Karisma Records has just put out a new Lonely Crowd digital download single featuring the tracks "Aren't you forgetting something?" b/w "Learning the hard way". Both are from the band's new full-length "The end of the roadie", due out June 30.

Lonely Crowd
Watching from a distance
Karisma Records

This is moody rock from Norway with a strong resemblance to The Auteurs, which makes perfect sense considering that much of this material was similarly recorded during that band's heyday in the late 90s. "Watching from a distance" collects Lonely Crowd's three early EPs and seamlessly tacks on two new tracks to pave the way for the band's re-emergence. As such, the sound is a tad dated, though not enough to stir up discontent. Nostalgia is a bitch. But really, why bother? Even at their best, Lonely Crowd are also-rans, not a lost gem. Vocalist Stig Jakobsen has a decent melodic and understated delivery, but he has neither the deadpan menace nor the charisma of Autuers mainman Luke Haines. Lonely Crowd simply pales in comparison. Yes, there are a few worthwhile tracks to be found here, but the new material is not amongst them and that does not bode well. Perhaps the promised forthcoming album will make me eat my words, but I'm not optimistic.
- Avi Roig

Karisma Records has announced the signing of Norwegian cult act Lonely Crowd and will be reissuing the bands three EPs from 1996-1997 in a new collection entitled "Watching from a distance" this coming spring. And then in the fall, the label will release the band's long-awaited debut full-length "We laughed at the time... but looking back it was terrible". For those who are unaware (like me), the band was founded back in 1995 by Stig Jakobsen of the awesomely-named band Vampire State Building along with former members of acts De Press and Holy Toy. Read more here: http://www.karismarecords.no/index.php?page=artist&Artist_id=10