Utilizing new Last.fm technology, here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Juvelen
02. Laakso
03. Kleerup
04. Pelle Carlberg
05. Håkan Hellström
06. Audrey
07. Fleet Foxes
08. Jens Lekman
09. Detektivbyrån
10. Christian Kjellvander
See, now that's more like what I would expect! 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/
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Ola - Good enough - The feelgood edition
02. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
03. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
04. Takida - Bury the lies
05. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
06. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
07. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
08. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
09. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
10. E.M.D. - A state of mind
11. Lisa Miskovsky - Last year's songs - Greatest hits
12. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
13. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
14. Robert Wells - The best of rhapsody 1998-2008
15. Rongedal - Rongedal
16. The Real Group - Håll musiken igång! The Real Group sjunger Povel
17. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
18. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
19. Kleerup - Kleerup
20. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
02. The Real Group - Håll musiken igång! The Real Group sjunger Povel
03. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
04. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
05. E.M.D. - A state of mind
06. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
07. Takida - Bury the lies
08. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
09. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
10. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
11. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
12. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
13. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
14. Kleerup - Kleerup
15. Rongedal - Rongedal
16. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
17. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
18. Stefan Andersson - No. 90 kleist
19. Eric Gadd - Stockholm står kvar men jag ligger
20. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
02. The Real Group - Håll musiken igång! The Real Group sjunger Povel
03. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
04. Takida - Bury the lies
05. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
06. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
07. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
08. Kleerup - Kleerup
09. E.M.D. - A state of mind
10. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
11. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
12. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
13. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
14. Eric Gadd - Stockholm står kvar men jag ligger
15. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
16. Rongedal - Rongedal
17. Roxette - A collection of Roxette hits! Their 20 greatest
18. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
19. Trazan & Banarne - Swingtajm! Trazan & Banarnes 30-årsskiva!
20. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (new edition)
Okay, time for one last mid-year highlight. On thinking about who to cover, I knew I had to do something non-Swedish since a lot of the higher rated stuff from thereabouts is rightfully getting the attention it deserves (and no, I'm not talking about Kleerup). So Finland it is! I was inclined to do another Frivolvol post¹, but I figure that would be too much negativity for one week. They are, after all, one of the most nihilistic/misanthropic bands I've heard in quite some time. Instead I give you another track from indierock shoegazers On Volcano. I know I only just got their debut EP "My sleep was filled with dreams" quite recently², but it's been on steady rotation ever since it arrived. Further proof of my devotion: I purchased a number of copies for resale knowing full well that they are an obscure act with no profile whatsoever. It's worth it to me, they are that good. As I said last time, the band started out doing postrock and you can still hear that in their sound, but they've honed and refined the approach to be more pop-oriented, much thanks to frontwoman Minna's prominent vocals. "Out of sight" is a perfect example as it starts off in dreampop land before getting direct and to-the-point on the chorus. Wait for the breakdown too- that's the best part! Totally unexpected, but absolutely perfect.
On Volcano - Out of sight
KleerupPop music can be about a lot more than shifting hundreds of a thousands of records and continuously rotating overly-glitzy music videos, and Andreas Kleerup's self-titled debut is verification of this idea. Holding more in common with The Knife's songwriting approach than that of Max Martin, and reveling in similar production tricks to that of Justice, Kleerup's compositions seem almost "accidentally" radio friendly; too much effort has been put into these tracks for them to be dismissed as pop fluff, and yet too much pop sensibility has gone into their writing for the songs to feel pretentiously avant-garde -- the album's strengths exist somewhere in between these two judgments. While the record is rather star-studded with tracks featuring numerous well-known artists: Robyn, Lykke Li, Neneh Cherry, and Marit Bergman, to name a few, Kleerup's own tracks stand up well on their own. "Thank you for nothing" runs cleverly between Europop-like catchiness and the allure of well-produced remixes of bands like Phoenix, and opener "Hero" is an engaging first look at the album, evoking a strange mix between Vangelis and Röyksopp. "With every heartbeat", the Robyn-featured single, is my favorite track, though the Marit Bergman led "3am" and Lykke Li's "Until we bleed" are not far behind. Overall, "Kleerup" is a skillfully produced pop record that's as much fun as it is expertly written and executed -- a pleasant departure from the soulless gloss of so many other pop albums.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
02. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
03. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
04. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
05. Kleerup - Kleerup
06. Eric Gadd - Stockholm står kvar men jag ligger
07. E.M.D. - A state of mind
08. Takida - Bury the lies
09. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
10. Rongedal - Rongedal
11. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
12. Robert Wells - The best of rhapsody 1998-2008
13. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
14. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
15. Trazan & Banarne - Swingtajm! Trazan & Banarnes 30-årsskiva!
16. E.S.T. - E.S.T. live in Hamburg
17. Caroline Larsson - In the moment
18. Thore Skogman - Thore goes metal
19. Sabaton - The art of war
20. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (new edition)
Sad to see that E.S.T. album back in there. We lost someone very special when Esbjörn passed away.
Pitchfork reviews Kleerup: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/51044-kleerup
Also posted, an mp3 from Juvelen who, as I mentioned before, will be playing a few NYC shows coming up: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/51412-juvelen-hanna-mp3stream
Kleerup's next single will be "3am" which features Marit Bergman. Stream it at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/maritbergman
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
02. Sabaton - The art of war
03. Ola - Good enough - The feelgood edition
04. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
05. E.M.D. - A state of mind
06. Rongedal - Rongedal
07. Kleerup - Kleerup
08. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
09. Stefan Andersson - No. 90 kleist
10. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
11. Caroline Larsson - In the moment
12. Takida - Bury the lies
13. Charlotte Perrelli - Hero
14. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
15. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
16. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
17. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
18. Amy Diamond - Music in motion/Gold edition
19. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (new edition)
20. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Sigur Rós
02. Death Cab for Cutie
03. Radiohead
04. Håkan Hellström
05. The Radio Dept.
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. Coldplay
08. Kleerup
09. Jens Lekman
10. Sébastien Tellier
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/
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Lögnhalsmottagningen - Bodybuilder
02. TALK 1
03. Svart - Carl du lever i en dröm
04. Majessic Dreams - Beautiful days
05. Antennas - Lies (Oscar Tillman remix)
06. TALK 2
07. The Sound O.E - Universal tourist
08. Kaipa - Nattdjurstid
09. Murmansk - Pale
10. TALK 3
11. On Volcano - Ride the wolf
12. Markus Krunegård - Samma nätter vänter alla
13. Ondo - Mahavishnu
14. TALK 4
15. Popsicle - Hey princess
16. CMX - Tulikiveä
17. Ström i P2/Håkan Lidbo - Strömavbrott (Boeoes Kaelstigen Etsi remix)
18. TALK 5
19. The Goner - Kill them all save Simon Joyner
20. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
21. Montys Loco - Ages ago
22. TALK 6
23. Mattias Alkberg BD - Allting är drömt
24. Masshysteri - Monoton tid
25. Ljudbilden & Piloten - You know you're doing OK
26. Abduktio - Thermador
27. TALK 7
28. Hebosagil - Big sun
29. Anna Ternheim - To be gone
30. Kusowsky - Tjuvar
31. Fredrik - 1986
32. TALK 8
33. Johan Heltne - 16 Avenue de l'Opera
34. Cortex - Arkham
35. Kleerup - Until we bleed (ft. Lykke Li)
36. TALK 9
37. Coldworker - Citizens of the cyclopean maze
Heads-up: my show is moving to a new time next week! Starting on Sunday, June 8 my show will be on at 11pm Eastern / 8pm Pacific with a repeat on Monday at the exact same time. I'm also paring down to an hour of programming a week, so expect all-killer/no-filler from here on out! Also, seeing as how I'm leaving for Sweden on June 9, this week's coming show will be a Hultsfred Festival special so mark your calenders, update your alarm clocks or do whatever it is you need to do to remind yourself to listen in!
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
02. E.M.D. - A state of mind
03. Rongedal - Rongedal
04. Kleerup - Kleerup
05. Sten & Stanley - Det känns när det svänger
06. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
07. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
08. Caroline Larsson - In the moment
09. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
10. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
11. Universal Poplab - Seeds
12. Takida - Bury the lies
13. Amy Diamond - Music in motion/Gold edition
14. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (new edition)
15. Charlotte Perrelli - Hero
16. Suzzie Tapper - Mirakel
17. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
18. Peter Lemarc - Lemarc live!
19. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
20. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
I know a lot of folks are eager to kickstart the Kleerup backlash in earnest, so to them let me say this: sorry, but his new album really isn't all that bad. For one, he's got a lot of starpower in his favor; Robyn, Marit Bergman, Lykke Li (today's mp3), Titiyo, Lisa Milberg (The Concretes) and Neneh Cherry all lend their voices to tracks. On the other hand, those tracks are the only standouts as Kleerup's instrumentals are unanimously forgettable. So when I say that the album isn't all that bad, it really isn't all that great either. "Until we bleed" is sublime, smoky and sad-sack, easily the album highlight. I'm not even that much of a Lykke Li fan, but her fragile delivery here suits the dark, bubbly sound to a tee. It's all about vibe and the string samples in the refrain accentuate her vulnerability, giving the track a subdued but seductive coating. Compared to "With every heartbeat" (ft. Robyn), my pick for the 2nd best track (and one I assume everyone's already heard more than enough times by now), it's far less immediate, but far more rewarding overall. The formula is almost exactly the same almost to the point of self-plagiarization, except that Robyn can't help but make everything she sings into an anthem. When Kleerup attempts to do the same with Marit Bergman and Titiyo, the results are decent enough, but nowhere near as exciting. It's not the vocalists' fault - they do their job adequately enough, the tracks just don't accentuate their strengths. In a word: tepid. Not hot, not cold, not even worth discussing. Grab this one and blast it, forget the rest.
Kleerup - Until we bleed (ft. Lykke Li)
Pitchfork has the Kleerup/Lykke Li collaboration "Until we bleed" in the Forkcast: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/50311-kleerup-ft-lykke-li-until-we-bleed-stream
