More on Fredrik at the Washington Post Express: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/11/the_kora_records_fourth_year_jamboree_1.php
Check out Bad Hands, the new project from drummer extraordinaire Per Nordmark (Fireside, Christian Kjellvander, etc.): http://www.myspace.com/badhandssthlm
David Sandström contributes vocals to one song, Britta Persson another -- very recommended! (tack Marco for the insider info!)
The (International) Noise Conspiracy are streaming another new track at Spin.com, this one being "Dustbins of history": http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-stream-international-noise-conspiracy
Note the updated California tourdates there as well.
Rumskib has posted "Secrets", the bonus track from the Japanese version of their album, for streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rumskib
Umeå-based punkrockers The Bombettes will be heading down to France and Spain for a few shows in January.
Watch Robyn perform an acoustic version of "Be mine" for Pitchfork: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/147161-video-robyn-be-mine-acoustic-version
Norwegian act Alpine Those Myriads? is offering a free track off their forthcoming album "Trance eloquent wings" to anyone who signs up for their newsletter: http://alpinethosemyriads.com/
Hoob Records (The Stoner, The Splendor, Kristoffer Ragnstam) has signed Thus:Owls, the new project of jazz vocalist Erika Alexandersson and will be releasing their debut album "Cardiac malformations" in April. Preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thusowls
In related news, also look for a new album from The Stoner (Nils Berg) on Hoob this coming spring. Details tba.
Swedish artist Edith Backlund's song "Suburban bliss" will be featured in an upcoming episode of "One Tree Hill", airing in the US on Monday, November 10. Whether this leads to instant international fame remains to be seen.
MP3: Manhattan Skyline - White horse
Thus ends Fysisk Format's tremendous winning streak. Manhattan Skyline is the worst kind of ADD-inflicted math-metal. Riffs are pasted together and shoehorned into place with zero regard for composition or dynamics, making a 2-minute track an experiment in tedium. This kind of stuff wasn't good when Dillinger Escape Plan first did and it only got worse once the metalcore kids took the formula to the extreme. I'll concede that there might actually be some redeeming moments hidden here somewhere, but I sure as hell don't have the patience to seek them out among all the starts and stops, twists and turns. And no, tacking on a 15-minute sludge workout on the end of the album doesn't show range, it just proves they know how to ape another overdone style. No thanks.
Manhattan Skyline - White horse
The Je Ne Sais Quoi
Making love with time 12"
Knife Slits Water/Mono-Rethorik
The clock-face silkscreen on this one-sided EP is almost enough to make the record worth purchasing, but the quality of the music seals the deal. The title track continues very much in the punk-funk/disco direction of recent album "Rhythm", further raising the bar with a squiggly synth bassline, plentiful hand-claps and prominent keyboard arpeggios. Follow-up track "I read the signs" goes for a more syncopated attack and leans far heavier toward the disco side of things. It's not as immediately catchy as "Making love with time", but it more than makes up for it by being a far more fully realized composition with many intricate parts and a superb vocal arrangement. Lastly, the Eester Benny remix of "Rhythm" brings it all together, layering complicated harmonies and patterns over an even squigglier, liquid bass track. What else can be said? Three out of three is alright by me.
- Avi Roig
Norwegian melancholy pop act Washington is touring Europe in February:
02/05 - Patronaat, Haarlem (NL)
02/06 - Karo, Wesel (GER)
02/07 - Tonenburg, Höxter (GER)
02/08 - Roepan, Ottersum (NL)
02/10 - Francis, Wetzlar (GER)
02/11 - Feierwerk, München (GER)
02/11 - Treibhaus, Luzern (CH)
02/13 - tba, Innsbruck (AUS)
02/14 - Kino, Ebensee (AUS)
02/17 - KFZ, Marburg (GER)
02/18 - Museumskeller, Erfurt (GER)
02/19 - Objekt 5, Halle (GER)
02/20 - Privatclub, Berlin (GER)
02/21 - Scheune, Dresden (GER)
02/22 - Knust, Hamburg (GER)
Smalltown Supersound will be issuing a special edition of Lindstrøm's "Where you go i go too" in December with a bonus CD featuring Prins Thomas edits that were originally made for the vinyl version.
Hello Saferide's next single "X telling me about the loss of something dear, at age 16" will be out on December 5 and will include the Firefox AK remix of "Anna" as the b-side.