New Elin Ruth duet with Lars Eriksson in June
Elin Ruth Sigvardsson's new single "Love", her first from her forthcoming album and a duet with Lars Eriksson, will be released digitally on June 2.
Ison & Fille - Jag skrattar idag
The new Ison & Fille single "Jag skrattar idag" is now available for free download: http://www.hemmalaget.nu/audio/JagSkrattarIdag.mp3
Vit Päls - Kärleken bryr sig inte (video)
Swedish indiepoppers Vit Päls have made a charmingly ramshackle live video for the song "Kärleken bryr sig inte": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypAt5PATqq4
Hallelujah 2 gets release date
The Norwegian all-star Espen Lind, Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes and Askil Holm "reunion" album "The Hallelujah - Live Vol. 2" will be released on June 15 and will contain 15 tracks with a few bonus cuts being made available digitally.
The Fine Arts Showcase + Theoretical Girl - You knew I was trouble from the start
"You knew I was trouble from the start" (feat. Theoretical Girl) is the second single from The Fine Arts Showcase's brilliant "Dolophine smile" album and Adrian Recordings is giving away the track for free: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=233
Buy the album here.
Musik med Cocoanut Groove
Live music with Cocoanut Groove at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2009/05/25/musik-med-cocoanut-groove/
The Field reviewed at PopMatters, more
PopMatters reviews The Field's new album "Yesterday and today": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/92945-the-field-yesterday-and-today/
Elsewhere, a discussion of "Let the right one in": the book, the movie, the upcoming (and unwelcome) American remake: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/93676-let-the-right-one-in-but-only-the-right-one/
Cloudberry to release split CDr feat. Girl Alliance
Cloudberry Records' next 3" CDr split, due out May 30, will feature Swedish act Girl Alliance paired with The Librarians. Details and samples: http://www.cloudberryrecords.com/
Hanna Lovisa (ex-Cat5) to release summer single
Hanna Lovisa (ex-Cat5) will have a new single on Bonjour Recordings this summer. No exact date yet, but probably in July.
New Múm album in August
FACT Magazine confirms that Icelandic act Múm will release the new album "Sing along to songs you don't know" on August 24 via Morr Music: http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2601&Itemid=26
Kvoteringen - Död åt kannibalerna
Swedish hardcore act Kvoteringen are now streaming the new track "Död åt kannibalerna" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kvoteringen
Look for the band's new album "Samhällets förrädare" to be released via US label Feral Ward in the near future.
The Milk Factory reviews Jasper TX
The Milk Factory praises Jasper TX: http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2009/05/jasper-tx-singing-stones-fang-bomb/
Earz Magazine talks to Compunctio found Andreas Runeson
Earz Magazine interviews Compunctio Records (Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Håkon Kornstad, David Åhlén) founder Andreas Runeson about the label's motives and goals: http://earz-mag.com/2009/05/music-compunctio-records/
Very recommended -- I always love to see a label with a high-minded, unifying aesthetic releasing great, well-packaged music.
New We Live in Trenches songs now streaming
As promised, new tracks from We Live in Trenches are up for streaming now: http://www.myspace.com/weliveintrenches
The band's debut full-length "Modern hex" will be out in August via P.Trash.
Existensminimum
Ok boys
Novoton
On this album there is a dark, all-too-understanding awareness of the minor tragedies that, despite their relative insignificance, leave their mark on us, possibly for life -- an understanding and mood I've really only ever found before on Markus Krunegård's solo effort. Both Krunegård and Magnus Henriksson (the mastermind of Existensminimum) propose similar answers, too -- get out of the house, onto a bus, and into a bar; it may not change a thing, but at least you're not alone. Accordingly, the thematic landscape of "OK boys" is matched by a dark, cruelly detached, and vulnerable lexicon of musical expression: on "Fugelsang", Henriksson channels his inner Bowie ("They'll send me off to space...") over the droning, lost guitar lines of the chorus; "Signs of human life" has a slight Phil Spector, 60s pop feel to its demure arrangement; "1993" staccato-stabs its way through the account of a life spent trying to find meaning through chemically-saturated escapism; and closer "Messin' up" adopts a Lovekevins-style pop vehicle with which to voice its final, lavishly cynical pronouncement. There is a touch of sub-genre-schizophrenia on here, but this very minor flaw is only noticeable when you skip around the album; as a fluid whole, "OK boys" ebbs and flows, but never quite jumps the banks. By the time you're a few songs in, you wouldn't care whether Henriksson went completely off the rails or not, just as long as he took you with him.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
