Despite what Adventure Of might temporarily convince you, brat doesn't come in as many flavors as one might think. Mining the well of youthful indiscretions that make The Tough Alliance tick, there isn't a synth, horn, or sentiment on "Malaika" or "Jehovah" That hasn't been done before. However, even while busy basking in the glory of its own electro retread, there are still enough guilty pleasures to get your ass out on the dance floor -- and clean out all trances of cynicism along the way. Not bad for a pair of singles.
Case in point? The particularly amusing, The Killers referencing, "Jehovah" b-side "Soul little body". "I've got soul and I am a soldier." My knee-jerk cynical response? "Congrats dude, you've just lapped Brandon Flowers in the Narcissism Olympics! Yea!" My actual response after the horns, monotone delivery, and tropical sentiment had time to settle in? Somewhere between elation and awkward head-bobbing. Point: Adventure Of. "A fluke!" the cynic might cry -- quick to mention The Embassy has been kicking around the same passive-cool beats for a while now. But perhaps the band says it best in "Anno domini": "If you're special then I'm special too." While it seems unlikely Adventure Of will be able to parlay their well-worn routine into anything more that a few high-energy quips, they'll have you believing the hype as long as the record spins. - Laura Studarus
Danish act Giana Factory has confirmed the release of their debut full-length "Save the youth" for September 21. Hear the first single "Rainbow girl" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gianafactory
Swedish cassette-only metal label has just released their first comp "Invocation of death" and are streaming a couple teaser samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deathinvocation
Swedish experimental label has announced the following releases for later this year:
Neghantil - tba (2xCS/box) Jasper TX - The black sun transmissions (CD/mp3) The Cray Twins (SCO) - The pier (CD/mp3) I Am A Vowel (UK) - Body curves 7"
There are other 7" projects in the works as well, along with an album from international artist Paul Baran and a new Göteborg-focused cassette compilation.
I can't think of any notable ska/rocksteady coming out of Sweden in recent years except maybe Club Killers, but this new Jasmine Kara single, the 2nd off her forthcoming record "Blues ain't nothing but a good woman gone bad" (due out July 28, the day after she appears on "Allsång På Skansen"), mops the floor with 'em. Most of her tunes are on more of a retro Sharon Jones/Motown-revival tip, but this one brings the island flavor and does it amazingly well. Seems kinda like an odd stylistic choice considering her obvious mainstream pop aspirations, though it's not as if I'm complaining, I'm just hoping she can pull it off. And with her autobiography ("Hälsa henne att hon ska dö") coming out in August as well, we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. Best of luck!
Direct video link: http://vimeo.com/12060510
Finnish punkrockers Wasted will be releasing a new EP in September called "Modern world is dead", their first new release since 2005's "Heroes amongst thieves".
has announced a few more new releases for August, besides the upcoming 4CD boxset version of "Timothy's monster" as previously discussed. First, they'll be doing a comp entitled "Twenty centuries of stony sleep" as release #100 which will feature "13 exclusive gems from 'old', more recent and new artists" and will be available on both CD and LP as well as an extra-special edition in 100 copies. No details on what that means exactly, but considering some of the label's other packaging, I'm sure it'll be way nice. They're also releasing Supersilent's new album "10" which contains the group's very first recordings as a trio, captured at Oslo's Rainbow Studio and said to be the "most acoustic offering" from the band yet.
Kinda weird to see Bob Lefsetz hyped about these guys, but hey, this track is way hot, so hot that apparently David Guetta straight ripped it off. As for me, I'm more into the instrumental take than the video version with Pharrell's vocals since I think the hook is strong enough to stand as an instrumental. Guess the big name recognition can't hurt though, so good for them if they can capitalize on it.
Torture Division's brand new EP "Evighetens dårar III" is now finished and posted for free download: http://www.torturedivision.net/news/evighetens-darar-iii-now-released
Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of most modern death metal, but these dudes do it right. If this new EP is anything like the last 2, it's well worth checking out.
Adventure Of