's next single will be for the song "Jag hatar att jag älskar dig och jag älskar dig så mycket att jag hatar mig" and will include the exclusive track "Båda Sidor Nu" as the b-side. Look for it in March.
Norwegian hip-hop artist Pål Vibe aka Viballistic of Alarmclock Connection has posted a new record for free streaming and download: http://www.paalvibe.com/
Norwegian act Bonk has confirmed that their new album is done and set for an April 24 release.
MIC Norway profiles quiet melancholy act The White Birch: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2006021511024359426871
Check out the video for "The smoke will lead you home" from Logh: http://www.badtasterecords.se/files/public/logh_smoke_high.ram
Up-and-coming Swedish indie hype act The Horror The Horror has revamped their website: http://thehorrorthehorror.se/