Mazarine Street back and on Service
Service Coop's latest release is a 3-song EP from revived (???) 90s indie act Mazarine Street. Preview: http://www.srvc.se/
J-Son - Head in the sky
Swedish rapper J-Son has a new video for his latest single "Head in the sky": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ILsEr7j2Ww
Opeth car crash suicide
WTF: Opeth in suicidal car crash? Read: http://www.lambgoat.com/news/view.aspx?id=13462
Dusted talks to Wildbirds & Peacedrums, review Kings of Convenience
Wildbirds & Peacedrums do the Listed thing for Dusted: http://dustedmagazine.com/features/851
Also posted, a review of the new Kings of Convenience record "Declaration of dependence": http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5317
PopMatters reviews Jonsi and Alex
PopMatters reviews Icelandic duo Jonsi and Alex: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/112313-jonsi-and-alex-riceboy-sleeps/
Fenriz presents "Trapped under VIce vol II"
Fenriz from Darkthrone has made what looks to be another great mixtape of old-school metal, this time focusing on "proto-metal", aka "metal before there was metal" from the era of 1968-1978: http://www.viceland.com/music/2009/10/a-fist-in-the-face-of-god-fenriz-presents%E2%80%A6-trapped-under-vice-vol-ii/
Very little Scandinavian content, but that doesn't mean it's not worth checking out.
Marvins Revolt - Organize your arms
Danish noiserockers Marvins Revolt are giving away the new track "Organize your arms" as a free download: http://www.marvinsrevolt.com/
More Mew in the US
New North American dates for Mew:
11/30 - Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
12/01 - Constitution Hall, Washington DC w/The Pixies
12/02 - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
12/04 - Webster Hall, New York, NY
12/05 - Cabaret Du Musee Juste Pour Rire, Montreal, QC
12/06 - Mod Club, Toronto, ON
12/07 - Metro, Chicago, IL
12/10 - Neumos Crystal Ball Room, Seattle, WA
12/11 - Venue, Vancouver, BC
12/12 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
12/13 - Mezzanine, San Francisco, CA
12/14 - Henry Fonda, Los Angeles, CA
Moonbabies @ CMJ
Updated show info for Moonbabies in NYC at CMJ:
10/22 - Pianos, BrooklynVegan Party (12 pm)
10/22 - Norwood Club, ExMS (10 pm)
10/23 - Crash Mansion
The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (video)
The Mary Onettes have a new video for the single "Puzzles": http://vimeo.com/6943092
The band's new album "Islands" will be released on November 4 via Labrador Records.
Pitchfork on El Perro Del Mar, Liminals
Pitchfork reviews the new El Perro Del Mar album "Love is not pop": http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13571-love-is-not-pop/
Also, in the Forkcast, a track from Swedish act Liminals: http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/13483-the-swim/
MP3: Agent Side Grinder - The screams
To borrow the lexicon of the financial pages: I am downgrading Cold Cave to a Sell¹ while upgrading my rating on Agent Side Grinder to Strong Buy. I believe that Cold Cave's market has reached saturation and become overvalued while Agent Side Grinder has nowhere to go but up, especially considering the upcoming Q4 release of both "Irish recording tape" and "The transatlantic tape project" (via Enfant Terrible, vinyl-only). The former is of primarily interest to me, as it shows tremendous growth over last year's self-titled release and I must also commend them for the recruitment Alexander Blomqvist (on live bass) as he appears to have brought many new strengths with him to the executive team. The fine qualities that first caught my attention when I rated them a Buy (ie, the driving, dirty industrial beats) are still very much in place, only now far more refined and developed. I expect 2010 to be a very good year for Agent Side Grinder and don't expect them to face much serious competition for market share.
Now as for other companies in this sector, I'm downgrading Cut City from Buy to Hold as their stock appears to have stagnated recently, but am bullish on both Kite and Tamaryn.
¹ I really am selling Cold Cave. If you want a mint first-press copy of "Where trees grew and emotions died", give me a shout.
Agent Side Grinder - The screams
Pato Pooh + Adam Tensta - Follow me (video)
Aftonbladet has the new Pato Pooh video "Follow me" (feat. Adam Tensta) which is done up in full 8-bit videogame style: http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/musikvideor/article5961294.ab
Promoe - Shoot me
Promoe has a new track called "Shoot me" posted for free download on the Looptroop Rockers site: http://www.looptrooprockers.com/shoot-me/
BQ tour kickoff: hit & miss
Deleted Art has a somewhat brief report from The Bear Quartet's tour kickoff in Malmö last night: http://deletedart.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/89/