Umeå's Regulations, along with labelmates the Vicious (with whom they share members), debut album reminds me of the sounds of early L.A. punk. Think early Black Flag, Circle Jerks and the Adolescents and that's what you'll get. Songs like "Police siren" and "We always know what to do" carry the energy and fury of those early bands before hair bands took over the scene. The lead singer's voice reminds me of a young Henry Rollins or even Milo from the Descendents. Highly recommended.
- Navy Keophan
Randy are back! Bring out the dancing shoes and dust them off! They're also back on form, after 2003's "Welfare problems" which was alright but still a puny follow-up to the masterpiece that "The human atom bombs" was (just thinking about that album gives me goosebumps). When I tried to go through the album and list the best tracks I realized that all songs here are excellent, but if I have to handpick a bunch, it'd probably be "Better than art", "Going out with the dead", and "Teenage tiger", although if you'd ask me tomorrow I'm sure I'd list three completely different ones. "Randy the band" isn't a great step forward for Randy in terms of further developing their sound, in fact the album contains very strong elements from their last three releases, so it almost plays like a "best of" even though it isn't one. Randy is my favourite band, so it feels really reassuring that "Randy the band" is a journey into that top-notch punk rock that I've come to expect from every new Randy release since their debut album came out 11 years ago. Now, please bring on 2007 and another Randy album!
- Simon Tagestam
Even Johansen is an introspective kinda guy; his tunes are almost always suffused with melancholy and yearning. But he's never maudlin, 'cause Johansen has a way of simultaneously tugging at your heartstrings and keeping your attention with evocative music details. His third CD as Magnet finds Johansen simply doing more of his wistful thing, with maybe a few more songs hitting the mark than on the previous "On your side". This is soft rock, but it's really quite lovely. "Hold on" features an unexpected banjo and very airy "Bah bah" backing vocals in the song's closing minute or so that reel you right in. On "The pacemaker" there's a sound that resembles rapidly dripping water and the keyboard sounds not unlike a toy piano; such elements prevent the song from being mere easy listening. "All you ask" somehow combines a near-reggae and waltz rhythm in curious fashion; this plus Johansen's jump to a falsetto a couple of times pushes the song to the plus side of marginal. "Deadlock" is classic Nordic melancholy; the tinkly mix sounds almost Icelandic, in fact. Very nice indeed. "I don't think I can do this no more," our boy sings several times. Sure ya can, Ev...you're a natural at this kinda thing. "Miss her so" is vintage lovelorn Magnet; if this sweet acoustic ballad doesn't make the little girls tear up, I don't know what will. And "Blow by blow" is downright hypnotic; very cool arrangement, almost Beatle-ish. Although a few tunes do generate a rhythm you can tap your foot to, just expect mostly whispery balladry and poignancy. Not quite a classic, but wonderfully soothing when you're in the mood.
- Kevin Renick
If you've heard other Swedish female artists such as Britta Persson, El Perro Del Mar, Frida Hyvönen or even Anna Ternheim (for a non-Swedish example, let's use Joanna Newsom) and found them too edgy and/or leftfield, I think you should welcome Hello Saferide with open arms. She got that chart-topping MOR thing going on, that is both radio friendly and not too shallow. What a disappointment this album was.
- Simon Tagestam
Celestine produce a sound that I'd kinda call "joyous melancholy," if that isn't too contradictory. The music is strong and life-affirming, played with energy, but the dark undercurrent is quite palpable. This band hovers between epic balladry, moody slowcore and something a bit more eccentric, as on the texturally interesting "Masterpiece" and the ear-baiting title cut, on which vocalist Mattias Erikssen sings "Let me sleep through the night/Free from ghosts and creeps" softly, before the band kicks up quite a ruckus, enough to scare said creeps away. "Sunflower" would be a hit single if I ruled the world: it's a great chiming, rhythmic tune with breezy acoustic guitars, a harmonium (I think) and an affecting vocal. The vocals take a little getting used to (they're low and rather dour), but Mattias Olsson produced this disc with warmth and clarity, and the sound is consistent. No something you'd probably wanna hear daily, but God love bands like this for doing textural melancholy just right, for when you need it.
- Kevin Renick
This week's Friday pick comes from Kristofer Åström of his debut solo album "Go, went, gone" from 1998. I spent some time earlier this week going through my collection of Startracks CDs to get them ripped and added to the mp3 store, so I've also had them on rotation in my stereo for a few days now. It rained all day yesterday up here, so Kristofer's somber music provided the perfect soundtrack for a dark day. I'm so happy that I've moved north to a place where autumn truly exists - the leaves are changing to bright shades of red and yellow and there's smoke in the air from all the people using their fireplaces and woodstoves. Apples are plentiful and Halloween decorations are going up - the best time of year and the perfect melancholy music to match.
Stylus decrees the new HIM album to be average at best: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3415
Download the tune "San Francisco" from Hello Saferide: http://www.hellosaferide.com/mp3/hello_saferide-san_francisco.mp3
The lyrics sound horribly paranoid when you get down to it, but I must agree - SF is a very special place and unique among cities in North America. I miss it often.
Inge has decided to leave Totalt Jävla Mörker so he can focus solely on The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Read his full statement: http://www.totaltjavlamorker.com/
In other TJM news, the band recently finished pre-production on their next album with 23 songs recorded. No word yet on when the actual album recording will take place, but four of the demo tracks will be used on a 2x7" split with Human Waste due out before the end of the year.
Nils Petter Molvær has posted all the various European release dates for his new album "Er": http://www.nilspettermolvaer.no/2005/09/more-european-release-dates-for-er.html
Valley Days has posted a bunch of excellent demo tracks for download: http://valleydays.se/
As mentioned before, Valley Days is a band fronted by Emanuel Lundgren who has gotten some recent hype from his other new act I'm From Barcelona. Where IFB is full of rapturous joy, VD is much more subdued and melancholy. Both are very, very good, so be sure to check 'em out.
Sophie Rimheden's new self-titled album will be out on November 9 via her own Sophie Rimheden Productions. Various guests are slated to appear on the disc such as Kajsa Grytt, Marit Bergman, Johan Sigerud and Annika Holmberg who you can hear on the first single "Can you save me": http://www.rimhedenmedia.com/%7Esophie/rimheden_holmberg_can_you_save_me.mp3
Flora and Fauna reports that Sir Eric Beyond, the man with the ridiculous falsetto, has completed recording his debut full-length album. The first single "Democracy" will be out October 17.
Check out the video for "You don't need your god" from Dead Frog Records artist Tom Levin: http://www.tomlevin.com/Video.htm
The track comes from the new album "Me, my band that I älskar, Kasper and a bunch of friends" which came out September 28.
Bevlar has announced the winner and runners-up to their Cryo & Checkpoint Charlie - Resources Remix Competition: http://www.bevlarmusic.com/
Stockholm's Patrick Fridh was declared the winner with his "Fridh's Frosty Fairlight Remix" which will be released on October 3.
Hello Saferide