Black Lodge records has announced the signing of two new acts: Rutthna, originally the solo project of J. Kristensson from Thyrfing, and classic heavy-metal act Bullet. Bullet is currently recording their debut full-length at Euphony Studios for a late 2005 release and Rutthna's debut album "Doomsdaylight" is set for release in late May.
Splendid reviews the new Avarus collection on Tumult: http://www.splendidmagazine.com/review.html?reviewid=11141640191270066
PopMatters reviews the new Raveonettes album: http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/r/raveonettes-pretty.shtml
Stylus weighs in on the Raveonettes as well: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2982
I can finally confirm that Hydrahead will be releasing Logh's most recent album "A sunset panorama" in the US sometime later this year. There's no confirmed release date yet, but the American edition will also include the bonus DVD that came with the Bad Taste Records version.
Check out the video for "It is not sound" from Ulver: http://media.theendrecords.com/Ulver_ItIsNotSound_55mb.MOV
The track comes from the band's upcoming album "Blood inside", due out June 6 in Europe, July 12 in the US.
Rigas has a new mp3 posted today from their forthcoming album, due out in the fall on Flora and Fauna: http://rigas.blackside.org/music.htm
Swedish postrockers Talking to Drake recently posted three new songs for download from their "Spring EP":
01. Silence song
02. Take me for sure
03. Don't walk away
Good stuff, definitely worth checking out.
Acid House Kings
Do what you wanna do
Labrador
Acid House Kings' new EP is viciously sweet, there's no denying that, it knocks me right out of my brown corduroy pants. You see, brown corduroy pants are, just like Acid House Kings, very twee, but whereas "Do what you wanna do" (especially the Belle and Sebastian-esque "This heart is a stone") is excellent, brown corduroy pants are rather drab.
- Simon Tagestam
Chick Habit
More! More! More! More!
Silence
For me, the opening moments of a song are the most crucial when it comes to determining whether or not I'll give the rest of the CD a listen. With Chick Habit, this was the case. This Stockholm quintet play something that sounds similar to AC/DC but with a bit of '60s-inspired pop thrown in. It sounded great until the vocals came in. Lead singer Miléne Larsson's voice is unbearable to the point where it actually ruins the music behind it. I couldn't listen to it after the first track.
- Navy Keophan
Grapefruit and Bodybuilding
Grapefruit and innocense
self-released
Now this is interesting. Instrumental (sometimes) craziness with Nintendo-like melodies (sometimes) and complicated song structure (sometimes) and a lot of all indie rock sorts. From Post-Punk to Kraut rock and everything since then they cover a lot of ground. Does it all make sense? Probably not, but who really cares? It rocks!
- Simon Thibaudeau
Frida Hyvönen
Until death comes
Licking Fingers
After all the Scandinavian male singer/songwriters bombarding us in the last few years with their often boring drivel, it's refreshing to hear a girl release an album that turns all of those Kristofer Åström, Nicolai Dunger, and Sondre Lerche albums into dust. My favourite song here, at the moment, is "Once I was a serene teenaged child" which starts with the "did she just sing that word?"-couplet: "Once I was a serene teenaged child / Once I felt your cock against my thigh." The album is refreshingly varied and fortunately Frida's lyrics are equally excellent, and the album is most likely to figure in my "Top 10 Albums of 2005". Believe the hype!
- Simon Tagestam
Juniper
Demo
self-released
Singer-songwriter Juniper crafts here two little gems that foresees some beautiful songs in the future. Much like many of the (dumbest genre name ever) new folk movement, Juniper goes back to roots of simple acoustics and almost-cracking-but-just-shy voice that make it so engaging. Let's hope he continues on this path.
- Simon Thibaudeau
Last Amanda
s/t
self-released
Formulaic as possible Last Amanda are trying to tap into the quickly sinking alt-rock credo with their self-titled album. Somehow a cross between Foo Fighters (good) and 3 Doors Down (crrrrap!) Last Amanda use tried and true riff progression with very little originality but with a comendable fervor. I'd rather hear this than the previously mentioned Superman-loving band, but barely.
- Simon Thibaudeau