Friska Viljor album preview

The new Friska Viljor album "The beginning of the beginning of the end" isn't out for a few more days, but you can already stream the whole thing at SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/cryingbob/sets/fv-bbe

Friska Viljor - Larionov

Swedish indie act Friska Viljor have a new song they are giving away: http://soundcloud.com/cryingbob/friska-viljor-larionov
The band's new album "The beginning of the beginning of the end" will be released on March 25 via Crying Bob Records.

New bassist for Agent Side Grinder

Bassist Alexander Blomqvist has left Agent Side Grinder, citing the old evergreen "personals reasons" as the culprit. His replacement: Thobbe Eidevald from Friska Viljor, De La Mancha, etc.

Hellberg/Areskog - Black cloud man

Listen to Mattias Hellberg (Hederos & Hellberg, The Hellacopters, etc.) and Mattias Areskog (Brothers of End, Consequences, Friska Viljor, etc.) perform the song "Black cloud man" together: http://soundcloud.com/hellberg-areskog/black-cloud-man
Apparently the duo of Mattiases will be releasing an album together and this is the first rough mix sample.

Musik med Friska Viljor

Alt-country act Friska Viljor is the latest live music guest at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2009/10/19/musik-med-friska-viljor/

MP3: Brothers of End - Why

Considering that Nina Persson, Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson have all had their fun with various sideprojects (A Camp, Paus and Righteous Boy respectively), it's only fair that fellow Cardigans drummer Bengt Lagerberg and keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson Ståle get in on the game as well. Brothers of End is their new band together with prolific songwriter/sideman Mattias Areskog (Consequences, Friska Viljor, Marit Bergman, etc.) and "Why" is their debut single. It's a beautiful slice of slow-cooked pop, full of lush vocal harmonies, endless shimmering textures and driven by a lazy, laidback jangle. In a word: mellow. These guys can't be hurried, not that I figure you'd have much luck trying. Besides, I'm a big fan of taking it slow and easy.
As much as I love to complain about how much terrible music keeps getting unleashed on the world, 2009 is shaping up to be a great year and I'm really looking forward to hearing more from these guys. Their full-length debut "The end" comes out October 14 via Konjaga/Playground Music.

Brothers of End - Why

Presenting: Brothers of End

Another Swedish supergroup tip via PSL: Brothers of End, featuring Bengt Lagerberg and Lars-Olof Johansson Ståle from The Cardigans plus their childhood friend from Jönköping, Mattias Areskog (Consequences, Marit Bergman, Friska Viljor, etc.). The group's debut album "The end" will be released October 14; in the meantime, hear a track at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/brothersofend

The long-awaited Licking Fingers Swedish music comp "Thank You For The Music" will finally be out on May 28 and the label will celebrate with a party that evening at Pet Sounds Bar in Stockholm. Here's the tracklist, as best I can tell:

01. Anna Järvinen - Svensktalande Bättre Folk
02. Jens Lekman - The Opposite Of Hallelujah
03. Lykke Li - Everbody But Me
04. Those Dancing Days - Dischoe
05. Friska Viljor - Old Man
06. Shout Out Louds - South America
07. The Concretes - The Sentence
08. First Floor Power - The Jacket
09. Pacific! - Runaway To Elswhere
10. Kleerup/Lisa Milberg - Music For Girl
11. The Radio Dept. - Freddy And The Trojan Horse
12. Studio - No Company
13. Peter Morén - Social Competence
14. Loney, Dear - Your Time Will Come
15. Wildbirds And Peacedrums - Liar Lion
16. El Perro Del Mar - Glory To The World
17. The Tiny - Too Heavy A Burden
18. Frida Hyvönen - See How I Come Into Town
19. Speedmarket Avenue - Sirens
20. Idiot Kid - Wide Awake
21. Nicolai Dunger - God's Waitingroom

Swedish acts confirmed for EuroSonic: I'm from Barcelona (official opening act for EuroSonic 2008), Detektivbyrån, Those Dancing Days, Promise and the Monster, Lykke Li, Cult of Luna, Miss Li, Little Dragon, Moonbabies, Taxi Taxi, Friska Viljor, Burst and Andi Almqvist. The festival, one of Europe's preeminent platforms for new music, will feature a special focus on Sweden and takes place in Groningen, the Netherlands, on January 10-12. More info: http://www.noorderslag.nl/

Friska Viljor
Bravo!
Crying Bob

Maybe the originality of their sound would make more sense to a local, but from where I live, this debut sounds like what might happen if a bunch of indie rockers got really drunk and fell into a time machine that took them to a 19th century sailing ship where they drank until they burst into song. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether they push their raucous folkiness too far will depend on your own boundaries. To these ears, they usually stop just short of the limit - as soon as I think "if they don't stop this right now I might have to skip to the next song" they stop and I enjoy myself again. Still, sitting through the whole thing isn't always easy. But then, I'm sober and I suspect this is music for live shows where everyone can sing along rather for than quiet moments alone.
- Nancy Baym

The tracklist for Razzia's "Oh no, it's Christmas" compilation has been finalized:

01. Konie - "Oh yeah, it's Christmas"
02. Hello Saferide - "iPod X-mas"
03. Kristofer Åström - "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus"
04. Laakso - "Merry Christmas"
05. The Thousand Dollar Playboys - "A very sepcial Christmas"
06. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Jingle Hell (stuck in the chimney)"
07. Dreamboy - "Christmas kisses"
08. South Ambulance - "Hangin' in a tie"
09. Firefox AK & Tiger Lou - "Christmas eve"
10. Friska Viljor - "Oh no, this is what I feared all along"
11. Maia Hirasawa - "You were all there"
12. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "Jullåten 2004"
13. The Tiny - "No money (for X-mas)"
14. Grande Roses - "To bring back Christmas this year"
15. The Perishers - "Blue Christmas"
16. They Live By Night - "Lucia (I deserve some candles in my hair)"
17. Dogday - "Santa will never get here"
18. The Consequences - "Some kind of magic"
19. Indiekören - "Last Christmas"

Y'know that upcoming Christmas comp that Razzia is putting together? I've got a preview of the tracklist:

Firefox AK & Tiger Lou - Christmas Eve
Friska Viljor - Oh no! This is what I feared all along
Hello Saferide - iPod X-mas
South Ambulance - Hangin' in a tie
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Jullåten 2004
Laakso - Merry Christmas
The Tiny - No money (for X-mas)
Maia Hirasawa - You were all there
The Perishers - Blue Christmas
The Soundtrack of our lives - Jingle Hell (stuck in the chimney)
Consequences - Some kind of magic
Grande Roses - To bring X-mas back this year
Konie - Oh, yeah...it's christmas!
Dogday - Santa will never get there
Indiekören - Last Christmas
They Live By Night - Lucia (I deserve candles in my hair)
Dreamboy - Christmas kisses
Kristofer Åström - I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus

As you can see, some of these tracks are old and previously released (TSOOL for instance), but most are new and exclusive to this release. The exact order is still TBD and a few more tracks are due for submission, but I'll definitely be carrying it in the webstore when it's released on November 15.

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Carola - Från nu till evighet
02. Amy Diamond - Still me still now
03. Shirley Clamp - Favoriter på Svenska
04. Lasse Stefanz - Pickup 56
05. The Poodles - Metal will stand tall
06. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao på turné
07. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
08. Eric Gadd - Eric Gadd
09. BWO - Halcyon days
10. Patrik Isaksson - Patrik Isaksson
11. Kristet Utseende - Sieg hallelujah
12. Magnus Carlsson - Magnus carlsson
13. Totta & Wiehe - Dylan
14. Mustasch - Parasite!
15. Musikal - Mamma Mia
16. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
17. Sebastian - Sebastian
18. Atomic Swing - The broken habanas
19. Friska Viljor - Bravo!
20. Lena Malmborg - A new time, a new life, a new religion