Norwegian all-star band Cream of the Crop (feat. members from Jaga Jazzist, Hellbillies, Motorpsycho, Askil Holm) has been confirmed as a headliner for the Kongsberg Jazz Festival on June 30.

Stickman reports that they've received copies of the new double-LP 180g vinyl gatefold reissue of "The Tussler" from Norway's International Tussler Society aka Motorpsycho's country-flavored alter-ego. They also say that the band is heading to the mountains to record some new material in a few days.

Deathprod aka Helge Sten (Supersilent, ex-Motorpsycho) recently finished mixing the new project "On", a collaboration between Chicago-based percussionist Steve Hess and French artist Sylvain Chauveau. The music is described as "calm improv" and it should be out sometime this fall. Look for the duo to tour the US this spring, too.

Via NRK, here's some video footage of Motorpsycho's recent trip to Japan: http://nrk.no/programmer/tv/lydverket/3420188.html

Stickman Records, the European label home of KVLR and Motorpsycho, has finally joined the modern age and gotten themselves a fancy new website. Lookin' good!

Other notables/honorable mentions:

Cult of Luna - The Beyond & s/t reissue (Earache)
Crushing doom in the vein of Neurosis and Isis, but with a touch of something else that separates them from the rest of the imitators. Hopefully these guys will tour the US because I bet they kill live.

Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Bud Fox)
Broder Daniel - Cruel Town (Dolores)
These are two of the best Swedish indiepop records this year and I think I actually like the former a bit more than the latter. Broder Daniel has some better songs when taken on their own, but the Shout Out Louds made a better album. I was hoping the latest Bad Cash Quartet would rate too, but it was a huge disappointment.

Zyklon - Aeon (Candlelight)
Ex-Emperor guitarist Samoth proves he can move on and still make quality music. One of the few black-metal releases this year that really caught my interest. Either the scene is stagnant or I've lost interest, not sure.

Motorpsycho & Jaga Jazzist Horns - In the Fishtank (Konkurrent)
It's about time the rest of the world was exposed to these guys. I can do without that one awful funk track, but the rest of this is great stuff. Hopefully the increased international profile of this release will help them get their own music recognized and appreciated.

Randy - Welfare Problems (Burning Heart)
I don't listen to much punk-rock these days, but Randy always delivers. Looking forward to the US tour in February.

The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Stockholm Records)
I was really put off by the mellow 70s vibe at first, but once I got over it I found out there were some pretty great songs here. Definitely not what I was expecting, but worth a second glance if you passed it over before.

Ricochets - Ghost of Our Love (White Jazz)
Tiger Lou - Trouble And Desire (Startracks)
Mustasch - Ratsafari (Majesty/Capitol)
Seven Feet Four - Departure/Arrival (Coalition)
Four solid releases from four very different acts. Nothing life changing here, but all still quite good and definitely worth investigating.

Jaga Jazzist - The Stix (Smalltown Supersound)
Supersilent - 6 (Rune Grammofon)
v/a - Money Will Ruin Everything 2xCD + Book (Rune Grammofon)
Norway is really a hotbed for experimental genre-expanding music right now and these three releases are a great place to start. You won't find that elusive "next big thing" here, just music that will make you think. Both Smalltown Supersound and Rune Grammofon are labels to keep an eye on.

Top ten: 2003

Tons of Motorpsycho multimedia to check out: http://3voor12.vpro.nl/3voor12/groups/index.jsp?groups=996035

Here's another article from NRK on Motorpsycho's trip to Japan, but this one focuses on Japanese Scandinavian music lover Akane Nakamura. Akane runs a great bunch of Nordic music fan sites in Japanese, such as this one for singer/songwriter Askil Holm who is also on tour over there.

Yesterday NRK had a feature on Motorpsycho's tour in Japan, today it's Norweigan singer/songwriter Askil Holm: http://www.nrk.no/musikk/3337656.html

Here's a report on Motorpsycho's current adventure over in Japan: http://www.nrk.no/musikk/3333330.html (in Norweigan)

Post-rockers The Low Frequency in Stereo have confirmed "Travelling Ants Who Got Eaten by Moskus" as the title of their new album. It's being mastered by Deathprod (Supersilent, ex-Motorpsycho) and will be out January 25 on Rec90.

A ton of new music today for your listening enjoyment: first off we've got a streaming spotlight on Norway's Motorpsycho. They've been getting a lot of much-deserved attention for their recent "In the Fishtank" collaboration with the Jaga Jazzist horn section, so if you're curious about hearing more, this is a great place to start. I also put up the first batch of tracks from a Hederos & Hellberg live set. If you've been coming to this site for awhile, you'll notice that this one is different than the one I had put up before. Enjoy!

Pitchfork covers the Motorpsycho/Jaga Jazzist horns "In the Fishtank" collaboration today. Check it out. Hopefully this releases' increased exposure for the group will lead to a solid internation audience and maybe even some US touring. Who knows? Jim- get me that streaming playlist already!

Parasol is now set to unleash Norway's Motorpsycho upon the US. Read Jim's statement of intent and look forward to a streaming showcase on the band in the near future.