Artist: Hyacinth House
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Every moment has me falling further and further behind. The list of music that deserves coverage grows longer by the day and I can barely keep up, to say nothing of everything else I've got going on. One such title I've been meaning to talk up for awhile now is Mack Johansson's solo debut "New Sweden", so here's a great uneasy ballad from said disc. Perhaps a few of you will recognize Mack as the frontman for the very excellent Hyacinth House, one of my absolute favorite dark country acts and a band I've done my best to talk up for multiple years now, so no surprise that I find myself mentioning his work yet again. However, Mack's work under his own name is a slightly different beast: similar twang, but definitely far less dark/more overtly pop. Not necessarily a bad thing when done right, but a sidestep that took me a bit off-guard. So I'm approaching this cautiously, optimistic that it'll win me over eventually, much in the same way that Hyacinth House's last record "Black crows' country" took time to grow on. For now I'm favoring the slower, more gentle tunes such as this; we'll wait on the rest.
Mack Johansson - Jessica
Hyacinth House, one of my favorite Scandinavian Americana acts, has a new odds n' ends collection called "Big tomahawks and cornbread" out now: http://www.hyacinthhouse.se/
Swedish dark/alt-country act Hyacinth House has a new website: http://www.hyacinthhouse.se/hyacinth-house
The nominees for the Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative Grammy, have been announced:
Synth:
Thermostatic - Humanizer (Wonderland Records)
Zeigeist - The Jade Motel (Spegel/Imperial Recordings/Playground)
Moonlight Cove - Orphans of the Storm (Kinetophone/Hot Stuff)
Elegant Machinery - A soft exchange (Out of Line/Hot Stuff)
Rhythm:
Movits - Äppelknyckarjazz (BD Pop/Universal)
Erici - Brasilicum (Erici Music/Dead Frog)
Saft Stockholm - Ordet (Saft Productions/Stockholm Electronica)
Kungers - Galaxen (Rätta Visan/Border)
Experimental:
Anders Dahl - Doorbells (Bombaxbombax)
Nina de Heyney, Charlotte Hug & Christian Jormin - Acoustic Electronic (LJ Records)
Pär Thörn - Schöneberg/Stammheim/Gärdet/Rågsved (Treffpunkt)
Anders Hultqvist - Traces (Chamber Sound)
Pop:
Frida Hyvönen - Silence Is Wild (Licking Fingers/Playground)
Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from... (Razzia/Bonnier Amigo)
Joel Alme - A Master Of Ceremonies (Sincerely Yours/Border)
Nordpolen - På Nordpolen (Sincerely Yours/Border)
Rock:
The Hellacopters - Head Off (Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution)
Pascal - Galgberget (Novoton/Bonnier Amigo)
Fatboy - In My Bones (Fat State Production/Playground)
Manikins - Crocodiles (P.Trash Records)
Dance:
Pär Grindvik - Samlad årsproduktion (Stockholm LTD)
Anders Ilar - Sworn (Level Records 11)
Style of Eye - Duck cover and hold (Pieces of eight records)
Zoo Brazil - No Place Like Home (Gung Ho! Recordings)
Jazz:
Bobo Stenson Trio - Cantando (ECM/Naxos)
Nina Ramsby & Ludwig Berghe Trio - Du har blivit stor nu [En kamp!] (Moserobie/Bonnier Amigo)
e.s.t. - Leucocyte (ACT/Bonnier Amigo)
The Splendor - Sound of Splendor (HOOB/Border)
Punk/Hardcore:
Disco Volante - "We are forever" (Not enough)
Disfear - "Live the storm" (Relapse/Border)
Nitad - "Ibland kan man inte hindra sig själv" (Kranium)
Meanwhile - "Reality or nothing" (Feral Ward)
Hårdrock/Metal:
Burst - Lazarus Bird (Relapse/Border)
Dismember - Dismember (Regain/Sound Pollution)
Grand Magus - Iron Will (Rise above/Border)
Opeth - Watershed (Roadrunner/Bonnier Amigo)
Hip-hop/R'n'B/Soul:
Chords - Things We Do For Things (Juju/Playground)
Afasi & Filthy – Fläcken (P.o.p.e./Playground)
Masse - Gott & Blandat Vol. 2
Allyawan - Blu Duk Mixtape Vol. 2
Folk/Ballad:
Gunnel Mauritzson Band - Det som sker...(Sandkvie Records/CDA)
Maria Hörnelius, Bernt Andersson & Kjell Jansson - En sång för Kent (Eld Records/Border)
Jonas Knutsson & Johan Norberg - Skaren - Norrland III (Act/BAM)
Bjernulf/Björklund/Lindh – Pål Olles väg (Courage)
Singer/Songwriter:
Melpo Mene - Bring the Lions Out (Imperial Recordings/Playground)
Hyacinth House - Black Crows Country (True Music Production/Glitterhouse)
First Aid Kit - Drunken Trees (Rabid Records/Border)
Olle Nyman - Venture (A West Side Fabrication/Border)
Live:
Detektivbyrån (Danarkia)
The Hellacopters (Psychout Records)
Lykke Li (LL Recordings)
Robyn (Konichiwa Records)
Myspace prize for best unsigned act:
Montauk
Hero in action
Miranda Gjerstad
Sci-Fi Hands
John F Karlsson
Dyno
Tim Schmidt
Nottee
The Bellevues
Diskoteket
Go here for more: http://www.manifestgalan.se/
Swedish alt-country act Hyacinth House are keeping a blog while on tour: http://blog.myspace.com/wwwhyacinthhousese
Swedish alt-country act Hyacinth House is the unsigned band of the week at PopJunkie TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZYuwgld1VM
Watch video clips of Swedish Americana act Hyacinth House live in Amsterdam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kceZvSCq7BY
6
Hyacinth House are not from the southern United States, though they work the sonic conventions of that region as though they were, hovering somewhere between Southern Gothic (though nowhere near as much as a band like Midnight Choir), Southern Folk (lots of banjo!), and plain old Southern Rock. There are even beards involved. They do it well. The songs are strong and evocative. But when push comes to shove, there's nothing particularly special about the record. If it's a sort of music you enjoy, they are surely one of its better practitioners, but if you aren't, this won't be the record that awakens you to its brilliance.
- Nancy Baym
The latest Hyacinth House album "Black crows' country" has been licensed to Glitterhouse (Woven Hand, Boy Omega) for release across Europe.
The final batch of Swedish acts confirmed for the next Eurosonic Festival: Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Familjen, Hyacinth House, Slagsmålsklubben, Kleerup and Robyn. More info: http://www.noorderslag.nl/
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show, featuring special guest Pontus Levahn from the band Torpedo:
01. Fireside - Let Rasputin do it
02. TALK 1
03. Britta Persson - You are not my boyfriend
04. Hyacinth House - Lucky stranger
05. The Bear Quartet - Sailors
06. TALK 2
07. Jennie Abrahamson - In this life to live
08. Margaret Berger - Seek I'll hide
09. Heroes & Zeros - The foolproof
10. TALK 3
11. Folie - Strum
12. Ellen Beach - The widespread acclaim
13. The Indecision Alarm - Where every fucking dream is killed
14. TALK 4 (INTERVIEW)
15. Torpedo - From Russia with love
16. Rupesh Cartel - Comes the hour comes the man
17. TALK 5 (INTERVIEW)
18. Torpedo - Hospital
19. Tiger Lou - Until I'm there
20. TALK 6 (INTERVIEW)
21. Simon Ryman - Walk with me instead
22. Fanny Risberg - Stay with me forever
23. Lack - Deserters
24. TALK 7
25. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Manic panic
26. Hebosagil - Slightly confusing
27. Dieter Schöön - The harbour's cold
28. TALK 8
29. Lukestar - White shade
30. Fun - Hold it close
31. The Skull Defekts - The secret
32. TALK 9
33. Laakso - Great times underground
34. CS Nielsen - Black spots
35. Knugen Faller - Lugna favoriter
36. TALK 10
37. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
The playlist for my radio show this week:
01. Mattias Bärjed - 99 pounds
02. TALK 1
03. Piroth - Waltz for prima ballerina
04. Hyacinth House - Swedish signs on Monkey Island
05. Aerial - Secret goddess
06. Icos - Fly away
07. TALK 2
08. Robyn - Konichiwa bitches (Trentemøller remix)
09. Folke Rabe - Argh!
10. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
11. TALK 3
12. Audionom - In the streets
13. The Alpine - Trigger
14. Immanu El - Astral days
15. TALK 4
16. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Jag har en vän
17. Logh - Thieves in the palace
18. Galento - Gunnar Hardings paraply
19. TALK 5
20. Promise and the Monster - Antarkis
21. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Heroica
22. Anchor - In the throes of passion
23. TALK 6
24. Repoman - Valley of snakes
25. Ulver - Shadows of the sun
26. Bobby Baby - Do not twist
27. TALK 7
28. Superfamily - Warszawa
29. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
30. Sinikka Langeland - Sus i myrull
31. TALK 8
32. Graveyard - Thin line
33. Mai - Snowing downtown
34. KVLR - Abomination
35. TALK 9
36. Säkert! - Sanningsdan
It's taking me a lot longer than expect to wrap my head around the new Hyacinth House album "Black crows' country". I absolutely love their self-titled debut from 2005 and still consider it to be one of my favorite underrated gems of Swedish music, but this new one defied instant gratification. In some ways, I shouldn't be surprised, especially when I consider that the first one didn't really have anything one could describe as a hit single. There's no one moment that makes you go "yes!", rather it's the sum of the whole that makes it so wonderful. With this new album, that goes double. You see, Hyacinth House has taken the past two years to make huge stride forwards in their craft - they no longer play anything that could merely be labelled as alt.country, no, this is art-rock dressed in country clothing. The instrumentation remains the same - twangy guitars and banjos still rule - but the aspirations are set way higher, much in the same way that Wilco has strove for their past few albums. Well, 'cept that HH retain way more of those country roots and have not gotten increasingly boring as they slowly drift towards jam-band status. It also helps that HH maintains more of a sinister fire & brimstone vibe ala 16 Horsepower/Woven Hand, though I don't think they actually call for hellfire and damnation anywhere on the record. You just get that ominous feeling. This particular track I'm featuring ("Lucky stranger") is almost postrock with its broad dynamics and spacey textures. And that outro - my god, what a finish! It's still not nearly as great when it's divorced from context on the album, but I truly believe that HH has once again made an exceptional record.
Hyacinth House - Lucky stranger
The playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Isolation Years - Frosted minds
02. TALK 1
03. Hyacinth House - Lucky stranger
04. Immanu El - Kosmonaut
05. Kamera - Fragile
06. TALK 2
07. Pay TV - Fashion report (clubmix)
08. Fun - I've got a truck
09. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
10. TALK 3
11. Superfamily - Warszawa
12. Majessic Dreams - Still inside
13. The Indecision Alarm - Time for the big guns, baby
14. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Flir
15. TALK 4
16. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
17. Karin Ström - Ordlös
18. Meleeh - Malign
19. TALK 5
20. Kongh - Pushed beyond
21. Baby Woodrose - Let yourself go
22. TALK 6
23. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet (Cat Burgler remix)
24. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Rhythm
25. The Bell - I need nothing
26. September - Satellites
27. TALK 7
28. Piroth - Waltz for prima ballerina
29. Sällskapet - Järnstaden
30. Montt Mardié - Birthday boy (drama)
31. TALK 8
32. CS Nielsen - Bottle for the road
33. Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - Love will tear us apart
34. Voices Break the Silence - Mopo3
35. TALK 9
36. Plain Fade - Blue skies ahead
This week's playlist for my show on Sirius:
01. Kristofer Åström - The dark
02. TALK 1
03. Amandine - Better soil
04. Christel Alsos - What you gotta do
05. Tarantula - Two arrows
06. TALK 2
07. Kristin Asbjørnsen - I'm on my way
08. Thomas Denver Jonsson - Dreams at the film club
09. Tenderloud - Texas down
10. TALK 3
11. Hyacinth House - Ghost town
12. Strayfolk - I'll be a-goin'
13. The First Miles - Bottle, don't let me down
14. TALK 4
15. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
16. Hederos & Hellberg - I can't hold myself in line
17. Two Times the Trauma - I fell in love with an ocean
18. David Sandström Overdrive - The Fatville Treaty
19. HGH - Stupid song
20. TALK 5
21. Gorgoroth - Procreating Satan
22. Enslaved - The voices
23. Invocator - Breed of sin
24. TALK 6
25. Seance - Post mortem
26. Watain - Underneath the cenotaph
27. Dark Tranquility - Icipher
28. TALK 7
29. Eucharist - The Eucharist
30. At the Gates - Slaughter of the soul
31. Wolfbrigade - EU (European Union)
32. TALK 8
33. Katatonia - Had to (leave)
34. Bloodbath - Soul evisceration
35. Cult of Luna - The revelation embodied
36. TALK 9
37. Finntroll - Slaget vid blodsälv
Hyacinth House