O'Spada - 10 strikes (video)
Check out the video for "10 strikes", the latest single from Swedish pop act O'Spada: http://vimeo.com/9024897
More, better Twitter integration
For the few of you out there who might be interested, I've added Twitter integration to label pages (see Adrian Recordings for example) and I've also updated it so I'm pulling profile pictures and am doing a better job at parsing links, including those @whoever tags and so on. Want more? Give me ideas, make requests. That goes for any/all site features -- I've got the content, now I'm looking for better ways to leverage it to suit your needs.
Next Life to support Owen Pallett
Next Life will be supporting Owen Pallett for a few European dates:
03/23 - Botanique, Brussels (BEL)
03/25 - Millennium Music Hall, Cardiff (UK)
03/26 - Koko, London (UK)
03/27 - The Deaf Institute, Manchester (UK)
Björn Kleinhenz April tour
New European tourdates for the always-wonderful Björn Kleinhenz:
04/03 - Be Chez Heinz, Hannover (GER)
04/04 - Hasenschaukel, Hamburg (GER)
04/07 - Klubhaus, Saalfeld (GER)
04/08 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
04/09 - Amp, Münster (GER)
04/10 - private show, Duisburg (GER)
04/11 - Motoki, Cologne (GER)
04/13 - Café Lübke, Trier (GER)
04/14 - D:qliq, Luxembourg (LUX)
04/22 - Club Eden, Ulm (GER)
04/24 - Meskal, Poznan (POL)
04/25 - BWA, Zielona Gora (POL)
04/26 - Falanster, Wroclaw (POL)
Morbus Chron - In obscuritas
Morbus Chron are streaming a new track on myspace from their just-completed demo "Splendour of disease": http://www.myspace.com/morbuschronband
This week's Last.fm chart
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Shout Out Louds
02. First Aid Kit
03. Jonathan Johansson
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Kent
06. The Magnetic Fields
07. Oh No Ono
08. Beach House
09. Loney, Dear
10. The Radio Dept.
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Brothers of End go international
Brothers of End will have their debut album "The end" released in Europe in March with other territories to follow including Greece, Romania, South Africa and South Korea. Details on labels and relase dates confirmed so far can be found here: http://www.brothersofend.se/licence-booking/
MP3: Next Life - Anti matter
I promised you something on Next Life in my recent mp3 post on labelmates Haust and I aim to deliver. Haust's side of the two bands' new split 12" on is pretty ruling, but Next Life ain't no slouches either. If pressured, I might even concede their side to be the better of the two, but let's not go there, alright? Let us stick to the facts: this release celebrates the mental/metal act's 10th year and marks the very first time they are joined by a human drummer on record, the very-capable Anders Hangård (ex-NoPlaceToHide). A few of the tracks are re-recordings of old material, a few are not, all are ridiculously concise math-metal ragers clocking in at two minutes or less. A full album of the group's full-throttle, video-game inspired music can be a bit much to take, but one side of a split EP is just about perfect as small doses inspire more repeat listens. And for a very small dose, here's opening cut "Anti matter". It's amazing how much action they pack into such a short amount of time.
Next Life - Anti matter
PopMatters reviews "Blackjazz"
PopMatters praises the new Shining album "Blackjazz": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/119585-shining-blackjazz/
The Megaphonic Thrift - Talks like a weed king
Hear a new song from The Megaphonic Thrift at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/megaphonicthrift
As mentioned yesterday, the band's new album "Decoy decoy" comes out March 1 via .
Free live recording from Svarte Greiner
Norwegian drone artist Svarte Greiner has a 45-minute live set posted for free download, recorded in Moscow last year: http://playmytape.net/page.php?id=85
Pitchfork reviews Anna Ternheim
Better late than never, Pitchfork reviews the US release of Anna Ternheim's "Leaving on a Mayday": http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13889-leaving-on-a-mayday/
Lindstrøm & Christabelle
Real life is no cool
Smalltown Supersound
The 80s sitcom that runs in Lindstrøm's head must be a good one. His punchy pianos and retrofitted synthesizers don't just wink and nod to some tinny ancestor, they're as at home in the era as the TV families that materialized behind the electro-cheese of their theme songs. If that's true, then "Real life is no cool", Lindstrøm's album with seductive Norwegian-Mauritian songstress Christabelle might as well be "Family Matters". Lindstrøm is the whitewashed theme, and Christabelle a young Laura Winslow, the pristinely beautiful center of attention. But while "Family Matters'" stiff and unsexy theme may be the most ill-matched theme of all time, Lindstrøm has no problem relating to Christabelle -- his retrograde stylings are an oddly synchronous fit for her breathy delivery. Nowhere is this faultless latticework more noticeable than on "Keep it up" and "High and low", two songs that tower above the album. On these, Christabelle's ineffable sexiness reigns supreme. Lindstrøm's vocal production here is a sort of anti-social enabler: the subtle cracks and pops of Christabelle's half-whispered consonants actually succeed at creating an air of intimacy. That's a massive compliment given that it's a dance album. So "High and low" and "Keep it up" are the consummate singles: they've got enough holdover from the spacey futurism of 2008's "Where I go you go too" to please the diehards, and enough short-form nostalgia to seduce the iTunes generation. But elsewhere on the album, Lindstrøm's backwards gaze becomes pure pastiche. "Baby can't stop" is an MJ retread without the slightest hint of distinction, and "Lovesick"'s Survivor bassline is just that -- a Survivor bassline. Ultimately, though, this album comes as good news to those of us who found Lindstrøm's earlier work too inscrutable or too lengthy for consumption. "Real life is no cool" distills Lindstrøm to sitcom-sized morsels of dance music deeply invigorated by the smoky sensuality of Christabelle's vocals.
- Nathan Keegan
Du - To bring down a house
is giving away the new Du track "To bring down a house": http://trustmerecords.com/nyheter/du-er-digg-og-vi-spanderer-free-download/