This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Robyn - Robyn
02. Carola - Störst av allt
03. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
04. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
05. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
06. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
07. Shirley Clamp - Lever Mina Drömmar
08. Eldkvarn - Atlantis
09. Bo Sundström - Skåne
10. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
11. Laleh - Laleh
12. Candlemass - Candlemass
13. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
14. Jimmy Jansson - Som en blixt!
15. Darin - The Anthem
16. Nordman - Anno 2005
17. Caroline W. - Bossa Supernova
18. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
19. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
20. Looptroop - Fort Europa

Pitchfork reviews the reissue of the first Dungen album: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/d/dungen/1999-2001.shtml

Moneybrother guitarist Henrik Svensson injured himself in a motorcycle accident: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,644976,00.html (in Swedish)

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Carola - Störst av allt
02. Robyn - Robyn
03. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
04. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
05. Candlemass - Candlemass
06. Shirley Clamp - Lever Mina Drömmar
07. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
08. Eldkvarn - Atlantis
09. Bo Sundström - Skåne
10. Nordman - Anno 2005
11. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
12. Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan
13. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
14. Laleh - Laleh
15. Looptroop - Fort Europa
16. Caroline W. - Bossa Supernova
17. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
18. Jimmy Jansson - Som en blixt!
19. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
20. Darin - The Anthem

The BBC's Radio 3 is running a feature on EST aka Esbjörn Svensson Trio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/vj6k6/ (via)

New updated tourdates for Moneybrother:

05/15 - Pinkpop, Landgraaf (NL)
05/15 - Roco Del Schlacko Festival, Püttlingen (GER)
05/16 - Pfingst Open Air Werden, Essen (GER)
05/17 - Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht (NL)
05/18 - E-Werk, Erlangen (GER)
05/19 - PPC, Graz (AUS)
05/21 - Musikkantine, Ausgburg (GER)
05/22 - BPM Club, Leipzig (GER)
05/23 - Feuerwache, Mannheim (GER)
05/25 - Colos Saal, Aschaffenburg (GER)
05/26 - Kamp, Bielefeld (GER)
05/27 - Immergut Rock Festival, Neustrelitz (GER)
05/28 - Siesta, Hässleholm (SWE)
06/03 - Mejeriet, Lund (SWE)
06/04 - Tivoli, Helsingborg (SWE)
06/08 - Open Air, Fulda (GER) w/Wir Sind Helden
06/09 - Nova Rock, Nickelsdorf (AUS)
06/10 - Atomic Café, Münich (GER)
06/11 - Southside, Neuhausen ob der Eck (GER)
06/12 - Hurricane, Scheessel (GER)
06/17 - Hultsfredsfestivalen, Hultsfred (SWE)
06/19 - Provinsirock, Senäjoki (FIN)
07/01 - St Gallen Open Air, St Gallen (SWI)
07/02 - Rheinkultur Festival, Bonn (GER)
07/02 - Rothhaar Festival, Erndtebrück (GER)
07/03 - MTV Campus Invasion, Osnabrück (GER)
07/08 - Gatufesten, Sundsvall (SWE)
07/09 - Peace & Love, Borlänge (SWE)
07/15 - Arvika, Arvikafestivalen (SWE)
07/20 - After Eight, Jakobstad (FIN)
07/22 - Das Fest, Karlsruhe (GER)
07/23 - Kino, Ebensee (AUS)
08/03 - Where The Action Is, Göteborg (SWE)
08/05 - Where The Action Is, Malmö (SWE)
08/06 - Haldern Open Air, Rees Haldern (GER)
08/07 - Weinturm Open Air, Bad Winsheim (GER)
08/11 - Öya Festival, Oslo (NOR)
08/12 - Where The Action Is, Linköping (SWE)
08/13 - Where The Action Is, Karlskrona (SWE)
08/18 - Pukkelpop, Hasselt (BEL)
08/20 - Frequency Festival, Salzburg (AUS)
08/21 - Highfield Festival, Hohenfelden (GER)
08/27 - Where The Action Is, Stockholm (SWE)

New pics of CDOASS, Isolation Years and Moneybrother now up at photohenrik.com.

Also at Novoton are some pics from Existensminimum's gig at Cirkus opening for Moneybrother. Check 'em out here and here.

Streaming playlist: Spring is in the air

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Robyn - Robyn
02. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
03. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
04. Looptroop - Fort Europa
05. Eldkvarn - Atlantis
06. Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan
07. Nordman - Anno 2005
08. Bo Sundström - Skåne
09. Shirley Clamp - Lever Mina Drömmar
10. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
11. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
12. The Tough Alliance - New School
13. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
14. Martin Stenmarck - Think Of Me (New Version)
15. Freddie Wadling - Jag är monstret
16. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
17. Laleh - Laleh
18. Totta Näslund - Totta 8: Greatest Hits!
19. Darin - The Anthem
20. Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

HIM reports that acclaimed engineer Andy Wallace will be mixing the band's forthcoming album. Some of Wallace's credits include work on albums from Slayer, Korn, Ben Folds Five, Helmet, Rage Against the Machine, Rollins Band and tons more.

Today's mp3 is the brand new single from Existensminimum aka Magnus Henriksson, a man who's probably more familiar to a lot of people as the drummer for Moneybrother. Well, not only is he a great drummer, he's also a respected producer and burgeoning solo artist. This is the first single from his forthcoming as-yet-untitled and unfinished debut solo album. It's officially out today, just in time for his gig at Cirkus in Stockholm where he'll doing double-duty opening the show with Existensminimum and then headlining behind the kit with Moneybrother. Of course, the show is sold out already, but hey - there will be other opportunities in the future, I'm sure. Anyhow, check out the track - it's good stuff.

Interview: Peter Ahlqvist (Burning Heart Records)

This year's Where the Action Is tour will feature top Swedish acts The Ark, Hellacopters, Håkan Hellström and Moneybrother. Hard to beat that for a lineup, eh? Dates:

08/03 - Trädgårdsföreningen, Göteborg
08/05 - Mölleplatsen, Malmö
08/12 - tba, Linköping
08/13 - Sparregården, Karlskrona
08/27 - tba, Stockholm

More info: http://www.wheretheactionis.se/

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Eldkvarn - Atlantis
02. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
03. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
04. Shirley Clamp - Lever Mina Drömmar
05. Bo Sundström - Skåne
06. Totta Näslund - Totta 8: Greatest Hits!
07. Freddie Wadling - Jag är monstret
08. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
09. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
10. Darin - The Anthem
11. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
12. Laleh - Laleh
13. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
14. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
15. Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
16. Jimmy Jansson - Som en blixt
17. Grymlings - Grymlings
18. Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan
19. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
20. Magnus Uggla - Den tatuerade generationen

Tiny Mixtapes reviews The Perishers: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/musicreviews/p/perishers.htm

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
02. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
03. Freddie Wadling - Jag är monstret
04. Totta Näslund - Totta 8: Greatest Hits!
05. The Real Group - In the Middle of Life
06. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
07. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
08. Grymlings - Grymlings
09. Darin - The Anthem
10. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
11. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
12. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
13. Laleh - Laleh
14. Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
15. Jimmy Jansson - Som en blixt
16. Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan
17. Christian Walz - Paint by Numbers
18. Frida Hyvönen - Until Death Comes
19. Millencolin - Kingwood
20. Magnus Uggla - Den tatuerade generationen

Moneybrother
Live @ Camden Barfly, London, 03/24/05

This gig was a bit of a funny one. I could never have predicted the hysteria that would surround Moneybrother's first performance on English soil. I first became aware of this band at the Hultsfred Festival in 2003 when I was informed by a friendly stranger that I had to make Moneybrother one of the absolute priority bands to see that weekend. Unfortunately, I never made said gig. However, I made sure that I tracked down the "Blood panic" CD when I returned to the UK. I was intrigued by the cover which I guessed was a pastiche of Michael Jackson, but was ultimately only drawn in by "Reconsider me" and "Don't call the police". Those two tracks showed great promise.
Fast forward two years and I found myself at the Camden Barfly, with the band's new record "To die alone" sitting pretty at the top of the Swedish album chart. Somewhat predictably, the shoebox sized venue was completely sold out. Demand was so high that the promoter had oversold the show, selling an additional 150 tickets to the 180 which should have been on sale. The upshot of this nonsense was that when buzz support act The Modern (who I predict will be a great band for Melody Club to play alongside) finished their set, the entire crowd was kicked out of the venue and forced to queue up again to see Moneybrother. Only the lucky 180 with green wrist bands were granted exclusive access. It would be interesting to note how many of these people who were let back in were non-Swedish or non-industry people. I reckon you could probably count the number on one hand.
When Moneybrother eventually came on I was surprised at how tight the group was. When I found out that they had recently played an industry gig in America, I really didn't give them much of a chance of succeeding Stateside. However, the way in which the band seemed happy to change the arrangements of the recorded versions and skit off of each other made me think that they really could make it as a "jam" band over there. As most of the set was made up of songs from the new record (which I am unfamiliar with) the main body of the set was new to me. However, these new tracks seemed to be more sincere and varied than "Blood panic". I enjoyed how each member of the band was attired in a ridiculous fashion. For example, take the trombonist who was dressed head to toe in tight white denim. It takes balls to carry that look off, believe me.
By the time Moneybrother came on for their encore, the entire crowd was moshing and one brave chap attempted to crowdsurf. The band ended on a chaotic drawn out version of "Reconsider me". Moneybrother do justice to the once derided music genre of white soul. However, although the gig was an undoubtedly enjoyable experience, I expect the band to achieve greater success in the US than the UK due to their sound being more palletable to the tastes of the former market.
- Nick Levine

Here's this week's MTVe UpNorth video chart:

01. Millencolin - Ray
02. Angu - Red Light
03. Kent - Max 500
04. Marie Miller - Playground
05. Moneybrother - They're Building Walls Around Us
06. Carpark North - Human
07. Christian Walz - Never Be Afraid Again
08. Saybia - Bend The Rules
09. Bertine Zetlitz - Ah-ah
10. Darin - Money For Nothing
11. Madrugada - The Kids Are On High Street
12. Melody Club - Boys In The Girl's Room
13. The Ark - Clamour For Glamour
14. Kurt Nilsen - Never Easy
15. Chick Habit - Rule The World
16. Sugarplum Fairy - Far Away From Man
17. Hammerfall - Bloodbound
18. The 69 Eyes - Lost Boys
19. User - Miss Wanted
20. Strip Music - 24 Hrs

Challengers:
01. Radio LXMBRG - It's Cruel Up North
02. Kristin Frogner - Stars Above My Head
03. Nick & Jay - Kan Du Hora Hende Synge
04. Clemens - Dans Me Döden
05. Prominent - Let's Talk It Over

Go here to vote for your favorite.