Smalltown put on a good show last night btw, despite issues with the PA and a disorganized promoter. All you SF Bay Area folks should check 'em out this weekend when they're down in your area. Classic melodic punk-rock with a heathly dose of the The Jam. Good stuff.
Gaffa's top 10 Danish albums for 2005:
01. Mew - Mew And The Glass Handed Kites
02. Kashmir - No Balance Palace
03. Spleen United - Godspeed Into The Mainstream
04. Diverse Kunstnere - Andersens Drømme
05. Jens Unmack - Vejen Hjem Fra Rock'n'roll
06. Diefenbach - Set & Drift
07. Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
08. Figurines - Skeleton
09. Bik Stok Røgsystem - Over Stok Og Sten
10. Olesen - Olesen - Solsort Og Forstærker
For their full international top 40 and all of the contributors' individual lists, go here: http://gaffa.dk/nyheder/view.php/news_id=14572
Norway's Kong Tiki Records has signed Torch and will be releasing a new album from them in late February.
Check out BurningTV, a new web-based streaming video channel for Swedish indie music: http://www.burningtv.com/
Expressen has published their top 50 album picks for 2005: http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=480822
They actually have some interesting selections for a big tabloid. Not that I agree with them, but it's good to see some more indie names on there.
Check the 'rants' section on Burst's website for the first entry of their tour diary: http://www.burst.nu/
The first acts have been confirmed for next year's Umeå Open: Christian Kjellvander, The Pipettes (UK), Midaircondo and Jenny Wilson. What, no Doktor Kosmos? And hey, how about flying me out again?
Traktor's debut album "Lights" has been confirmed for a January 21 release to be followed by a European tour. Go here for tentative dates: http://www.traktorbiz.com/live.htm
Finland's Kirlian Crossing has launched a monthly series of free downloadable records under the name "Acid test reels" and the first volume was posted today: http://www.verdurarecords.com/kirliancrossing
Most of the music will be based on improvised psychedelic jamming and to prove they aren't fooling around, the very first posting is KC's own 30-minute take on the Grateful Dead classic "Dark star".
MP3: Hell on Wheels - Big day coming
I do get some relief today - Jason Christie has kindly provided us with this week's Friday oldie post:
The origin of this track is essentially a horrible record, a horrible cover, and but with the energy of music has never ceased to get my goat enough to make it stand tall in the classic bracket. Now we are talking about two excellent bands: BCQ and Hell on Wheels.
The original was a song released almost 5 years ago [when I was stuck to a desk in a news agency spending days and hours trying to sell stories – I was too bored to die]. "Big day coming" was contained on the band's "Outcast" album – a stellar disc. The sort of disc which makes MP3s redundant. We like albums. When did you last buy one chapter of a book? This cover is similar in feel to the original: raw, one take and totally unpolished – it's scruffy, and 2:30 long – perfect. If this don't charge you for the weekend, try crack cocaine.
Hell on Wheels - Big day coming
My god, is it December already? Well, you know what that means: end-of-the-year lists. Just like last year, I'll be posting a new top 10 from a different Scandinavian music biz type every day until the end of the year. And who knows? Maybe my own top 10 will sneak in there somewhere. First up to break the ice: Pacta Sunt Servanda. Check it out!
Think you might be worthy on contributing? By all means, get in touch! The more the merrier says I.
A new month also means a new album of the month. This time it was easy - how could I not pick The End Will Be Kicks? Brilliant Norrland discordant indierock - available exclusively through IAT as a cheap high-quality download. So very worth it.