It's a Trap! Scandinavian music journal

Stream "Tomorrow, in a year"

The Knife's entire new album "Tomorrow, in a year" is now available for streaming at the band's website: http://theknife.net/

Starflower - You king (video)

Finnish act Starflower have a new video for the song "You king": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAB20zz-aDI

Tord Gustavsen Ensemble coming to the US

The Tord Gustavsen Ensemble album "Restored, returned", recently nominated for a Spellemannprisen, will get a North American release on February 9 via ECM. The entire group will also be coming over for a couple shows in March:

03/28 - San Francisco Jazz Festival
03/31 - Merkin Concert Hall, NYC

More info here: http://player.ecmrecords.com/gustavsen

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. Jonathan Johansson
02. Kent
03. jj
04. Shout Out Louds
05. Joel Alme
06. Lake Heartbeat
07. El Perro del Mar
08. The xx
09. The Soundtrack of Our Lives
10. Markus Krunegård

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/

Tortyr
Ingen kommer undan
D-takt & Råpunk

There's not really that much to say about Sweden's Tortyr other than if you like your crust bassy and dirty as hell then you'll love them. Musically, they're a mix of punk and crust with a tiny hint of death metal that goes a long way to surpassing the likes of genre luminaries Skitsystem in the heaviness stakes. As with a lot of this type of music, however, it tends to get a bit samey after a few tracks. Thankfully, Tortyr do offer a little in the way of variation, although not nearly enough. "De blindas lakej" kicks off like an oldschool Swedish death metal effort, and doesn't sound a million miles away from something you'd expect from an early-90s Entombed. For me, at least, it's the track of the album and showcases an aspect of this band that they should really explore. Vocally, there's some work to be done here. It's just too shouty-screamy and, although that's the style generally used for this type of music, it's clear that these guys would benefit greatly from the odd death-growl passage here and there. It's more of this type of variation -- both musically and vocally -- that could elevate Tortyr to greater recognition and see them output a truly monstrous album. Here's hoping for next time...
- John Norby

Pintandwefall - Jail (video)

Pintandwefall have a new video for the song "Jail": http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=102517436&release=103119442

Last night in Stockholm

But what's this I hear about a harmonica?

Zacke debut coming in February

Swedish hip-hop artist Zacke will release his debut album "Visst är det vackert" on February 3 via BD Pop.

Tv-resistori - Voi ei, ei voi olla totta

Tv-resistori have a new song posted for free download: http://www.fonal.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=815&p=2065#2065

New Kristofer Åström website

Kristofer Åström has a new website: http://kristoferastrom.com/

Joensuu 1685 to support Wolf Parade

CORRECTION: Apparently this news is premature as the tour is not yet confirmed and the dates/venues are incorrect. I'll be sure to post an update when I get the real details.

Joensuu 1685 will be supporting Wolf Parade on tour in May:

05/16 - Les Nuit de Botanique, Brussels (BEL)
05/17 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK)
05/18 - The Forum, London (UK)
05/19 - Oran Mor, Glasgow (UK)
05/20 - Vicar Street, Dublin (IE)
05/21 - Club Academy, Manchester (UK)
05/22 - Tivoli De Helling, Rotterdam (NL)

Serena-Maneesh - I just want to see your face

MBV has a new track from Serena-Maneesh posted for free download: http://www.mbvmusic.com/2010/01/27/new-serena-maneesh-mp3-i-just-want-to-see-your-face/20895

PopMatters reviews Hypocrisy

PopMatters reviews the latest Hypocrisy album "A taste of extreme divinity": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/118764-hypocrisy-a-taste-of-extreme-divinity/
Personally, I think that Peter Tägtgren's production is always terribly flat and plastic and has ruined way too many would-be decent albums, so I have very little interest in checking this out. Adrien Begrand says underrated, I say over.

Aversionline digs Obliteration

Aversionline wisely gives props to Obliteration: http://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2010/01/27/obliteration-nekropsalms-cd/

Steppeulv a no-go

Soundvenue reports that the Steppeulv, the Danish music critics' prize, has been cancelled for this year: http://www.soundvenue.com/nyheder/2010/01/27/ingen-steppeulv-i-aar (in Danish)