Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Håkan Hellström
02. Death Cab for Cutie
03. Radiohead
04. M83
05. Lykke Li
06. Jens Lekman
07. Bob Dylan
08. Kent
09. Belle and Sebastian
10. Bloc Party
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Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Håkan Hellström
02. Radiohead
03. Belle and Sebastian
04. Jens Lekman
05. Death Cab for Cutie
06. The Knife
07. Shout Out Louds
08. Lykke Li
09. R.E.M.
10. Bob Dylan
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Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Håkan Hellström
02. Jens Lekman
03. Radiohead
04. Feist
05. The Beatles
06. Death Cab for Cutie
07. Belle and Sebastian
08. Lykke Li
09. The Smiths
10. R.E.M.
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Håkan HellströmThere are few albums I have fallen for quite as hard as Håkan Hellström's debut "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg". For many, this first album is Hellström's high-water mark. In reviews of his subsequent records, "Känn ingen sorg..." is cast as a specter that Hellström is haunted by, an accomplishment he has not been able to match or surpass. That being said, "För sent för edelweiss" does not eclipse Hellström's debut, but it matches this earlier triumph. "För sent för edelweiss" shows that Hellström is a versatile artist and songwriter, creating a brilliant album that amalgamates the distinctly Swedish sound his first album reveled in with a Springsteen-esque quality -- capturing both Springsteen's talents with anthemic compositions (not that Hellström himself is in anyway lacking when he sets his mind to the anthemic) and the Boss' remarkable ability to craft slower, more moving numbers, with Hellström layering in his own distinct sound throughout. Opener "Tro och tvivel" feels like a track off of the seminal "Born to run", its final moments paying homage to Springsteen's "Backstreets". "Zigenarliv dreamin", the strangest addition to the album, though one that has grown on me, only strengthens the comparisons between Hellström's newest and the records of the 1960s and 70s. In "Kärlek är ett brev skickat tusen gånger", I hear echoes of Van Morrison; the wonderfully lo-fi production enriches the opening of the title track, amplifying the Simon & Garfunkel quality of the song; "Kär i en angel" feels like the songs of the 60s and 70s that Jens Lekman emulates; and it's difficult not to sense a touch of Bruce Springsteen in "För en lång lång tid", my favorite from this album, and one of the best songs I've heard in the past few years.
Is "För sent för edelweiss" a flawless album? By no means. Though neither was "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg", if you get down to it. Håkan Hellström's faults are part of his immense charm, and the artist succeeds so much more than he stumbles here. It's hard to even remember the faulty aspects of the album while listening to songs like "Kärlek är ett brev..." and "Långa vägar", and it's even harder to stop listening to "För en lång lång tid". I'll be very surprised if this album is not high up on my best of 2008 list. If you're one who believes that Håkan Hellström lost his way a bit after 2000, "För sent för edelweiss" is more than ample evidence that he's back.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Check out Djembefitta, a new thrash-punk/crossover act from Göteborg that prides themselves on being anti-everything usually associated with Gbg music: http://www.myspace.com/djembefitta
Their manifesto: "Our aim is to kill pop music from Gothenburg where every band has a singer that sings out of tune. Håkan Hellström/Bad Cash Quartet/Hästpojken/Broder Daniel/Jens Lekman/Niccokick (well they live close enough to Gothenburg to count) et al are so terrible but everybody loves them... Isn't that strange?"
Check out a live in-studio performance from Jens Lekman at NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89310593
Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 albums of the week:
01. Caesars – Strawberry Weed
02. The Mary Onettes – The Mary Onettes
03. Håkan Hellström – Ett kolikbarns bekännelser
04. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
05. Jens Lekman – When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
06. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names – #3
07. Kings of Convenience – Quiet Is the New Loud
08. Hot Chip – The Warning
09. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
10. Kings of Convenience – Riot on an Empty Street
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The SF Guardian talks to Jens Lekman: http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/music/2008/03/sxsw_jens_lekman_makes_it_up_a.html
Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Death Cab for Cutie
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Kent
06. The Knife
07. Lykke Li
08. Belle and Sebastian
09. Shout Out Louds
10. Elliott Smith
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The Stranger (my semi-local alt-weekly) lists five or six things about Jens Lekman: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=537686
I'm not sure if I'll make it to his show in Seattle next week, but I'm going to try.
This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Håkan Hellström
04. Lykke Li
05. Band of Horses
06. The Cure
07. Hot Chip
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Caesars
10. Kent
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This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 albums of the week:
01. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
02. Feist – The Reminder
03. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills
04. Radiohead – In Rainbows
05. Familjen – Det snurrar i min skalle
06. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
07. Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
08. M.I.A. – Kala
09. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
10. Kate Nash – Made of Bricks
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This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Jens Lekman
02. Lykke Li
03. Hot Chip
04. Radiohead
05. Shout Out Louds
06. Feist
07. The National
08. Band of Horses
09. The Cure
10. Sigur Rós
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Jens LekmanIt was Jens Lekman's third time in Berlin and the venues keep getting bigger. When I saw him last, I was somewhat disappointed (which might have been influenced by having to dodge the trombone player's instrument half the evening) but this night clearly made up for it all. With a slightly reformed band including violin, cello, and Viktor Sjöberg (of Sonores and other projects) on "sounds and electronics", Jens quickly won over an audience that had previously had their enthusiasm dampened by a Placebo-soundalike opening band. Including the samples in the live-show not only widened the possibilities, but also allowed all musicians to take a dance across the stage during "A sweet summer night..." A truly memorable night was then rounded out with Jens thumb-pianoing charmingly through "A little lost" (see here) and then grinning happily while the audience came "running with their heart on fire." The best nights always end too soon, even if you can watch Erlend Øye dance by himself to Bob Marley's "Waiting in vain"...
- Arnulf Köhncke
This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Feist
04. Lykke Li
05. Hot Chip
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. Cat Power
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Modest Mouse
10. Kent
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
