Danish act Mew will head to Brooklyn in May to record their next album. They'll be working with producer Rich Costey, the same guy who produced the excellent "Frengers" record.

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Niccokick - The poet
02. TALK 1
03. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
04. David Sandström - Apropå det här med att finnas till
05. Mew - Why are you looking grave?
06. TALK 2
07. C.Aarmé - Rhythm
08. Dieter Schöön - Lot's of free Shoes but nowhere to run
09. Meshuggah - Pravus
10. TALK 3
11. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
12. The Bear Quartet - Volksblues
13. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Wedding
14. Lack - Naked girls
15. TALK 4
16. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
17. Namur - Marching
18. NEI - Trip to Luleå
19. TALK 5
20. Printer - All right
21. Moto Boy - Beat heart
22. Christel Alsos - Come back to me
23. TALK 6
24. Promoe - Headache
25. Mustasch - Dogwash
26. Montt Mardié - Too many songs unwritten
27. Pascal - Smärtstillande
28. TALK 7
29. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
30. Pekker - Ass electro
31. Regulations - Police siren
32. TALK 8
33. Deud - Lördag
34. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - Beyond the south tunnel
35. Barra Head - Undermine
36. TALK 9
37. Aerial - Kallisti
38. Paris - Office killer
39. Lukestar - The shade you hide
40. TALK 10
41. Jazkamer - Metal music machine

Markovic
Adoreus
Wonderland Records

Opening with the ambitious "Lifeache", a track combining the Britpop sensibility of James with the soaring, cinematic approach of bands like Hope of the States and The Boxer Rebellion, Markovic effortlessly combine their melodic leanings with dark arrangements, laying out a thesis-of-sorts for the album to follow. "MakeBeliever" forces its way out of the layered ending of "EMO"; drumming reminiscent of Bloc Party's faster compositions accompanying the wiry, distorted opening, and building to the fuller sound that defines Markovic's "Adoreus". While there is much for anglophiles to rejoice in on the record, Markovic haven't in any way rejected their Scandinavian standing. "Crayons" has an "Isola"-era Kent feel to it, and numerous other songs seem indebted, if only slightly, to the influence of Jettie and Mew, especially the closing pair "Poem" and "Sweet surrender". Markovic's debut almost outlines the organic progression of the melancholy of the mid-90s into the pop music of today, yet "Adoreus" merely reminds us of previous and contemporary efforts, and is in no way hindered by these comparisons. There are echoes of the Britpop scene and 90s Swedish indie rock (and the 'older' feel of the production on "Adoreus" helps augment this nostalgic element), but echoes are all they are - Markovic are very much their own being. If this is what they are capable of on their first record, Markovic has a wonderful career ahead of them.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Bahnhof
Reverse
Strange Ears

The press release tries to talk things up for this Danish band. The big drum is beaten on when Bahnhof is compared to internationally acknowledged Danish bands like The Raveonettes, Mew and Figurines and the comparison is correct when it comes to their nationalities. It's not correct musically. The band dresses well in the so typically Danish rock costume of today, where the influences are the 80's, Interpol and OMD. And that kind of gives me a feeling of saturation. Fed up with the lack of originality and fed up with the lack of songs. Ah yes, the songs. Sure, there are highlights in "The eyes of Ruby" and the single "Call the police" where the music is highly dominated by synthesizers which give the band a push forward and a reminiscence of Duran Duran! If they had the guts to head that direction, a lot more would have been won. Connecting with the beginning, a comparison with fellow countrymen in Kashmir is a tad more in its place. It's as equally transparent and boring. And anonymous.
- Jonas Appelqvist

Lukestar
Lake Toba
Phone Me Records

Saturated with towering vocals that often exceed the normal male range, hook after marvelous hook, and drumming so fluid, present, and masterful that it is as fascinating to listen to as the vocal and guitar work, Lukestar may have crafted the best Scandinavian rock/pop album since Last Days of April's "Ascend to the stars". Continuing in that vein of music that was so crudely labeled 'emo', a sound mostly abandoned a few years back, Lukestar effortlessly combine aspects of LDoA with the more dynamic fluency of Mew's debut album. "Lake Toba" is a reminder of why bands like Seven Feet Four have been able to maintain their presence and importance, and an indication of the future of this genre (and, more importantly, that this sound actually has a future). While the musicianship is damned proficient, it's the songwriting that brings you back over and over, keeping the album remarkable and engaging after repeated listens, and allowing for the album to be enjoyed as a whole without skipping around the tracklist. Anthemic and vulnerable, hopeful yet cautious, "Lake Toba" is everything that rock record with serious pop sensibility should be. And with that voice, those drums, and a level of musical craftsmanship and consistency that has been lacking on far too many similar records, Lukestar's newest effort is in good position to be one of the best album of 2008.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 albums of the week:

01. Radiohead – In rainbows
02. Sambassadeur – Migration
03. José González – In our nature
04. The Postal Service – Give up
05. Shout Out Louds – Our ill wills
06. Mew – Frengers
07. Beirut – Gulag orkestar
08. The Knife – Silent shout
09. Radiohead – OK computer
10. The Arcade Fire – Funeral

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Eardrums profiles new Norwegian act Melody Marshals, a band they describe as a mix of Muse, Mew and Placebo: http://eardrumsmusic.com/2007/09/28/new-music-from-norway-melody-marshals/

Death By Kite
s/t
Quartermain

Denmark's Death By Kite have the unique ability to exude all the confidence of influences Placebo, Mew, and Sonic Youth, whilst simultaneously enjoying a degree of forgiveness afforded by their youthful energy and honest approach. The end result is a record that feels at once familiar and novel, both responses enhanced by their diacritically juxtaposed counterparts. There's a strangely nostalgic quality to the music, fashioned from the band's influences and the lo-fi production, that also adds yet another touch of authority to Death By Kite's self-titled effort. If you've been looking for a record drenched in delayed guitars and vocals reminiscent of Brian Molkos' delivery, that concurrently radiates a record overlooked in the late 90s and an album combining the dirtier approaches of contemporary bands like Figurines with the wonderfully dark musings of Joy Division... look little further. The Swedish part of me hates to admit it, but these Danes really have done well.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Danish act Port Largo has two new tracks posted on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/portlargo
They were both recorded with producer Carsten Heller (Nephew, Spleen United, Broken Beats, etc.) and sound pretty cool, so go check it out. The first track "Breakdown into fiction" makes me thinkMew gone electro/post-punk.

Largehearted Boy is starting to compile various live recordings from SXSW, including many Scandinavian artists such as Mew and Peter Bjorn and John: http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2007/03/2007_sxsw_live.html

Updated tourdates for Mew:

03/14 - SXSW (KEXP's Live from Austin City Limits show), Austin, TX
03/15 - SXSW (Brooklyn Vegan/Advanced Alternative Media party), Austin, TX
03/16 - SXSW (Under the Radar party), Austin, TX
03/17 - La Zona Rosa (SXSW), Austin, TX
03/20 - Black Cat, Washington, DC
03/22 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
03/23 - Paradise, Boston, MA
03/26 - Mod Club, Toronto, Ontario
03/28 - Double Door, Chicago, IL
03/31 - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
04/02 - Neumos, Seattle, WA
04/03 - Richard's on Richards, Vancouver, BC
04/04 - Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
04/06 - Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
04/07 - Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
07/03 - Quart Festival, Kristiansand (NOR)

Mew has posted the first in what they say will be a series of video journals: http://www.mewsite.com/journal.php

Mew's major label debut "Frengers" will get a stateside release on January 23 via Columbia. I thought "And the glass handed kites" was good, but "Frengers" is way better.

Top 10s for 2006: Staff picks

Top 10s for 2006: Closer