PopMatters on the US release of Finnish artist Astrid Swan and her album "Poverina": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/astrid-swan-poverina/

Download an mp3 of Astrid Swan covering "When we were young" by The Killers: http://www.astridswan.com/music/

Harp talks to Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan: http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=5505

Updated US dates for Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan:

03/22 - Tangier, Los Angeles, CA w/Tobias Fröberg
03/27 - Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA w/Kate Havnevik
03/31 - Borders (in-store) Wheaton, IL
04/03 - Uncommon Ground, Chicago, IL
04/04 - Subterranean, Chicago, IL (Minty Fresh Records Night)
04/19 - Rossi's, Minneapolis, MN
04/20 - Rossi's, Minneapolis, MN
04/21 - Rossi's, Minneapolis, MN

Finnish singer/songwriter and recent Minty Fresh signee Astrid Swan will make an appearance at this year's SXSW. Stream tracks at Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Astrid+Swan/Poverina+%28US+Version%29

Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan has signed with Minty Fresh for North America and her album "Poverina" (see our review here) will be released over here around February-ish. Go to the Minty Fresh site for a free mp3: http://www.mintyfresh.com/

Finnish pop act Treeball has posted four new songs from their upcoming album "Liars in love" on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/treeball
The band features UK-born producer Nick Triani, Janne Lehtinen and Jonna Tervomma from Mummypowder, singer/songwriter Astrid Swan and Michael Mcdonald from Montevideo. Not a bad pedigree, eh? The new record comes out April 12 on Kinkt Records.

The Pitchfork guide to SXSW includes tips on many acts, including Scandinavians Serena Maneesh (natch), Figurines, The Ark, Sign, Disco Ensemble, Astrid Swan, Quit Your Dayjob, Animal Alpha, Sarah Hepburn and of course, José González. I'd also recommend tracking down Loney, Dear and Kristofer Åström.

Full North American tour schedule for Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan:

03/03 - Drake Underground, CMW, Toronto (CAN)
03/13 - Sin E, New York, NYC
03/16 - The Drink, Austin, TX (SXSW)
03/20 - Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, CA w/José González
03/21 - Jensen RecCenter , Los Angeles, CA w/José González
03/23 - Living Room, New York, NY

Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan will be making the trip to SXSW this year and will also be joining Swedish troubadour José González as support for his shows in LA along with a gig at Canadian Music Week, in Toronto, Canada on March 3. Full details: http://www.astridswan.com/gigs/

Ratatosk Online interviews up-and-coming Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan: http://www.ratatoskonline.net/?axelref=news&id=294
Also posted at the site are pics of Dungen and Animal Alpha from the recent Eurosonic festival.

Astrid Swan has a new website to coincide with the release of her new single "Good girl": http://www.astridswan.com/

Download the title track from Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan's debut album "Poverina": http://www.mummypowder.com/astridswan/astridswan_poverina.mp3

Astrid Swan
Poverina
Delphic Recordings

Since female singer/songwriters from Finland don't exactly grow on trees, I pay special attention when one comes along. Astrid Swan has just released this debut CD, and it's a pretty strong effort. Swan has one of those voices that sounds real familiar, yet I can't readily compare her to anyone else. She's got a flair for the dramatic; in fact, the first two tracks "They need you if they think you love them" and "Poverina" sound like they're from some Broadway musical. I can easily picture Astrid onstage, belting out the tunes to the audience and making excited hand gestures. Swan plays fluid grand piano (often accompanied by slick backing vocals) throughout the disc; strong examples include "Rock 'n' roll blonde" and the lively "Good girl", which has a nice hummable chorus. My favorite songs are "The kinda tea you like to cry in", which has competing musical pulses from keyboard and guitar that give the tune a strong rhythmic thrust, and the haunting, minimalist "Daddies". "Life in a container" is also a cool tune. Some of this disc is a little too slick and commercial for my taste, but it's a pretty meaty debut, and Swan's obvious passion marks her as a talent that bears watching in the future.
- Kevin Renick

The first single from Astrid Swan's new album will be the title track, "Poverina". It comes out on June 8.