It's not a complete shocker for anyone in the know, but London-based Swedish pop promoters Tack!Tack!Tack! have officially called it quits. Their final message:
T!T!T! is done for. Thanks to the bands who travelled from Sweden, who slept on floors, who tolerated the sound system at the Social and who are the most beautiful people met during the past four years of T!T!T! Cheers to you if you were there. Some truly truly wild nights. Tack! Tack! Tack!
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William Hut's new album "Silent hum" will be released on March 2. Hear the lead single "Ironically" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/williamhut
Danish indie act The William Blakes have confirmed that their new album will be out on February 23 via Speed of Sound.
This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:
01. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
02. Marit Larsen - The Chase
03. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
04. Vamp - St. Mandag
05. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
06. Madcon - An Inconvenient Truth
07. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
08. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
09. The September When - Judas Kiss
10. Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom oss
11. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior Nordic
12. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
13. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
14. Torstein Sødal - Torstein Sødal
15. Ole Ivars - Platina
16. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
17. Odd Børretzen/Lars Martin Myhre - Syv sørgelige sanger og tre triste
18. Madrugada - Madrugada
19. AF1 - Alle For En
20. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
This song is proof positive that great music transcends language barriers and really, that's one of the main reasons I started this damn site. Hanna Hirsch, the self-described "awkward Buzzcocks", understand that strong melodies win out about all, whether you understand what they're saying or not. For the record, Google Translate tells me it's "No one will miss us", but like I said, you don't need to know. Especially since it's not true. I file it right next to Ebba Grön, Håkan Hellström; two other artists I love to sing along with in a pathetic, phoenetic fashion.
Hopefully people won't ignore this like they did with Diskret Förlag's previous release "Har du hört den förut? 29 Svenska artister tolkar Förmögenhet". That's another great album that should appeal to most everyone, whether you know Swedish or not.
Hanna Hirsch - Ingen kommer sakna oss
The Lionheart Brothers album "Dizzy kiss" will be released in Japan on the March 25 via Imperial Records.
Violent Divine's video for their new single "Blackheart" is now online: http://www.violentdivine.se/bh/blackheart.html
David Sandström OverdriveQuite possibly the only former Refused member still musically relevant, the David Sandström Overdrive have returned with their third album "Pigs lose", their first for indie-stalwart Razzia. Keeping true to his Elvis Costello-inspired garage rock, "Pigs lose" gives us some of David Sandström's best material, but at sixteen tracks in length, also a few that are not. The lamenting balladry of "Lisa, Lisa", the plodding "Happy home" and the sheer epicness of "Tearing through the decades" showcase and hone the songwriting perfectly, whilst "Songs that maybe won't be forgotten" is easily one of the best songs of the year. However, "Dead alive" and "The god thing" are downright hokey and disrupt the album's flow. However, fans will not be disappointed; although a little editing down to ten or eleven songs would have made this album one of the more memorable of the year just past.
- Matt Giordano
Drummer Anders Malm has left Pen Expers to concentrate on his other band Love & Happiness. Daniel Moilanen has been recruited to take his place and the band has also added Oskar Lindberg on keys. In other news, the band will be going back into Svenska Grammofon to record a new album later this month.
Norwegian progressive black-metal act Borknagar will be going into Toproom Studio on January 19 with engineer Børge Finstad to begin work on a new album.
Here are the winners of this year's Swedish Grammy/Grammis:
Best album: Anna Ternheim - Leaving On A Mayday
Best dance/hip-hop/soul: Afasi & Filthy - Fläcken
Best folk/visa: Abalone Dots - Traveler
Best group: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Communion
Best hardrock: In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose
Best jazz: E.S.T. - Leucocyte
Best female artist: Anna Ternheim - Leaving On A Mayday
Best live act: Robyn
Best song: E.M.D. - Jennie, Let Me Love You
Best male artist: Håkan Hellström - För Sent För Edelweiss
Best newcomer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best composer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best producer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best lyrics: Annika Norlin - More Modern Short Stories From Hello Saferide
MTV prize for best video: They Live By Night - Catching Up (Dir. Senay/ Kolacz)
Best electronic producer: Eric Prydz
Billie the Vision and the Dancers have signed with Italian label Tea Kettle Records and will be heading down there for a few shows in February:
02/05 - Logia de Bianci, La Spezia
02/06 - Ciroclo Degli Artisti, Rome
02/07 - Bronson, Ravenna
Mixtapes & Cellmates are confirmed for SXSW. Also look for them to enter Studio Gröndal in February to begin work on their sophomore album.
Stella Rocket's new single "Keep on" will be released on January 14 via Fashionpolice Records. And speaking of Fashionpolice, look for The Amazing to finally officially release "Dragon" (remember?) as a single on January 21.
