Broder Daniel frontman Henrik Berggren to go solo? Read: http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=426612 (in Swedish)

Once again I'm gonna turn over the reins to Simon Tagestam for this week's Friday pick. Take it Simon:

I'm an album man, I'm not into compilations or singles. When I check out a band that has been around for a while I rather get one of their albums than a best of compilation. Nothing too crazy about that, huh? And since I work five days a week, I like to listen to new albums when I get the time, not the radio or some crazy mp3 mix (although there's a time and place for those as well). So what about those excellent singles that feature on crappy albums? Well, I never got time for them, which is a shame. A band that made one of these songs that I never listen to, but when I do my heart melts is The Plan which is the side project of Theodore Jensen who normally plays bass in Swedish indie darlings Broder Daniel (he, at the end of 2003, left Broder Daniel to concentrate fully on The Plan, although he has now returned). The Plan's self titled debut album (from 2001) is a nice little affair (their second album is a botched affair), with a few good songs on it, but most of them are overshadowed by the monster hit "Mon amour". But ignore "Mon amour" for the moment, and allow me to be bit snobbish and point out the brilliance of the acoustic version of the song "Stay right here", which I believe is a b-side. The original version is fine, but it got too much of a tropicana vibe, and whereas the acoustic version is dark and haunting the album version takes the first lines "The sun it shines. I've been drinking all day" and conjures images of pina coladas at the beach, rather than uselessness and despair, which is of course to prefer. Now, this is a very sad song, but more in "screw-you-I'm-alone-and-strong-and-depressed-but-I'm-fine"-sort of way. Now listen to the pretty song, please.

Dolores Recordings is releasing a very limited LP version of the demo tracks from that Broder Daniel retrospective released earlier this year. The tracklist:

Side A:
01. Son of S:T Jacobs (Demo-89)
02. Cadillac (Demo-93)
03. Lovesick (Demo-93)
04. Sitting out in the Cold (Demo-93)
05. The Kids are Alright (Demo-94)
06. Lost in Love (Demo-94)
07. Disease Inside (Demo-94)

Side B:
01. Come on you People (Demo-94)
02. You´re my Valentine (Demo-94)
03. Lemon (Demo-94)
04. On My Own (Demo-96)
05. I'll Be Gone (Demo-97)
06. Whirlwind (Demo-97)
07. Old in just One Day (Demo-97)

Before there was The Knife, before Håkan Hellström embarked on a solo career or joined Broder Daniel, there was Honey Is Cool. Today's Flashback Friday mp3 is a Swedish indierock classic from the year 1999 off of HIC's second and final album "Early morning are you working?". Love it or hate it, Karin Dreijer's voice is unmistakable, no matter what band she's singing with. I had a bear of a time trying to decide what track to post today as the band's sound is all over the place, often within the same song. I figured I might as well go with the second album's lead single since it's a good introduction to band seeing as how it's probably the most polished thing they ever did, for better or worse. Well, they did have Pelle Gunnerfelt (Fireside) and Jari Haapalainen (Bear Quartet) working on the album, both producing and playing a little guitar. As always, very recommended. Especially if you're interested in hearing the roots of The Knife.

Broder Daniel
No time for us: 1989-2004
Dolores

Broder Daniel are Swedish, very big in their homeland, and their music is quite unique although there are some obvious influences, such as Jesus & Mary Chain. They've released four albums, going from a crazy punk sound on their first album to a more mature and melodic sound on their last album "Cruel Town". But to be honest, it's all crazy nice. "No time for us" is quite an ingeniously compiled compilation, it appeals to almost everyone, whether you're a massive Broder Daniel fan or whether you just doesn't know where to start with them. The first CD is crammed with most of the best songs from Broder Daniel's back catalogue, but it's CD2 that made me drool over this release when I first got it (from my girlfriend's family - thank you very much!). On this one we get exclusive demo outtakes, and such, from the whole of Broder Daniel's career. It's great stuff of course, but mostly for fans and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who doesn't love Broder Daniel. Best way to go about this must be to buy the CD, listen to the first one, fall in love with them, buy all their albums, dance a bit, cry a bit, and then go back to CD2 after you're pretty much down with the band. It's always baffled me how Broder Daniel never made it big outside Sweden, but then it might not have been their main concern (now I think they are more than happy with being one of the biggest bands in their country). Hopefully we get another one of these treats in ten years time after another four teen angst-ridden albums.
- Simon Tagestam

Here's this week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Kent - Du och jag döden
02. Moneybrother - To die alone
03. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
04. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
05. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
06. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
07. Jimmy Jansson - Som en Blixt
08. Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
09. Darin - The anthem
10. Håkan Hellström - Ett kölikbarns bekännelser
11. Viktoria Tolstoy - My Swedish Heart
12. Martin Stenmarck - Think of Me (New Version)
13. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
14. Thorsten Flinck - Vildvuxna rosor
15. Christian Walz - Paint by Numbers
16. Broder Daniel - No Time for Us 1989-2004
17. Lars Winnerbäck - Vatten under broarna
18. The Real Group - In the Middle of Life
19. Magnus Uggla - Den tatuerade generationen
20. Arash - Arash Arash

Uncritical has posted a track from Moneybrother: http://uncritical.blogspot.com/2005/03/i-cant-say-why-i-need-you-here.html
Chris, I think you'll be happy to know that Simon ranks the album very highly, though he still feels that lead single is the weakest track. His full album review should be up either later today or tomorrow. I agree that it's a great album and I hope it catches on over here, too.

Dolores Recordings will be putting out a ton of vinyl in April. First up on April 15 comes the gatefold LP version of The Caesars' latest "Paper tigers" in a 500 copy limited run. On that same day they'll also release a trio of singles: Björn Olsson - "Partille", Robyn - "Bum Like You" and Broder Daniel - "Luke Skywalker (Demo'93)". And that's not all - Dolores will also be releasing vinyl editions of both their "Who will buy these wonderful evils?" compilations on April 25. Only 300 copies of those, so you might need to act fast if you want one. As always, order 'em through Hotstuff.se.

Per Lundin
Members of me
self-released

I haven't got a clue who Per Lundin is, but to justify the lack of quality on these three songs I hope he's not older than 15. I bet he got all the right intention and is influenced by some great music, but he nevertheless he sounds as a very feeble Damien Jurado. If these songs were crafted really early in Per Lundin's career, I'd say there's still hope, because it's not utter crap but to be frank, the songs are just too clichéd (to such an extent that it's almost laughable). "My life", with its 80s atmosphere, is almost excruciating to listen to. I think Mr. Lundin would have been better off singing in his native language (Swedish?) or just try and keep his music and lyrics really simple (like Broder Daniel), because his lyrics are so bad they really stick out which makes them rather hard to ignore (example: "My heart is mine, yours is yours / Leave the past. Close the door") and the music is often way too pretentious. On a positive note, I really like the first 30 seconds of "Path of life", it sounds like a great emo moment but then the song just turns into another myriad of derivative nonsense. Also, there's a lot of Bruce Springsteen-like gusto in Per's voice, which is always a good thing. But we're still left with something that has been done before, many times, much better.
- Simon Tagestam

Håkan Hellström
En midsommarnattsdröm CDS
EMI

Håkan Hellström's career is quite intriguing, from playing bass in indie combo Broder Daniel he has, after two solo albums, become one of Sweden's biggest and most popular artists. Hellström has somehow managed to become a major artist (and a proper household name) without alienating most of his original indie audience, which is quite a feat. It comes as no surprise then that this new single from his forthcoming album "Ett kolikbarns bekännelser" (which roughly translates as "Confessions from a colic child"), is the most anticipated single this year in Sweden. The single did of course race directly into the number one spot in the singles chart. My expectations for this song was probably way too high, and I should have realized that my hopes would inevitable be crushed no matter what. But even though there's some nice flute playing by Dungen (who's to my bewilderment has received a lot of hype in the States in the past months) the song is unfortunately not as fantastic as Hellström's previous singles/songs.
- Simon Tagestam

Dolores will also be putting out a new Broder Daniel retrospective collection entitled "No time for us" on March 16. It will include two discs, the first being a best-of comp in chronological order, the second being demos, live tracks and more.

It's a slow week, so what the heck - here's a new mp3 today from singer/songwriter Anna Ternheim. Overall, I think her album "Somebody Outside" is a bit too safe and "nice" for my tastes, but it does have a few exceptional tracks that make it worthwhile. One of those being this Broder Daniel cover that closes the record. I've been going back and listening to BD's "Cruel town" quite a bit recently, but this version of "Shoreline" is truly revelatory. It should be common knowledge that BD has written some of the best teenage disenfranchment anthems ever, but Anna shows that when you strip away the layers of bombast, you get something even more special and affecting. The emptiness, alienation and hopelessness of the lyrics is magnified and made so much more potent with the simple piano and vocals arrangement. Take a listen for yourself.

Dolores Records has announced that the next release in their singles club will be from Soundtrack of Our Lives. Also coming soon from the label will be the debut Deportees album "All prayed up!" on October 27. The first single "Not tonight" is out October 13. And lastly, Delores will also be releasing a Broder Daniel DVD called "Army of dreams" featuring a live show recording in Göteborg on December 19, 2003. Of course, the disc will also include bonus interview material, videos and tons more. It hits stores on September 29.

Here's a transcript of an Aftonbladet-hosted chat with Broder Daniel: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,520104,00.html (in Swedish)

Streaming playlist: Old stuff

Here's this week's top 20 Swedish albums:

01. Gyllene Tider - Finn 5 Fel
02. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao!
03. Vikingarna - Bästa Kramgoa Låtarna
04. Ted Gärdestad - Sol Vind & Vatten - Det Bästa
05. Agnetha Fältskog - My Colouring Book
06. Günther & the Sunshine Girls - Pleasure Man
07. Teddybears Sthlm - Fresh
08. Gyllene Tider - Gt 25 - Samtliga Hits!
09. Peter Jöback - Det Här Är Platsen
10. Shirley Clamp - Den Långsamma Blomman
11. Hans Martin - Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer
12. The Solution - Communicate!
13. Carola - Credo
14. Di Leva - Tiden Faller
15. Per Gessle - Mazarin
16. Marit Bergman - Baby Dry Your Eye
17. Infinite Mass - 1991
18. Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell
19. Petter - Ronin
20. Sandra Dahlberg - Här Stannar Jag Kvar

Broder Daniel fans with film clips or pictures are encouraged to get in touch with Dolores Recordings, as the label is working on putting together a DVD. Read more: http://www.doloresrecordings.com/nyheter.htm (in Swedish)