Viola - No connection
Viola's new download single for the month of November is now available: http://www.violamusicclub.com/
The song is called "No connection" and is the final edition of their "autumnal triptych of holy melancholy."
Swedish Columbia giving away Ungt Blod EP, more
Upstart techno label Swedish Columbia, an offshoot of the same folks who run/ran Carcrash Records, is giving away the new Ungt Blod EP "Hunger" as a free download via Bandcamp: http://ungtblod.bandcamp.com/
Also check out the video for the track "Fadren" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6iACCe5btU
The label has also signed Gbg-based artist L.A. Diamond, a solo act from one of the dudes behind Blandmissbruk/BMK) and will be releasing his debut single "Bounce" later this month.
Scraps of Tape
Grand letdown
A Tenderversion Recording
This band continues to evolve with every album and this, their third overall, finds them trying to incorporate more standard pop conventions into their particular brand of heavy postrock. There's still plenty of focus on long, interwoven guitar parts and complex arrangements, but there's also a lot more vocals than ever before and a renewed attempt at redefining and refining their sound. Bits of Fireside-esque post-hardcore gets intermingled with other, more contemporary post-indie/rock/whatever and the end result turns out to be a bit more schizophrenic and far less consistent than previous album "This is a copy is this a copy". However, at the same time, it's far more interesting to hear a band grow with each new release and that's certainly what SoT are doing and the tracks that do work well are easily their best material yet. For each misstep, such as two unnecessary and out of place cover tunes (A novelty slowcore version of Minor Threat's "Filler" plus "Eric" by the terminally underappreciated Carpet People), there is a stride forward. An inspired idea on paper, sure, and undoubtedly fun for the band to play, though not so hot in execution. I foresee "Grand letdown" as a transitional work, a bridge for things to come. It's worth noting too, that many of their peers are going through similar musical soul-searching (Aerial, Immanu El, etc.), all struggling to break free of expected genre trappings and all ending up in a slightly different place. So far, so good... let's see what happens next.
- Avi Roig
Sirius playlist week #44
Here's the playlist for this week's "Blog Radio" show on Sirius XMU:
01. Obliteration - Exterminate
02. TALK 1
03. Dmitry Fyodorov - Coconut office
04. Cut City - Replacement
05. High Hats - The end
06. TALK 2
07. The Skull Defekts - Millions
08. Marvins Revolt - Organize your arms
09. Interlace - Nemesis (Infect My Black Dub by Void)
10. Hearts No Static - Motif
11. TALK 3
12. We Live in Trenches - White knuckles
13. Makthaverskan - Vi var människor från början
14. Cilihili and DaBook - Orinoco flow
15. TALK 4
16. Frivolvol - It smells like something died in here
17. Björn Kleinhenz - I hate it when you go
18. Oriel Joans - Knuckles whiten
19. TALK 5
20. Bruket - Stockholm kaller
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Tønes + I Was A King = Skjelvekommode
Frank Tønnesen from Tønes and Frode Strømstad of I Was a King have started a new band together called Skjelvekommode which their label Hype City describes as "Jeff Tweedy and Neil Young with [a] Haua dialect." Look for an album in the spring.
This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart
This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:
01. Donkeyboy - Caugh in a Life
02. Bjørn Eidsvåg - De Beste
03. Sivert Høyem - Moon Landing
04. Jonas Fjeld feat Henning Kvitnes - Den Gamle Veien
05. Anne Nørdsti - Livet er nå
06. The Blacksheeps - Blacksheeps
07. Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned
08. Solveig Slettahjell - Tarpan Seasons
09. Herborg Kråkevik - Kvar Ein Dag
10. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2009
11. Diverse artister - Go'natt
12. Mari Boine - Sterna Paradisea
13. Kings Of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
14. Bjølsen Valsemølle - Mohammeds Cafe
15. John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt
16. Minor Majority - Either Way I Think You Know
17. A-ha - Foot Of The Mountain
18. Alexander Rybak - Fairytales
19. Thomas Dybdahl - En Samling
20. OnklP & Jaa9 - Sellout!
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Larz Kristerz - Om du vill
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
03. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Samling
04. Christer Sjögren - Schlagerminnen
05. Peter Lemarc - Klassiker
06. Nisse Hellberg - En modern man
07. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
08. Europe - Last look at Eden
09. Mustasch - Mustasch
10. Takida - The darker instinct
11. Amy Diamond - Swings and roundabouts
12. Malena Ernman - La voix du nord
13. Per Gessle - Gessle over europe
14. Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on
15. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
16. Mama Kin - In the city
17. Jeanette Lindström - Attitude & orbit control
18. Ebba Forsberg - Ta min vals: ebba forsberg sjunger Leonard Cohen
19. Markus Krunegård - Prinsen av Peking
20. Jerry Williams - Dynamite - live
Two new songs from Isobel & November
Swedish goth-country act Isobel & November now have two new tracks from their forthcoming album streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/isobelandnovember
Musik med Mixtapes & Cellmates
Watch Mixtapes & Cellmates perform live for PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2009/10/30/musik-med-mixtapes-cellmates/
Friendly Noise, the magazine (issue #1)
Friendly Noise has launched a magazine and issue one is up now: http://www.friendlynoise.se/fzn/1
It's in Swedish which is bad for me, but the layout + navigation is fantastic. Artists featured include Liminals, Auton and Studio (among others) and there's also a huge Friendly Noise sampler for download (see the "Friendly Noise Survival Kit").
Free Jazz reviews Pinton, Kullhammar, Zetterberg, Nordeson
Free Jazz favorably reviews the Alberto Pinton, Jonas Kullhammar, Torbjörn Zetterberg and Kjell Nordeson live collaboration "Chant": http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2009/10/pinton-kullhammar-zetterberg-nordeson.html
Figurines losing two members to school
Soundvenue reports that Figurines drummer Kristian Volden and bassist Mads Kjærgaard are leaving the band following their current tour obligations this month to go back to school, studying journalism and music management respectively: http://www.soundvenue.com/nyheder/2009/10/27/figurines-reduceret-til-en-trio (in Danish)
The band plans to continue on as a trio for the time being and plans to start work on writing songs for a new record soon.
Kendolls replace High Hats on Baby Shakes tour, sign with Alleycat
High Hats were forced to drop off their scheduled European tour with Baby Shakes due to their jobs not letting them take the required time off, but new labelmates Kendollls will take their place. Kendolls will be recording a new album this winter for release on Alleycat Records next spring.
Cut City, Air France mixtapes at Warmer Climes
Max J Hansson from Cut City does the mixtape thing for Warmer Climes along with Joel and Henrik from Air France.
MP3: Notre Dame - I bring Nosferatu you
Where I grew up, we knew the night before Halloween as "Mischief Night". I've heard it called all sorts of other things, but y'know what? It's all a pack of lies. And if there's something musical befitting Mischief Night, it's the b-movie horror-inspired sounds of Notre Dame, the more-or-less solo act of oversized metal personality Snowy Shaw (ex-Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Dream Evil, etc.). As his resumé would suggest, Notre Dame plays heavy metal mixed with a touch of blackness and a hefty dose of camp, but on this particular track, it's pretty much all camp. How could you not love a song with such a punny title? It won't be the scariest thing you'll hear this year (for that, I recommend Australia's Portal, whose new album "Swarth" is truly disturbing), but it should hopefully help you get in the proper holiday mood.
Notre Dame - I bring Nosferatu you