New Les Issambres album coming in June

Swedish tweepop act Les Issambres will be releasing their sixth album "Me, Amelia, Phil & Heather" on June 11 and are currently offering a few tracks for preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lesissambres

Les Issambres
Merry Christmas
Fifth Week Records

This CD's got the feel of a batch of still-warm cookies a friend just baked and brought over. You can easily imagine the siblings who lead this band and their friends sitting round at home dreaming up silly and sad Christmas songs (one which spent way too many days stuck in my head is titled "It's a sad sad Christmas Day, Sadaam Hussein") and recording them right then and there. The hand-wrapped-in-Christmas-wrapping-paper packaging only adds to the informal feel of a friendly gift. But spontaneous and lightweight as the record may be, there's some real talent in this band, and like their more serious (and better) 2007 release, "Late fairytales", it's got some really nice lo-fi indie songs that combine strong pop sense with some late 1970s New York art rock influence.
- Nancy Baym

Top 10s for 2007: It's a Trap!

Les Issambres
Late fairytales
Fifth Week Records

This has been the surprise record of the year for me. Though they are often categorized as twee - a label their flute + acoustic guitar + alternating boy/girl singer sound would seem to merit - I'd plant this release firmly in the indie pop category, circa the late 1980s with its momentary flashes of bands like Throwing Muses and The Feelies. It's hard to use a flute without sounding horribly arty or just plain horrible, but here it offers a nice sunny dimension without ever stepping over into sugary or, worse yet, saccharine. The heavy bass no doubt helps this, as do the slightly flat but never annoying vocals. The songs are all good, and they have a really nice way of creeping under your skin so that while you're consciously getting hooked on one, you're unknowingly about to decide another is really your favorite. At nine songs in half an hour, it's too short, but it's a half hour well spent. Get one of the first 300 copies and it comes in a sweet hand-sewn sleeve.
- Nancy Baym

Les Issambres
s/t
Fifth Week Records

What we have here is a failure to self-edit. The new album from this Swedish indiepop act starts out strong enough, but quickly loses steam with quite a few tracks that should've been cut during preproduction. The A-level material would've made for a nice EP by itself, but they can't quite hack it for a full 40 minutes.
- Avi Roig

Madrid will host the "Swedish Rockdays" on November 30 at Sala Arena. The festival will feature a number of Swedish bands from a multitude of genres and besides the main showcase gig, there will also be in-stores and radio shows. Acts slated to perform include Ebon Tale, A Sudden Burst of Optimism, The Skiller, Les Issambres and The Gain. More info: http://www.swedishrockdays.tk/