Finland's Viola has been downsized by half as Anu and Esa have been asked to leave the band. Remaining members Tommi and Riku will continue on as a duo as the positions of keyboards and bass will not be replaced. Otherwise, the upcoming record featuring the old lineup will still be released as planned in November. Read more: http://www.ifsociety.com/viola/news.php?newsid=19
Threadless is having a t-shirt design contest for the Shout Out Louds: http://threadless.com/loves/ShoutOutLouds
Lupatarkastaja posts about Lighthouse Project, a new Finnish hardcore band: http://lupatarkastaja.samizdat.info/2005/07/18/lighthouse-project-demo-2005/
Swedish rockers Thunder Express are now doing Q&A in their guestbook: http://www.thunderexpress.se/guestbook.asp
Swedish punks To What End? will be hitting the UK for a few dates in September:
09/01 - Ryan's Bar, London w/Flyblown, more
09/02 - The Fenton, Leeds w/Flyblown, No Substance, Burning the Prospect, The Mingers
09/03 - The Junction, Bristol w/Flyblown, Cruelty
No One Here is Asking posts about Swedish dirt-rockers Blackshine: http://discodeath.blogspot.com/2005/07/blackshine-soulless-proud.html
New mp3 today from Monkeystrikes, the band fronted by Cecilia Nordlund. A lot of you probably first heard Cecilia from her duet with Marit Bergman on "Adios amigos", but some of you might also remember her from her mid-90s indierock act Souls. Monkeystrikes' debut album "You hate my beautiful love" has been out for a little while already, but I've only just started to really get into it. It's interesting to hear just how much Cecilia has grown over the years, both as a vocalist/performer and as a songwriter. The new material manages to strike a perfect balance between the bombast of her earlier material and a new-found pop sensibility, all rounded out by her strong personality. It's especially apparent on songs like the one I've posted today - what starts as a pretty little love tune takes a turn for the morbid for verse two and then returns to the chorus hook to build and repeat until it wraps up at just over 3 minutes. The whole album is just stock full of gems like this and I can't recommend it enough. Check it out.
This week's MTV UpNorth video chart:
01. Midnight Monkeys - Monkeys On Attack
02. Division Of Laura Lee - Dirty Love
03. Peshi - Hush Hush
04. Darin - Why Does It Rain
05. Ane Brun / Ron Sexsmith - Song No. 6
06. JR Ewing - Fucking & Champagne
07. Jori Hulkkonen - Lo Fiction
08. Hellacopters - Everything's On TV
09. Amerika - Big City Boy
10. Lene Marlin - How Will It Be
11. Östermalm - Le Åt Allt
12. Soak The Sin - Hands Up
13. Spånka NKPG - Livin Lovin Dancing
14. Cheek - Liiku
15. Movies - The Fool
16. Mary Onettes - Make Me Last
17. Timbuktu - Det Löser Sig
18. Håkan Hellström - Dom Kommer Kliva På Dig Igen
19. Jim Stärk - Going Down That Lonely Road
20. Robyn - Be Mine
Challengers:
01. Madrugada - Stories From The Streets
02. Apulanta - Pahempi Toistaan
03. Lilyjets - Going Blind
04. Röyksopp - Only This Moment
05. Rigo - Say Say Say
Go here to vote for your favorite: http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=4753
The Swedesplease mp3 blog is offering up an exclusive download of the new single from The Help Me Please: http://swedesplease.blogspot.com/2005/07/exclusive-new-single-from-help-me.html
Stylus gives a thumbs-up to Melody Club: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3196
Gustaf Kjellvander has signed with Adrian Recordings after one album on Startracks with his band The Fine Arts Showcase. He's moving to England next week, but will be back in Sweden soon to record a new album with Mathias Oldèn of Logh producing and the esteemed Pelle Gunnerfeldt mixing.
The website for the excellent Finnish electronic/noise label Some Place Else (Skorpio, Orvo, etc.) has been updated with a slightly new look: http://www.someplaceelse.net/