Ha! I bought this album solely on the track "Stockholm doesn't belong to me" – big mistake! It's not that it's a rubbish album, it's just that none of the other songs sound at all like that excellent and catchy track. Ho hum! I don't want to slag this album off too much, since I'm not really the right person to judge it and normally I would never go close to something as electronic and dull as this, but now when I paid hard earned money for this piece of ...plastic, I think I got the right to warn anyone who heard and liked "Stockholm..." – please check out some other songs on this album before you waste any cash on it!
- Simon Tagestam
Every week I seem to listen to a new Scandinavian "alt-country" (or whatever you'd like to call this type of music) band (usually of pretty high standard and most often Swedish) that I'm meant to review for It's a trap. Involuntarily I've become something of an expert on this type of music from those northern shores, which is quite cool, but to be honest, I'm getting a bit bored! Bored of good music? How can that be? Well, it's a bit like eating vanilla ice cream week in and week out. Not that exciting, huh? I love American alt-country, but my absolute favourite artists of this genre are people like Will Oldham, Robbie Fulks, and Silver Jews, artists who are subversive one way or another (usually lyrically). What I'm trying to say is that I need some edge, please! You can still be rock'n'roll even though you're playing slow and beautiful music (look at Gram Parsons). When bands follow the standard template (The Lancaster Orchestra's album has "smokey" photos, and song titles like "Bad horse" and "Easy lover" – yawn!). Sure, The Lancaster Orchestra got some pretty fine songs (e.g. "Closingtime will you walk me home"), and they do a cool cover version of The Smiths' "Please please please let me get what I want", but if you're not in a sitting-by-the-fireside-drinking-whiskey mood it can be so booooring that it takes a "fucking" in the lyrics to ("Newfound friends") to wake me up.
- Simon Tagestam
Blake simply rock, a lot. Somewhere along the lines of Entombed's death n' roll and more traditional stoner rock (think Nebula), Blake rely on a strong bass line and build around it. The build is one of heavy guitars, catchy leads and vocal lines, and steady drums. They might sound a bit too polished for their own good, while their songwriting, on the other hand, fits perfectly what they are trying to accomplish. Nice.
- Simon Thibaudeau
I'm guessing that Sweden's Blah Blah Statement (the duo of Dan Hafstrom and Jesper Mott) are fans of famed director Martin Scorsese. They named their label 'Pupkin' presumably after Rupert Pupkin, the deluded protagonist of "The King of Comedy," and a song on this 5-track EP is titled "Harvey Keitel," one of the actors Scorsese has worked with several times. Too bad the edginess in most of Scorsese's films is missing from this band's ordinary music. The production is pretty decent, but I hear little that's particularly captivating in Hafstrom's low vocals, or in the songs themselves. The sonic clarity of the opening title cut doesn't lead to a payoff, the reggae-flavored "Oh those eyes" is bland and the sorta pretty "Dolphin song" is without porpoise..., sorry, PURPOSE. Guys, your sincerity is obvious, but creatively you're indeed "too well behaved." Next time, stir up a little shit, what d'ya say?
- Kevin Renick
I never cared for the term "post-rock," and I can't believe such an unimaginative phrase is used as a designation for so much great stuff. But okay, that's the banner under which Swedish rockers Aerial will find themselves placed, as they play long, rousing, atmospheric, guitar-based songs with minimal vocals. They're damn good, too, and there's a whirlwind of aural activity blowing through each of the four tunes on this CD. Think Sonic Youth meets Motorpsycho, or something like that. "A limbless stare" has a punk sort of fury to it (lyrics really aren't important, and you can't decipher most of them anyway, as they're mixed low), and the creatively titled "Yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey" is 13 minutes of blazing, densely textured guitar angst. One major complaint: you can barely hear the bass on most of this record; what's up with that, guys? It seriously diminishes the power of the first two tracks, particularly. This music screams for a more balanced rhythm section. But I dig the epic scope of Aerial's sound, and they seem like the kind of band that are only gonna grow more and more exciting over time.
- Kevin Renick
I admire bands like Loney, Dear. They didn't mess around with labels or music business bureaucracy, they just kept doing what they were doing and released their music themselves on CDR until other folks started to catch on. That's the true spirit of DIY. Of course it only really works out in the end if you're both persistent and good. Luckily, Loney, Dear is both. The new album "Sologne" which comes out next week is the band's first "official" CD release. And I use the term band loosely too, as Loney, Dear is essentially the solo project of one Emil Svanängen. I chose to post "The city, the airport" today because I love the way the song builds into the call-and-response chorus. It's so triumphant. I can also relate the words of the first verse about abandoning the city for quiter locales. I made the move recently and don't regret it a bit. Preorder the disc and save a dollar.
Denmark's Yellowish has confirmed that their new album "So bright" will be released on March 6. For updated tourdates and record release show info, check their website: http://www.yellowish.dk/
Swedish rockers Babylon Bombs have a new website: http://www.babylonbombs.net/
The latest from The Tough Alliance regarding their fatwa on The Sounds:
"Mattias Wachtmeister from Warner Music Sweden asked Embassy to ask us to remove the fatwa on The Sounds. He was worried that it might disturb the marketing of their new album. Of course it's darklords in suits as Mattias, not marionettes like The Sounds, who are the real forces of evil in this world. People who work actively to manipulate and defile the art. People who work actively to maintain the spectacle.
So as you wish Mattias, whoever the fuck you think you are, now it's on you.
This will be the last words from TTA regarding this issue. There are limits to how far into the darkness you go even when someone tries to kill your friend. The fatwas (tell the retards it doesn't even mean anything) are hereby dissolved. Ahead lies only pure, glittering future. See you there..."
Updated tourdates for The Cardigans:
03/01 - Vega, Copenhagen (DK)
03/02 - Train, Århus (DK)
03/04 - Storan, Gothenburg (SWE)
03/05 - Storan, Gothenburg (SWE)
03/07 - Rockefeller, Oslo (NOR)
03/08 - Konserthus, Stavanger (NOR)
03/10 - Handelshöyskolen, Bergen (NOR)
03/12 - Köpenhamn, Vega (DK)
03/14 - Nalen, Stockholm (SWE)
03/16 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
03/17 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
03/19 - KB, Malmö (SWE)
03/20 - KB, Malmö (SWE)
03/21 - Nalen, Stockholm (SWE)
04/11 - E-werk, Cologne (GER)
04/12 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (GER)
04/13 - Postbahnhof, Berlin (GER)
04/15 - Rotterdam Motel Mozaique Festival, Rotterdam (NL)
04/16 - Den Atelier, Luxembourg
04/18 - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BEL)
04/19 - Bataclan, Paris (FRA)
04/21 - Shepherds Bush Empire, London (UK)
04/23 - Dublin Ambassador, Dublin (UK)
04/24 - ABC, Glasgow (UK)
04/25 - Ritz, Manchester (UK)
04/28 - Elserhalle, Munich (GER)
04/29 - Vienna Arena, Vienna (AUS)
04/30 - Abaton, Prague (CH)
06/15-17 - Hultsfredsfestivalen, Hultsfred (SWE)
06/30 - Kirunafestivalen, Kiruna (SWE)
07/09 - Ruisrock, Turku (FIN)
08/04 - Bork Havnefestival, Ringköping (DK)
Swedish post-rockers Once We Were report that they are now halfway done with their forthcoming double album. It should be done in time for a May release.
Danish act Lampshade has posted a new track for free download: http://www.lampshade.dk/10dissefugle.mp3
Kasual Recordings has posted a new video from Ikaros for streaming: http://www.ikarosmusic.com/video/ikaros.wmv
Aerial