I always make an effort to check out the various Manifest Awards nominees because, inevitably, there's always at least a few quality names that have previously escaped my attention. I don't worry so much about who actually won or who was unfairly passed over, I just want new music. As for the punk category: I'm already a fan of Vånna Inget and happily grabbed a copy of their excellent LP via 1-2-3-4 Go! Records; Obnoxious Youth's stiff thrashy hardcore is not my thing at all, but kudos to them for winning; and I must confess, I don't know Black Feet at all, but that will be remedied eventually. Which leaves Sju Svåra År, a band that I've been aware of for awhile, but never fully investigated until very recently. Shame on me, because they are ruling female-fronted melodic punk, not too dissimilar from the aforementioned Vånna Inget or other acts like Masshysteri and The Vicious. So yeah, right up my alley -- especially when they combine exquisite vocal harmonies with raw grit like on tracks such as "Pappa". I may have neglected to track down a copy of their LP before now, but that will soon be remedied.
The nominees for the 2012 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative/indie Grammy, have been announced:
Folk/Ballad: Marin/Marin – Småfolket () Merit Hemmingson – EQ () Navarra – Nya fönster () Siri Karlsson – Gran Fuego ()
Dance: Skudge – Samlad årsproduktion () Jonsson/Alter – Samlad årsproduktion () The Field – Looping State of mind () Pallers – The Sea Of Memories ()
Punk: Sju Svåra År – Storma varje hjärta () Obnoxious Youth – The Eternal Void () Vånna Inget – Allvar () Black Feet – Black Feet ()
Hip-Hop: Mofeta & Jerre – Briljanter & Smaragder () Ison & Fille – För evigt () Mohammed Ali – Vi () Roffe Ruff – Barrabas ()
Experimental: Hans Appelqvist – Sjunga slutet nu () Hanna Hartman – H ^ 2 () Ophir – Opus Operatum () Midaircondo feat. Michala Østergaard-Nielsen – Reports on the Horizon ()
Hardrock: In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil () Opeth – Heritage () Terra Tenebrosa – The Tunnels () The Haunted – Unseen ()
Rhythm: Syster Sol – Kichinga! () Simone Moreno – Planetas () Kapten Röd – Fläcken Som Aldrig Går Bort () OK Star Orchestra – The Beat and the Melody ()
Pop: Azure Blue – Rule of thirds () Jonathan Johansson – Klagomuren () Korallreven – An album by Korallreven () Loney Dear – Hall Music ()
Rock: Pascal/Mattias Alkberg – Allt det här () Kajsa Grytt – En kvinna under påverkan () Bob Hund - Det överexponerade gömstället () Tramp – Indigo ()
Synth: Henric de la Cour – Henric de la Cour () Necro Facility – Wintermute () Mr Jones Machine – Monokrom () Covenant – Modern Ruin ()
Jazz: Jonas Holgersson – Snick Snack () Parti & Minut – Från klart till halvklart () Priming Orchestra – Deep Blue () The Splendor – Delphian Palace ()
Best Unsigned: Death By Armborst Storskogen Schizo and the Personalities Farsta
Singer/Songwriter/Country/Americana: Brothers of End – Mount Inside () Ane Brun – It All Start With One () Promise & the Monster – Red Tide () Lars Bygdén – Songs I Wrote ()
Best live act: Kriget () This is Head () Graveyard () Mattias Alkberg ()