NME sends a reporter to by:Larm who actually manages to (gasp!) report back exclusively on Scandinavian bands and not just the usual names either: http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=15&title=radar_at_by_larm_2013&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Dreamy shoegaze pop with visuals to match, courtesy of Swedish act Degrees.
Norway's The Samuel Jackson Five are heading out on tour in April:
04/05 - KB18, Kopenhagen (DK)
04/06 - UJZ Korn, Hannover (GER)
04/07 - L'an Vert, Liege (BEL)
04/08 - Dunk Festival, Zottegem (BEL)
04/09 - Le Caveau du Sauvoy, Nancy (FRA)
04/11 - Cactus Muziekcentrum, Brügge (BEL)
04/12 - Kulturpalast, Wiesbaden (GER)
04/13 - Subway To Peter, Chemnitz (GER)
04/14 - AZ Conni, Dresden (GER)
04/15 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
04/16 - DOM, Lodz (POL)
04/17 - Hydrozgadka, Warsaw (POL)
04/18 - Tekturafest, Lublin (POL)
04/19 - Khmilnyy Dim Roberta Domsa, Lviv (UKR)
04/20 - Underground Music Hall, Kyiv (UKR)
04/22 - Irish & Music Pub, Cluj Nopoca (RO)
04/23 - CK13, Novi Sad (SRB)
04/26 - Sonic Ballroom, Köln (GER)
04/27 - Christuskirche, Bochum (GER)
04/28 - Doornroosje-Merleyn, Nijmegen (NL)
The official debut single and video from I Used To Be A Sparrow, the new Swedish/Italian expat duo of Dick Pettersson ((In These Woods) and Andrea Caccese (Songs For The Sleepwalkers). If you have enjoyed any of Dick's other acts (ITW, Arrow Meets Francis, Voices Break the Silence), you'll definitely dig this too. Recommended!
Killer new song from Swedish/American synthpop duo Soma Sema off the already sold-out 2x C-60 cassette collection "Forward + Rewind: The Future Echo Tapes". I don't know much about the other acts on said comp, but it is still available for streaming/paid download via Bandcamp if you are seeking more sounds of a similar ilk.
New visuals from Finnish act Iconcrash for their Eurovision entry "We are the night". Also! The band will be doing a live stream of the entire church performance you see at the end of this video later today at 8pm local Finnish time (+2 GMT) -- preview clip and details here.
Millencolin will be celebrating their 20th anniversary this summer this a special hometown festival in Örebro, Sweden on June 8-9: http://www.millencolin20year.se/
Not only will these be the band's only shows for 2012, they're also bringing out a bunch of their friend's old bands to give them a hand: No Fun At All, Voice of a Generation, Bombshell Rocks, The Peepshows, Nine and more.
Dagbladet has the premiere of the new Sivert Høyem video "Long slow distance": http://www.dagbladet.no/2012/02/17/kultur/konsert/bylarm/musikk/sivert_hoyem/20278079/
The Skull Defekts will be heading back into the studio in Stockholm this coming May to record a new album.
A 2nd tune from the new Meshuggah album "Koloss" has appeared online: http://soundcloud.com/nuclearblastrecords/meshuggah-do-not-look-down/s-hlFcg
has signed Danish noisepop/postpunk trio Shiny Darkly and will be releasing the band's debut EP in May.
That split 10" that Swedish psychrockers The Movements announced back in October will finally be out in March. Full details and ordering info at the label website: http://www.pariahrecords.fr/
Simian Ghost is heading to the UK in April:
04/11 - The Soup Kitchen, Manchester
04/12 - The Captain's rest, Glasgow
04/13 - Joiners, Southampton
04/14 - Surya, London
Herätys are reported to have broken up. RIP! Their final show was at OCCII in Amsterdam with Seein' Red, another longtime hardcore act who recently decided to throw in the towel.