Monastir
Good things never last
A West Side Fabrication

I was originally drawn to Scandinavian music because of the differences I was hearing in it, yet a lot of stuff coming out lately sounds distinctly like many other groups. That doesn't make it bad, but it kinda makes it difficult to wax enthusiastic about such music beyond saying "Yeah, it's decent." Take the latest record by Swedish rockers Monastir. It has some energetic guitar work, some big blustery rock vocals (with just enough distortion to give it a bit of edge), and a great production. The song "So defeated" has already charted, and several others here are just as good if not better. But, while I enjoyed this disc overall, it's not one I see myself coming back to often. It's sort of a made-for-driving CD, yet it falls short of being a classic. I do like the '60s-influenced harmony vocals melding with a modern indie sound and more than a little mid-period Who flavoring. There are some nice keyboard textures, especially on "I freak out on everyone" and "Echoes in my head", and any disc with a song that celebrates being "young and stupid" or that provides imbibing accompaniment like "Saturday night and I'm feeling alright/Gonna have me a drink or two...I don't really care about you," is gonna induce smiles, for sure. I would use the word "sturdy" to describe this: there are some okay melodies, but most of it kinda sounds the same, and there's little here not being done better by other groups. Monastir just didn't create much of a, well, STIR, for me.
- Kevin Renick

This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (ÅT) Martha Wainright - "Bloody Mother F***ing A**hole"
02. (03) Timo Räisänen - "Fear No Darkness Promised Child"
03. (04) Arctic Monkey - "When the Sun Goes Down"
04. (01) Dub Sweden - "We're so Loud"
05. (NY) We Are Scientists - "The Great Escape"
06. (NY) Youngblood Brass Band - "Nuclear Summer"
07. (NY) Mylo - "Muscle Car (Sander Kleinenberg remix)"
08. (02) Alf - "Manchester Man"
09. (20) Sandy Mouche - "Spiderweb suit"
10. (07) Architectures in Helsinki - "lt'5"
11. (NY) Cat Power - "The Greatest"
12. (NY) Tim Neu - "If U Let Me Go"
13. (10) Stars - "Your Ex-lover is Dead"
14. (ÅT) SwingFly - "Something Got Me Started"
15. (NY) The Bravery - "Fearless"
16. (NY) Firefox AK - "Madame, Madame!"
17. (ÅT) Irene - "Baby I Love Your Way"
18. (NY) Loney Dear - "The City, the Airport"
19. (NY) Hello Saferide - "Long Lost Pen Pal"
20. (NY) Sway - "Little Derek"

Leaving the chart: Christian Kjellvander w/Nina Persson, Whyte Seeds, Belle & Sebastian, Damian Marley w/NAS, The Go Team!, Dilated Peoples, Matiyashu, Novastar, Håkan Hellström, The Sounds, Death Cab For Cutie, Mattafix and Monastir.

Here's the latest Swedish student radio top 20 chart:

01. (01) Dub Sweden - "We're so Loud"
02. (09) Alf - "Manchester Man"
03. (NY) Timo Räisänen - "Fear No Darkness, Promised Child"
04. (08) Christian Kjellvander w/Nina Persson - "Roaring 40's"
05. (02) Arctic Monkeys - "When the sun goes down"
06. (06) Whyte Seeds - "Bold as Love"
07. (NY) Architecture In Helsinki - "It'5"
08. (05) Belle & Sebastian - "Funny Little Frog"
09. (17) Damian Marley w/NAS - "Road to Zion"
10. (11) Stars - "You Ex-lover is Dead"
11. (NY) The Go Team - "Ladyflash"
12. (10) Dilated Peoples - "Back Again"
13. (NY) Matiyashu - "King Without Crown"
14. (NY) Novastar - "Never Back Down"
15. (ÅT) Håkan Hellström - "13"
16. (07) The Sounds - "Song With a Mission"
17. (13) Death Cab For Cutie - "Crooked Teeth"
18. (NY) Mattafix - "To & Fro"
19. (NY) Monastir - "So Defeated"
20. (NY) Sandy Mouche - "Spiderweb Suit"

Leaving the chart: Martha Wainright, SwingFly, Irene, Absentee, Maxïmo Park, Beth Orton, Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins, Ashanti and Daddy Yankee.

The latest top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet U Look Good on the Dancefloor"
02. (09) The Sorayas - "Hours to Days"
03. (05) Gorillaz - "Dirty Harry"
04. (02) The White Stripes - "The Denial Twist"
05. (07) Róisín Murphy - "Sow Into You"
06. (06) The Fine Arts Showcase - "Chemical Girl"
07. (05) Franz Ferdinand - "Walk Away"
08. (08) El Perro Del Mar - "God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get)"
09. (04) David Sandström Overdrive - "The Crotch of a Saturday"
10. (13) Dannii Minogue & The Soul Seekerz - "Perfection"
11. (11) Unarmed Enemies - "Missing Out"
12. (10) ObnoXiuz - "Lägg benen på ryggen och dra"
13. (NY) Håkan Hellström - "13"
14. (17) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Is This Love?"
15. (NY) The Mitchell Brothers - "Alone With the TV"
16. (NY) Peshi - "Jasper Flute"
17. (NY) Monastir - "So Defeated"
18. (18) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Weight of the World"
19. (12) Goldfrapp - "Number 1"
20. (14) Baby Shambles - "Albion"

Leaving the chart: The Embassy, Queens of the Stone Age, Röyksopp and Saïan Supa Crew.

The new Monastir album "Good things never last" will finally be released on November 16 via A West Side Fabrication. The new single "So defeated" will be sent to radio shortly. In other AWSF news, look for new albums from both Boy Omega and Björn Norestig early next year.

The Monastir song "Life is long, when your lonely" was featured on the HBO sex-drama "The L word" during a lesbian love scene on a recent episode. Nice one guys! Listen to the song yourself at the bands purevolume site. In other news, the band reports that the new album is finished and mastered. It won't be out until fall, but samples will be posted soon.

Monastir sideproject Holiday With Maggie has signed with Italian label Wynona Records. Look for their debut album "Skyline drive" to be released in Europe and the US this coming April.

After spending the last half of the year or so doing various side-projects (Holiday With Maggie, Meleeh), Monastir reports that they will be starting preproduction on a new album in January.

It has finally been revealed that the upcoming Bear Quartet tribute album from A Tenderversion Recording/A Westside Fabrication will be called "Money Talks" and will be released on September 22. Once again, here's the tracklist:

01. Laakso - Blizzard
02. The Concretes - Just Locals
03. Junip - Carsick
04. Håkan Mild - Hunchback
05. Andreas Mattson - Machine Gun
06. The World - Euthanasia
07. Seven Shells - Old Friends
08. Erik Devahl - Straw
09. Kåre Vernby & Dibaba - If You Have A Heart
10. Boy Omega - Last Ball
11. Reverend Big O - I'm Slow
12. Kristofer Åström - Twinreceiver
13. Monastir - Ghosts For Laundry
14. Bad Cash Quartet - Put Me Back Together
15. They Stole A Million - Speedy
16. Audrey - Helpless

A Tenderversion Recording is the name of a new label run by Martin Lundmark. in collaboration with Per Tannergård and José González. Their first release will be a five-track EP from Audrey, who they describe as Cat Power and Björk. Look for it in July. But what I'm more excited about is the upcoming Bear Quartet tribute they are doing as a co-release A Westside Fabrication. At long last, here's the full tracklist:

01. Laakso - Blizzard
02. The Concretes - Just Locals
03. Junip - Carsick
04. Håkan Mild - Hunchback
05. Andreas Mattson - Machine Gun
06. The World - Euthanasia
07. Seven Shells - Old Friends
08. Erik Devahl - Straw
09. Kåre Vernby & Dibaba - If You Have A Heart
10. Boy Omega - Last Ball
11. Reverend Big O - I'm Slow
12. Kristofer Åström - Twinreceiver
13. Monastir - Ghosts For Laundry
14. Bad Cash Quartet - Put Me Back Together
15. They Stole A Million - Speedy
16. Audrey - Helpless

It should be amazing, I'm sure. As for later on, they'll release the debut album "Read between the lines at all times" from postrock/minimalist/nolse act Scraps of Tape in August and records from Once We Were and September Malevolence in the fall. More details when I get them.

Some news from A West Side Fabrication....

The rumors are true: there is indeed a Bear Quartet tribute in the works. 15 bands, out in August.
Also coming in August is an album from new signee Boy Omega, who they describe as Bright Eyes with the voice of Robert Smith from The Cure.
They also signed power-pop act/Monastir sideproject Holiday With Maggie and will release their new album "Skyline Drive" on June 30.
Lastly, Finland's Penniless will release "All Good Things Come To Those Who Wait" as their new single which will come with three unreleased b-sides.

Holiday with Maggie, Magnus and Marcus from Monastir's other band, have posted two new demo mp3s up on their website. Check it:

01. Make it, don't break it
02. The great northern

Check out samples from Monastir's latest album "The Modern Sound for a Loser Generation": http://www.syftrecords.com/label/monastir.html (scroll to the bottom)

Sweden's Monastir is heading over to Japan along with the UK's Farrah for a couple dates in February:

02/12 - Shibuya Club Quattoro, Tokyo
02/13 - China Town, Hiroshima
02/14 - Keith Flack, Fukuoka
02/15 - Shinsaibashi Club Quattoro, Osaka

Check out a flyer here: http://www.syftrecords.com/label/monastir.html

Lake of Tears will enter the studio on February 13 to begin work on their new album, tentatively titled "Black Brick Road". An August release on Noise Records is expected.

German radio show "45 minutes", broadcast every second sunday at 7.30 pm on Radio Blau Leipzig, recently published their best-of-the-year lists and they contain a ton of Nordic acts. Here's some highlights:

Top 100 LPs 2003
01. The Bear Quartet "angry brigade" (A West Side Fabrication)
03. David & The Citizens "until the sadness is gone" (Adrian)
05. The Legends "up against the legends" (Labrador)
06. The Radio Dept. "lesser matters" (Labrador)
08. The Embassy "futile crimes" (Service)
10. Wan Light "let's wake up somewhere else" (Labrador)
12. Mew "frengers" (Sony)
13. Monastir "the modern sound for a loser generation" (A West Side Fabrication)
16. Peter Bjorn And John "s/t" (Beat That!)
17. The Crystal Committee "forever overhead" (Chalksound)
18. Dub Sweden "welcome to our world" (Silence)
21. Franke "optimismens hån" (Service)
22. Club 8 "strangely beautiful" (Labrador)
23. Komeda "kokomemedada" (Sonet)
32. The Concretes "s/t" (Licking Fingers)
42. Broder Daniel "cruel town" (Dolores)
50. The Cardigans "long gone before daylight" (Stockholm)
57. Laakso "miss you, i'm pregnant" (Adrian)
58. The Raveonettes "chain gang of love" (Dragnet)
73. Paola "stockcity girl" (Dolores)
83. Burek V "s/t" (A West Side Fabrication)
85. Carpet People "more bad weather coming out of the rain" (Chalksound)
88. Isolation Years "it's golden" (Stickman)
89. Douglas Heart "douglas heart" (Labrador)
93. Mando Diao "bring 'em in" (Majesty)
94. The Knife "deep cuts" (Rabid)
97. Ariel Kill Him "in the pyramid" (Kasual)
99. Edson "every day, ervery second" (Labrador)

For the rest of the list, as well as their singles chart, go here: http://www.pop-on-paper.de/