New Johnossi in April
Johnossi will release their third album in April.
New EP from The Silent Section on the way
Danish goth-rockers The Silent Section have a new EP coming out December 24 via called "The curtains come down in flames". Said EP will feature 4 brand new unheard tracks recorded the same time as recent album "A final delirium" for a total of 40 minutes and will either be available in a limited edition of 30 hand-numbered copies or as a free download via the label's website.
New Peter Morén single confimed for January 11
Peter Morén's debut Swedish-language solo single will be released on January 11. Expect previews to come online soon after New Year's.
The Drawbacks streaming new EP
Swedish indie/powerpop act The Drawbacks have a new 4-song EP streaming at myspace called "There are no brand new starts": http://www.myspace.com/wearethedrawbacks
Howl - Misdemeanors (video)
Norwegian rock act Howl has a new video for the song "Misdemeanors": http://vimeo.com/8241402
Thomas Denver Jonsson - Svalbard
Thomas Denver Jonsson is streaming a new track at myspace from his forthcoming album "Arctic": http://www.myspace.com/thomasdenverjonsson
Agent Side Grinder
Irish recording tape
Enfant Terrible
This is one of a duo of albums released simultaneously by the Swedish new wave minimalists and it adheres to more conventional song structures than its companion "The transatlantic tape project". The album is firmly ensconced in the retro cyber-punk quirkiness of the 1980s and, through its idiosyncratic outlook, finds its niche in the Krautrock movement. There's plenty on offer here, from the uneasy industrial catatonia of opener "Pulse" to the pop-pogo beats of "Die to live" to the abstract happiness of "Eyes of the old". It's littered with a Cold War clinicism that keeps the album rooted in that era despite the fact that the world-at-large is years ahead of that age (or so we're led to believe). The likes of "The screams" and "Telefunk" wouldn't sound out of place on an early John Carpenter soundtrack (if the vocals were removed) and that's an added bonus in my book. I'll not say that Agent Side Grinder are doing anything new when it comes to a genre known for its penchant for innovation, but the fact that they've stripped things right back to their roots -- that they sound authentically old-school -- may well be their own form of experimentation. Far from unique but, surely, that's the point.
- John Norby
MP3: Björn Kleinhenz - Fårö
All we long for / is blissful living
Come hear the clarity / Of our whistling
The final track of Björn Kleinhenz's excellent "B.U.R.M.A." album, a succint examination of his time spent on the namesake island and also, in my opinion, one of the more beautiful songs I've heard this year. As I touched on in my top 10 list, Björn is a prolific songwriter of consistently high quality, but he far exceeded all expectations with the two albums he released this year and I couldn't be happier for him. I'm proud to be a supporter.
Björn Kleinhenz - Fårö
Avner - Besatt / Bed för mig (kjj edit)
There's a new Avner/jj video/remix thing at : http://www.sincerelyyours.se/video/yours0125.html
Also check out the new Avner video for "Besatt": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTY2ebXYqbQ
Top 10 Icelandic albums of 2009
Music blog I ♥ Icelandic Music lists their top albums of 2009: http://icelandicmusic.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-10-icelandic-albums-of-2009.html
New Haust coming in May
The new Haust album "Powers of horror" will be released in May via Fysisk Format.
Project Hopeless is over
Project Hopeless are being laid to rest and will play their final show at Malmö Punkfest on January 29: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=62987085&blogId=523026978
Presenting: TOW (ex-Breach)
Ex-Breach vocalist Tomas Liljedahl has a new band: http://www.myspace.com/theoldwind