Thunder Express (or is it Dundertåget?) will be heading to Italy in April:
04/09 - tba, Milano
04/10 - Retro Pop - c/o Barrumba, Pinarella Di Cervia (RA)
04/11 - RockaRolla Festival -c/o Taurus, Torino
04/12 - La Skaletta, La Spezia
Swedish indie act Stars in Coma has a new EP called "Death and hope" out on Brazilian label Bolinhas Records: http://www.starsincoma.com/index.php/2009/01/death-and-hope-ep-is-released/
Masikinen is keeping a diary of their trip to Brazil at My Best Friend is My Grind: http://www.mybestfriendismygrind.com/maskinen-in-brazil-1/
The group will be finishing up their debut full-length there and will be documenting the whole process, including making a film for SVT.
The Idle Hands are currently mixing their new album "Dark rooms" with Mathias Oldén (Logh). No release date yet, but samples should be online in a month or so.
WE was running high in the site search charts for awhile now and it inspired me to pull out the first thing I ever heard from them, the 2003 "Lightyears ahead" EP. No surprise: it still kicks major ass. Or major teeth, if you follow the lyrics. As soon as I heard this song and I knew I needed these guys to round out the lineup of my first comp, "Reader's companion vol. 1". I'm not sure what they're up to nowadays, but I wouldn't be surprised if a new album showed up soon - it's been just over a year since the last one, so we're definitely due. Anyhow, much respect! Feel-good music for a feel-bad Friday!
WE - Kickin'
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Laleh - Me and Simon
02. Scotts - På vårt sätt
03. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
04. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
05. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
06. Timo Räisänen - ...And then there was Timo
07. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
08. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
09. Takida - Bury the lies
10. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
11. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion
12. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
13. Per Gessle - Party crasher
14. Lykke Li - Youth novels
15. Mojje - Popcornfrisyr
16. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
17. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
18. Sofia Jannok - Ássogáttis / By the embers
19. Titiyo - Hidden
20. Christian Walz - The corner
UK newspaper The Independent will be giving away a free Sigur Rós CD with tomorrow's edition: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sigur-rs-we-play-endlessly-free-with-the-independent-on-saturday-1514254.html
Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li, Ida Maria and Turbonegro are confirmed for Coachella.
It takes some serious balls to rip off one of Joy Division's best-known riffs and run it into the ground. Adding layers of squealing feedback doesn't make you much more original either, though I do really like that sound when done well. Anyhow, I don't know what Joensuu 1685's intentions were with this track, but what they came up with ended up as "blatant ripoff".
Joensuu 1685 - Kill/shot/love
The new Sahara Hotnights album "Sparks" is officially confirmed for release on February 25.
The Whitest Boy Alive is touring Europe in April with support from fellow Norwegians The New Wine:
04/03 - Centraltheater Hinterbuehne, Leipzig (GER)
04/04 - Kassablanca, Jena (GER)
04/05 - Muffathalle, München (GER)
04/06 - Manufaktur, Schorndorf (GER)
04/07 - Hive Club, Zürich (CH)
04/09 - Zakk, Düsseldorf (GER)
04/10 - Motel Mozaique @ Watt, Rotterdam (NL)
04/11 - Secret show tba
04/12 - Mousonturm, Frankfurt (GER)
04/12 - Aftershowparty tba, Frankfurt (GER)
04/14 - AB Box, Brussels (BEL)
04/15 - La Maroquinerie, Paris (FRA)
04/16 - Scala, London (UK)
04/18 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester (UK)
04/22 - Astra, Berlin (GER)
04/23 - Übel & Gefährlich, Hamburg (GER)
04/24 - Train, Aarhus (DK)
04/25 - Vega, Copenhagen (DK)
Norway's most overrated artist Annie will be supporting Snow Patrol for a few UK dates:
03/10 - Arena, Newcastle
03/11 - NEC, Birmingham
03/12 - Arena, Nottingham
03/14 - O2 Arena, London
Kristian Anttila's new video for "Din kärlek" is up on MSN: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=sv-SE&vid=2dc9506a-5b6f-4118-9761-75dec93e3afd
Efterklang is coming back to North America in March:
03/05 - Nectar Lounge, Seattle, WA
03/06 - Media Club, Vancouver, BC
03/07 - Doug Fir, Portland, OR
03/08 - Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco, CA
03/09 - Brewery, Visalia, CA
03/10 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
03/11 - Plush, Tucson, AZ
03/13 - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
03/14 - Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
03/16 - Opolis, Norman, OK
03/17 - Hailey’s, Denton, TX
03/18 - SXSW, Austin, TX
03/19 - SXSW, Austin, TX
03/20 - SXSW, Austin, TX
03/21 - SXSW, Austin, TX
03/23 - The Engine Room, Tallahassee, FL
03/24 - Earl, Atlanta, GA
03/25 - Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
03/26 - DC 9, Washington, DC
03/27 - The First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
03/28 - Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
03/30 - TT the Bears, Boston, MA
03/31 - tba, Montreal, PQ
04/01 - El Mocambo, Toronto, ONT
04/02 - Garfield Artwork, Pittsburgh, PA
04/03 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
04/04 - Schubas, Chicago, IL
The always astounding and ever-prolific Björn Kleinhenz is finished with yet another album. It's called "Burma", it's 11 songs and it'll be out in April via Tomt Recordings. Says the man himself about it: "The album is done in a very different way compared to [previous record] "Quietly happy and deep inside". Recordings were done in only a few intense sessions and I play most instruments myself. It is rythmically and harmonically more diverse that previous albums and I´m excited to say the least." In the meantime, keep an eye out for a few tourdates before Björn retires to island life for a spell.