I fully admit it, I love good emo-pop. When done right, it aspires to Journey-like levels of arena pop and there's no shame in that kind of rock'n'roll populism. The subject matter tends to be a touch more dour than ye 80s classic rock mainstays, but that is the zeitgeist after all. Oh woe is me/us/them! It's the sound of the 00s and yes, it is almost over, though I don't think that's what Fare You Well is singing about here. Why bother dissecting the lyrics anyway? Just sing along and join in on the "woo-ooh-ooh". Smile a little bit wider. And download the band's entire new free EP: http://www.myspace.com/fareyouwell
Fare You Well - It's almost over
The latest "Show No Mercy" column at Pitchfork features an interview with part-Scandinavian act Code: http://pitchfork.com/features/show-no-mercy/7684-show-no-mercy/
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Malena Ernman - La voix du nord
02. Tomas Ledin - 500 dagar om året
03. Lasse Stefanz - Truck stop
04. Benny Andersson Band - Story of a heart
05. Rolandz - Efter regn kommer solsken
06. Erik Linder - Inifrån
07. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
08. Theresa Andersson - Hummingbird, go!
09. Hans Edler with String Orchestra - Remember the sixties
10. Sten & Stanley - Allsånger på vårt sätt
11. Smurfarna - Smurfparty 2
12. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
13. The Poodles - Clash of the elements
14. Dead By April - Dead By April
15. Style - Vill ha dej igen
16. Blackjack - Summertime blues
17. Björn Afzelius & Mikael Wiehe - Olympiska nätter
18. Von Benzo - Von benzo
19. The Refreshments - A band's gotta do what a band's gotta do
20. Ted Gärdestad - Helt nära dig - samlade album
JJ's album "n° 2", Sincerely Yours' latest release, gets the "Best New Music" tag at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13326-jj-n-2/
Rune Grammofon will beging taking pre-orders for the debut album "You like me five minutes ago" from all-star Swedish freejazz act Fire! on Monday: http://www.runegrammofon.com/artists/fire_/rlp-3091---fire_-you-liked-me-five-ago-_lp_
Fire! consists of Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums). The official release date is August 10. Also, note that the new Motorpsycho LP will also be available for preorder next week as well.
New North American dates for Datarock:
08/28 - Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, QC
09/04 - The Modern, Vancouver, BC (DJ set)
09/04 - Gossip, Vancouver, BC
09/06 - Broken City, Calgary, AB
09/07 - Starlite Room, Edmonton, AB
09/09 - The Zoo, Winnipeg, MB
09/10 - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN
09/11 - Double Door, Chicago, IL
09/12 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
09/14 - Paradise, Boston, MA
09/17 - Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
09/18 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
09/19 - Rock N Roll Hotel, Washington DC
09/20 - Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
09/22 - Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
09/23 - Republic, New Orleans, LA
09/24 - Warehouse, Houston, TX
09/25 - Emo's, Austin, TX
09/26 - Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
09/28 - Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
09/29 - Brick By Brick, San Diego, CA
09/30 - El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
10/01 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA
10/02 - Holocene, Portland, OR
10/03 - Nectar, Seattle, WA
Erased Tapes will be doing a proper physical CD release of Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds' "Found songs" project. The official release date is set for August 31.
Absolut Noise called me out, so I guess it's only fair that I respond. Skatan is okay I guess, but I doubt I would have given her a 2nd thought without prompting. I don't like those little scoops she does with her voice and she's got to work harder to keep her affectations in check. Less is most certainly more in that department. The songs Swedesplease posted are my least favorite of the five from her myspace and the worst offenders of overdoing it. "Poisoned sky" is decent though: quiet and moody with a definite dramatic arc. And I have to agree with Aymeric that "Top of the mountain" is the best of the bunch, so that's the one I'm re-sharing today. A little swing does her a lot of good; it also better suits her singing style. But next big thing? No, sorry. I'm not that excited.
Skatan - Top of the mountain
Swedish post-rock label And the Sound (Ef, Immanu El) has signed a new distro deal with Border Music for the territory of Scandinavia.
Swedish hardcore act Uncurbed have a few new tracks posted at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theuncurbedfamily
Finnish pop-shoegazers On Volcano start recording their new album today.
RCRD LBL is giving away a track from Finnish indie act Rubik: http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Rubik/track/Wasteland
The band's latest record "Dada bandits" gets a North American release on September 15 via Paper Tiger.
Swedish retro-metal act Enforcer will be embarking on North American tour with like-minded Canadian act Cauldron starting on August 20 at Cafe Lura in Chicago. Dates confirmed so far:
08/20 - Café Lura, Chicago, IL
08/21 - Blondies, Detroit, MI
08/26 - Samurai Duck, Eugene, OR
08/27 - Gusto's, Boise, ID
08/31 - Bubba Thrasher's, Redding, CA
09/01 - tba, San Francisco, CA
09/06 - Mad Italian's Club 101, Flagstaff, AZ
09/08 - Whiskey Dix Bar, Lubbock, TX
09/09 - The Conservatory, Oklahoma, OK
09/10 - The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
09/11 - PJ's, Manhattan, KS
09/13 - Dysfunction Junction, Panama City Beach, FL
09/14 - The Haven, Winter Park, FL
09/16 - The Ultimate Basement, Mill Spring, NC
09/17 - tba, Pittsburgh, PA
09/18 - The Sterling Hotel, Allentown, PA
09/19 - Club Diablo, Buffalo, NY
09/21 - Muddy River, Portsmouth, NH
Check out Audrey's new video for the track "Black hearts": http://vimeo.com/5215366