Sharif has started a blog: http://sharif.webblogg.se/
Preorder the US version of the new Logh album and get a sweet deal on a t-shirt or an iPod slipcase: https://secure.bluecollardistro.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=HHI&Category_Code=CURRENT
Still no official word on a tour yet, but hopefully something will come together soon. As said before, Logh is one my favorite bands, so of course the new album is highly recommended.
Check out some tracks from Swedish one-man "romantic pop" act Elenette: http://handgranat.org/elenette/musik
Note that all songs are encoded in the open-source OGG format, not mp3.
Swedish rockers Corduroy Kings have some free tracks for download: http://www.corduroy-kings.com/ (click the second pic down on the left)
MP3: Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
I'm going to do something a little different this week and post tracks from a few up-and-coming demo acts. A lot of them have already made their music available for free download, but since it's so easy to miss stuff, I'm gonna take the time to highlight some recent favorites. First up today is Samuraj Cities from Göteborg. They've got kind of a fuzzy-Radio Dept. thing going on, but with a darker sense of melody. And hey, if you like this song, there's five more over at their website. Enjoy!
Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
Amandine
This is where our hearts collide
Fat Cat
Many of my closest friends are highly devoted, but I've never a massive fan of the somewhat "hip" English label Fat Cat. I can definitely see what the fuss is about though, since Fat Cat keeps on releasing stuff from some of the most interesting bands around (i.e. Animal Collective). My relationship with Fat Cat might change this autumn though, now when they're about to release two wonderful albums – one by Vashti Bunyan and another one by the Swedish band Amandine. Since this website is about Scandinavian music only, the following will be about the latter band. "This is where our hearts collide" is crammed with marvelous songs that have a hint of Will Oldham over them, but they're more indie than alt.country, and with my admiration for Will Oldham subduing a bit lately, Amandine give me those melancholy feelings that you so insanely cherish.
- Simon Tagestam
Ingvild Hasund
Demo
self-released
Usually when I get a demo from an unsigned act, I keep my expectations fairly low. I try to just listen for the artist's POTENTIAL, and not concern myself much with the undeveloped ideas or primitive mixes I expect to hear. Imagine my surprise then, when I played this rapturous 4-song demo by Norway's Ingvild Hasund. These are immaculately crafted, exquisitely produced tracks that sound like the work of a veteran performer, NOT someone shyly offering their first demos. I'm just blown away by this girl, truly. Hasund's music falls into a sort of jazzy pop vein, with touches of textured electronica and a beguiling aura of romantic yearning. There's also a subtle theatrical flair to Hasund's delivery which makes it easy to imagine her onstage in a Broadway musical, one that would likely keep an audience enthralled. It's hard not to get overwhelmed by emotion listening to the surprisingly lush orchestration on "So much to say", on which Hasund's voice bears just a hint of a less hyper Björk. The knob marked MAGIC was clearly turned up to the HIGH position in the studio for the sweetly melodic "Little song" and "All on a normal day" is a beautiful collision between noirish trip hop and cinematic jazz. This demo is honestly one of the best things I've heard this year, and Hasund deserves a record contract from a major right this minute.
- Kevin Renick
Junior Senior
Hey hey my my yo yo
Crunchy Frog
To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from the follow-up to 2002's "D-d-don't stop the beat". Granted, I heard bits and pieces of Junior Senior's debut and got a good feel for what they were doing. It was fun, catchy and made you move. On their latest album, they take all of that and turn up the fun to 11. Combining late-'70s disco and '50s doo-wop harmonies was something I thought would never work, but they do a magnificent job of it, especially on tracks like "I like music", "No no no's" and "Ur a girl". With the addition of Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson of The B-52's and Le Tigre doing lead and backing vocals - yes, that's Kathleen Hanna's voice doing lead vocals on "Dance, chance, romance"), it kept things very interesting. My brother sticks by his claim that this is "the happiest album I've heard all year." Definitely a winner.
- Navy Keophan
The Lovekevins
Blame the English 7"
self-released
I'm not really sure what we're supposed to blame the English for. Coldplay? Steak and kidney pie? Tony Blair? But I do know that The Lovekevins are a new upcoming band from Sweden, and they're excellent! I've been blessed to see them twice this summer, and both of those performances blew me away. This seven inch got three excellent poppy songs that are so catchy it hurts, and one ("Taking David (by strategy)") that's sounds much murkier (a tiny bit like Radio Dept.), but it's nonetheless great - just too bad it's so short. If The Lovekevins will ever release an album that will put both of these sides of them on display, I'm certain it's going to be magnificent.
- Simon Tagestam
Paynbird
The street of seven stars
Illusion Records
Any time I find out about a new artist from Bergen, Norway, I immediately snap to attention, since several of my all-time favorite Scandi acts come from there. And Bergen is well established as one of the most amazingly creative places in the music world. So now the city gives us Paynbird and their debut album "The street of seven stars". Comparisons don't immediately come to mind, but the band offers a leisurely paced brand of introspective, jangly indie rock that blends acoustic and electric guitars roughly equally. Vocalist Kjersti Olsen has presence and emotional focus, although I wouldn't call hers a "classic voice" (it's just a shade too weary). But the arrangements are appealing and the production typically bright and clear. Three listens reveal this album to be a real grower, the kind of thing that'll insinuate itself into your subconscious and sound really great on some moody afternoon. Gotta love that Nordic melancholy!
- Kevin Renick
Today's Friday oldie comes from Abhinanda off their final album "The rumble", originally released back in 1998 on Desperate Fight Records (No, I'm not writing in the straight-edge Xs). The band started off as kind of a generic moshcore band (as was the fashion in the mid-90s) before finally figuring out what they needed to do to be awesome, releasing one last record and then breaking up. Gee, haven't heard that story before, right? I actually don't really know that much about these dudes otherwise, but they were definitely a fixture of Umeå's legendary hardcore scene of the time. Not many bands of the era aged well, but Abhinanda's rocked-out sound holds up just fine. Tons of gang-vocal shouts, a fierce stop-and-go rhythm section and just enough melody and dissonance to keep things interesting. Best of all, it's fun. Now why aren't there more bands like this today?
This week's YLE X3M video chart:
01. Kent - Den döda vinkeln (SWE)
02. The Rasmus - No fear (FIN)
03. Smak - Vesi tulvii sisään (FIN)
04. Poets of the Fall - Lift (FIN)
05. Järjestyshäiriö - Pidä huivista kii (FIN)
06. Korpiklaani - Kädet siipinä (FIN)
07. Children of Bodom - In your face (FIN)
08. HIM - Wings of a butterfly (FIN)
09. Spiha - Planet horse (FIN)
10. Crashdiet - Riot in everyone (SWE)
Challengers:
11. Bloodpit - Platitude (FIN)
12. Alice in Videoland - Badboy (SWE)
13. Paperboys - Keep it cool (NOR)
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Peter LeMarc - Sjutton sånger - LeMarc sjunger LeMarc
02. Louise Hoffsten - From Linköping to Memphis
03. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
04. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
05. Laleh - Laleh
06. Tommy Nilsson - Tiden Före Nu
07. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
08. Ebba Grön - Samlingen
09. Musikal - Mamma Mia
10. Peps Blodsband - Äntligen!
11. Robyn - Robyn
12. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
13. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
14. CajsaStina Åkerström - De vackraste orden
15. Crashdïet - Rest in Sleaze
16. Toni Holgersson - Tecken på liv
17. Carola - Störst av allt
18. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao!
19. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta Ballader
20. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
Guitarist Anni has left The Models. The ladies will continue on as a three-piece.
Nina Persson of The Cardigans contributes some guest vocals on the upcoming Christian Kjellvander album "Faya", due out October 19. Read more: http://www.cardigans.com/?sid=article&pid=read&id=3073