Jóhann Jóhannsson lives in a world haunted by ghostly choirs, lonely hums, ominous silence, and the occasional thunderclap. On "And in the endless pause there came the sound of bees", the Icelandic composer's newest full-length, he takes his cinematic leanings to an all-time high. It works beautifully, even when divorced from source material (Marc Craste's BAFTA-nominated animated short film "Varmints")
While "City building" features the delicious urgency of driving strings, the descriptor that could best be applied to the majority of the album is glacial, which, it should be noted, is used as a compliment. Jóhannsson teases out his undercurrent of sadness through thirteen tracks, underscoring it with pervasive wistful highlights such as "Rainwater" and "The gift". Thematic, without falling into Philip Glass repetition, spare without becoming dull, Jóhannsson's pristine sensitivity and light touch has the power to elevate both film and life alike. - Laura Studarus
Now that Fy Fan's "Åh nej" 7" EP is completely sold out, the band is streaming it at myspace in its entirety: http://www.myspace.com/fyfanpunk
Look for a new EP from the band on in the near future.
Careful, you're veering awfully close to funky jamband territory there and I doubt it'd take much to send y'all careening over the edge. Definitely picking up some early Red Hot Chili Peppers punk-funk vibes too, which I must admit, give me pause. Can't deny there's a proper time and place to bust out those sorta jams, though I'm not so sure that location exists in my life anymore. Still, despite "Protection" being merely a so-so track, I do actually like The Je Ne Sais Quoi's new record "Transparent for you all". Definitely rougher than 2007's "Rhythm" which I liked a lot; sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not. I'd say it's a transitional work.
reports that they'll be releasing the new Optic Nest LP "Entertainment" this summer along with the debut 7" "Distractions" from "funk-falsetto boyscout" CMG (also in The Je Ne Sais Quoi) plus a cassette from Evil Moisture. Samples via myspace: http://www.myspace.com/moptacodics
is giving away a track from the forthcoming Cats on Fire EP/singles collection "Dealing in antiques": http://www.indiepages.com/matinee/sounds/cats09.mp3
Said track is called "Your woman" and is a cover of UK act White Town. As for the CD, the official release date is May 12 and more info can be found here: http://www.indiepages.com/matinee/
Finland's Hebosagil, one of favorite acts and also one of the heaviest, will be releasing a split 7" with fellow Finns Two Beats Off this summer. Hebosagil's contribution will be the single track "Polku" while TBO will provide three cuts, one of which is streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tbofinland
US label will be compiling all of Anchor's various 7" and EP tracks for an LP release later this year, along with a new 7". No release date yet, but the band plans to come back over to tour in support sometime after summer.
This track is an obvious ripper, but there are two highlights worth mentioning, both of which I presume were off the cuff. First, when D. Forn Bragman says "Do it!" coming back in from the guitar break, echoing the hidden command from the Judas Priest subliminal message trial. And then, before the solo -- one word: "hate!" It doesn't get much more metal than that.
This track comes from the band's split 12" with UK crust act Alehammer, released late last year via . Tyrant's 4 tracks are all worthy contributions to their discography; as for the flip, the slightly amusing title + cover art is as good as it gets.
Since I've been able to successfully secure my own copies already, I'm happy to report that 's upcoming 3xLP vinyl discography collections for Swedish death metal acts Uncanny and Crypt of Kerberos are now available for preorder: http://www.darksymphonies.com/thecrypt/shop.html
Having recently picked up both the Pan-Thy-Monium and Epitaph reissues (reviews coming soon-ish), I can assure you that they do an amazing job with these collections. Not only do they sound great, but the packaging is superb.
Singapore's continues their acquisition of Sweden's death metal elite by picking up Crucifyre as the latest addition to their roster. The band has existed since 2006 and features an all-star cast including Erik Tormentor Sahlström (General Surgery, Maze Of Torment), TG (The Sun, Morbid), Urban Skytt (Regurgitate, Nasum), Henrik Doltz Nilsson (Dobermann Cult) and Yasin Hillborg (Afflicted). Look for their debut full-length to be released later this year.
Swedish electronic indie/folk/pop act Väärt will release their debut album "Sommarfågel" on May 26 via . Hear some samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/vaartmusik
Gaffa has full tracklist details (including guest vocalists) for the new Trentemøller album "Into the great wide yonder", due out May 31: http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/39107
Mattias Alkberg gives up on chords, posts a new song: http://www.mabd.se/?p=595
Also, note that recording for the next Bear Quartet album will soon be underway.
Jóhann Jóhannsson