PopMatters reviews the reissue of the first Dungen album: http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/dungen-19992001.shtml
Paste (SWE) will be releasing a retrospective collection called "10 years of waste" this summer that will include thirteen old unreleased tracks all recorded during the band's first ten years.
LeGrand has posted some samples from their new self-titled album online: http://www.legrandmusic.com/
It comes out June 27 via Roastinghouse Records.
The new Burek V album "Make up" will be released on June 8 via a collaboration between Rhythm Ace Recordings, A West Side Fabrication and Border Music. A video for the title track is being shot with Mats Nordqvist (Niccokick, etc.) and should be released soon.
Realease has posted the brand new single from Reverend Big O for free download today. Head over to the label's website to check it out: http://www.realease.se/
Consequences
Please wait EP
self-released
Most of the members of the Swedish band Consequences are best known for backing others. Guitarist Daniel Jansson has worked with Anna Ternheim, while Mattias Areskog (bass), Niklas Korssel (drums) and Åsa Jacobsson (organ, piano) have logged time in Marit Bergman's backing band. Uniting with singer Jonas Heijkenskjöld just over a year ago, the quintet has just self-released its debut EP, "Please wait". Power pop with swirling organ and cheery backing vocals, the music of Consequences is undeniably catchy. Some of it, though, sounds too familiar. "Come on", interestingly enough, sounds quite a bit like "Come on, come on" by the Von Bondies, while the title track includes the lyrics "every breath you take/every move you make." Thankfully, the band saves the best for last. Heijkenskjöld's tired vocal delivery guides the impressive "Wasted under the stars" with a nod or two to Aussie band The Church. Jacobsson's organ drives the melody on the bittersweet "Don't hold back" - when Heijkenskjöld delivers the line "I can't wait for you forever" several times, he sounds like he means it. Consequences blend really well together. Hopefully they'll build on this and zero in on improving their songwriting.
- Matthew W. Smith
Eurosport
s/t EP
Songs I Wish I Had Written
Sweden already got The Embassy, The Knife, Three Is A Crowd, The Tough Alliance etc, and now they got Eurosport to add to the list of bands that make great electronic pop music. This CD has three tracks on it, and two of them ("Tell no one about tonight", "Shaking a lot") are near perfection. This is music for lazy Sunday afternoons, this is music for drinking lots of alcohol to, this is music to fuck to. Does that sound contradictory? It's not.
- Simon Tagestam
Fint Tillsammans
s/t
Silence
This is the third full-length platter from Sweden's Fint Tillsammans, and it's a quirky, hour-long delight. The trio sing in Swedish, which might be tough on some listeners (not THIS one, though). But there's so much variety in the music-which ranges from jangly folk-pop to romantic ballads to oddball art rock-that all but those who like staring at a lyric sheet while listening should be able to enjoy it. There are 17 tunes, crafted with subtlety and ingenuity by Henrik Wiklund, Martin Stensö and Henrik Svensson. When I make notes for a review, I usually mark a little star next to tunes that rise above the norm. Ten FT songs earned that distinction for me, which is pretty impressive. Among the highlights: the infectious rhythm, subtle vocals and zippy burst of retro-sounding guitar on "Somna om", the amusing "Dududududududu", the wistfully lovely ballad "Tank om", the timeless-sounding melody and clear, intimate vocal on "Regnet regnar langsamt" (a good one to play for your date if you wanna create a romantic mood) and the foot-tapping charmer Track 9 (the real title is just too long to type). This is one of many driving songs that illustrate what a great rhythm section this band has; bass and drums are spot on, throughout. Fint Tillsammans have pretty much made a classic here, a diverse record that doesn't fit neatly into any categories except "Scandinavian," and I always love it when that happens.
- Kevin Renick
The First Miles
Aim for the heart, go!
Little Bad Bear
So last night Avi gave me The First Miles "Aim for the heart, go!" to review, sort of as a game, but good lordy, it turned so serious because this is like the best album I have gotten in ages and ages. I LOVE this folky/rocky/Americana album. The first time I listened to it, I immediately liked it. By the ninth or tenth time, I was pretty positive that I would play nothing else in my stereo for a couple of weeks at least. Jeppe Foldager's voice gets better and better with every listen, deep and sorrowful, but somehow always hopeful. Like he is smiling sweetly despite of a breaking heart - and well maybe he is, after all, this seems to be the theme of the album. "Aim" starts off with super catchy and poppy song that lures you in and makes you bop your head and smile and then you realize, "Oh. He's sad." But amazingly you are happy and you stay happy, dear listener, all the way through this musical journey of love and loss and longing. And you relate to it, because who hasn't felt the terror of loving someone so much that you just don't feel safe and sometimes you just need their reassurance? Because love is scary and committing to love is scary and yet, you do it and you don't give up. And there could be no better album to sum that up- sometimes quiet, sometimes forceful, always soulful, a voice so deep, guitars so smooth, and an occasional banjo so perfectly twanged. So you will listen to it over and over, like me. And, like me, you will find yourself at times introspective, at times just relaxed and simply loving the noises coming through your speakers, but always you will be smiling sweetly. The First Miles even manage to pull off a duet "Baby baby baby baby baby baby baby, I love you" in the middle of the album and I usually hate duets, but this song is amazing. Annemarie Jensen's voice is kinda quirky and Foldager's so deep and they balance each other out perfectly by not fitting but somehow fitting together perfectly and you just kinda think, "yeah, that IS love..." This album is incredible. And if you don't trust me, trust Avi. He likes it tons too.
- Kelly Hoover
The Lost Patrol Band
s/t
Burning Heart Records
I loved Refused. I found The (International) Noise Conspiracy intriguing in the very beginning of their career, before they turned extremely boring. I liked the first Lost Patrol album and wasn't too keen on the second one. What about this new album from the ever-so-creative Dennis Lyxzén then? Well, there's none of the slower beautiful stuff that can be found on "Songs in the key of resistance", and too many songs sound like something by T(I)NC. Surprisingly enough, there are 5 fantastic pop songs on this album, that in a fair world should all be released simultaneously worldwide, then all entering the top 5 all over the globe (with "Golden times" occupying the #1 spot everywhere, of course).
- Simon Tagestam
David Sandström Overdrive
Go down!
Mofab Teg
If musical differences were a part of Refused breaking up, it's funny how, now sever years after the split, Dennis Lyxzén (with The Lost Patrol Band) and David Sandström are making pretty similar music (melodic rock). David and Dennis should really re-ignite their partnership and form a new band, Dennis would surely benefit from David's impressive songwriting ability, and Dennis could bring his "commercial appeal" to the table. Enough of this wishful thinking now and let's review this album - David Sandström's third album is in the same vein as his last great album, but whereas "The dominant need for the needy soul" shot of in all directions, "Go down!" feels more like a proper and solid album. This aspect alone makes "Go down!", in my opinion, an even better record than its predecessor.
- Simon Tagestam