01. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
02. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
03. Björn Skifs - Da capo
04. Sophie Zelmani - I'm the rain
05. Rigmor Gustafsson & Radio String Quartet Vienna - Calling you
06. Treat - Coup de grace
07. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
08. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland
09. Kent - Röd
10. Torgny Melin - Dansbandsnatt
11. Neo - Human frontier
12. Bruket - En annan klass
13. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
14. Erik Grönwall - Erik Grönwall
15. Reeperbahn - Samlade singlar
16. Nordman - Korsväg
17. Zekes - En sån natt
18. Claes Lövgrens - Vi lever nu
19. Calle Kristiansson - Calle Kristiansson
20. Tomas Andersson Wij - Spår
has released a new 12" single from The Je Ne Sais Quoi featuring a 10-minute version of "Protection" off their forthcoming record "Transparent for you all" along with a Richard Brain remix of the same. 300 copies, more info here: http://www.moptacodics.com/
Norwegian prog act The Opium Cartel is giving away a 3-track digital EP featuring an alternative mix of "Beach house" as handled by Mike Senior (Wet Wet Wet, The Charlatans, Nigel Kennedy) plus two bonus tracks from the vinyl edition of "Night blooms": https://rcpt.yousendit.com/842061357/ed2ee79dc0b806f0dfa05a585a7610d1
Critics are apt to hear "Dada bandits" opener "Goji berries" and label Rubik as frenzied pop auteurs, a sort of Scandinavian Animal Collective. And "Goji berries" does go from screamo-addled Beatles to punchy-drunk keys punctuated by Sufjan flutes, to a Dan Bejar saloon romp that segues into a typically eastern Beirut horn jam. While "Goji"'s schizoid scheme is certainly noteworthy -- it seamlessly switches gears and genres while never betraying its Nordic pop sensibility -- it's hardly metonymical of the album at large. Yes, Rubik's "Bandits" lifts considerably from all of the best in blog-ready sounds, but they do so with the canvases of entire songs. What results is not, strangely, a sugar-coated Scando take on guitar indie, but a rolodex of an album with a virtuoso aesthetic. Rarely is a musical contact called upon twice, and even after repeated listens, you're left reeling at the incredible scope of an album that's stacked like the Yankees.
"Goji berries" phantom-tempo midsection precedes the Canadian guitar battalion of "Radiants", "Wasteland" borrows Idioteque percussion before settling for an anthemic power pop chorus. "Fire Age" and "Richard Branson's crash landing" are album highlights, the former plotting Stars' vocals around a ska-synth breakdown, the latter a glimpse of Scandinavian twee perfection. Its swirling synths wash beneath upbeat melodies and falsetto-and-horns chorus to convince you that this is what Loney Dear's "Dear John" should have been. Rubik reloads and refires, each song an impressive foray into new sonic territory, strung together by catchy hooks and wiry guitars, underpinned by the astonishing depth of the arrangements. It's only on the fifth or six listen that you even hear the complex synth arpeggios buried under "Karhu junassa", or the jaunty riffs beneath "Fire age".
There's little bad to be said about this album. The mix occasionally favors layered instrumentation over Artturi Taira's vocals -- much of the album finds Taira swimming in his own arrangements. While that's likely a tactic to secure more Finnish listeners in their native country, it obscures the beauty of Taira's lyrics. His voice can adequately be characterized as "British Effeminate" indicative of all of those post-Radiohead mope-and-hope rockers that plagued the aughts in Western Europe. But Taira's falsetto exchanges their currency of faux-pathos for a well-placed sense of urgency, his yelps best on "Karhu junassa" and "Radiants" when buttressed by instrumental imitation.
So where is this album? It's tailored for the blogs in almost every way, it has registered heaps of e-praise, yet Rubik has no plans to return to North . Maybe this album will be saved from obscurity by a forward-thinking movie director or cell-phone marketing exec, and maybe it won't. I might just like it better if it remains a diamond in the rough -- quietly pretending to 2010's indie throne. - Nathan Keegan
Way more exciting than a potential ABBA reunion, but even still kinda underwhelming: renown recluse artist Jakob Hellman will once again grace the live stage on an 80s reunion tour under the banner "Forever Young" alongside Reeperbahn (and Alphaville): http://www.foreveryoung2010.se/
Still no plans for a new album and personally, I think it's better that way.
Swedish jazz label hasn't put out anything new since May of 2009, but they're coming back in full effect this spring with a tremendous lineup of new albums:
Mats Öberg Trio - So very Mats (out now) Nicolai Dunger & Jonas Kullhammar - Vallmo OST (180g vinyl only, 300 copies) Kullrusk - Digital (180g vinyl only, 525 copies) Nacka Forum - Leve Nacka Forum (also vinyl only, I think) Jonas Kullhammr Quartet - Från och med herr Jonas Kullhammar Espen Aalberg Trio feat. Jonas Kullhammar & Torbjörn Zetterberg - tba Zanussi Five - Ghost dance The Core - tba Magnus Broo - tba Gilbert Holmströms Kvintett - Utan misstankar (Remastered reissue, first time on CD w/20min bonus track feat. Åke Johansson)
Please note that aside from the vinyl releases which I saw listed in Hot Stuff's newsletter, the information provided from the label is vague and possibly subject to change.
I still remember, though I'm getting awfully impatient about a new album/single/anything. "Pretty scary silver fairy" is one of my favorite Nordic pop albums, but it's 4 years old now and aside from Robyn, I don't think I've heard anything else since then that can touch it. So what's the deal? Did drop the ball? That seems likely, as I'm sure those post-Idol contracts are brutally restrictive. Or did you simply move on to other things? That too is understandable. Still, I'd just like to know one way or the other.
Not brand new news, but new to me: the always awesome Mikko Singh (also a member of Will Gambola Sing) has changed the name of his solo project to Haleiwa. See his new website: http://haleiwamusic.com/
Look for his new album "Pure vida dude" to be released soon and listen to a sample on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mikkosingh
Does anyone buy records anymore? I sure do, in fact I just got a few copies of Isolation Years' 12" EP "Snoose Boulevard" on /. Five songs on one side, an etching on the other, more info here: http://www.burnttoastvinyl.com/new/releases/btv075.html
Want one? Burnt Toast is selling 'em for $7 so I'll one-up and mark it down to $6 (plus s/h). Get in touch!
Rubik