I loved Munck//Johnson the very first moment I heard them. Their haunting, stripped-down sound proves the maxim that less is more. Just like Carpet People, one of my other most favorite downer-acts, I find that musical simplicity works best to convey raw emotion. And also like with Carpet People, Munck//Johnson was an easy choice for inclusion in the "Reader's companion" series. I don't have copies of their latest work "Count your blessings" in stock quite yet, but they are on the way and should be here any day now. In the meantime you can download their latest single "The streets" from the mp3 playlist today, buy "Reader's companion volume two" for the track "Slavesong" (and all the other good stuff contained therein), buy buy their split 7" with fellow Danes Pluto or purchase mp3s of their first album "Unlike you" (CDs coming soon as well). All of which are highly recommended, of course.

MP3: Munck//Johnson - The streets

I loved Munck//Johnson the very first moment I heard them. Their haunting, stripped-down sound proves the maxim that less is more. Just like Carpet People, one of my other most favorite downer-acts, I find that musical simplicity works best to convey raw emotion. And also like with Carpet People, Munck//Johnson was an easy choice for inclusion in the "Reader's companion" series. I don't have copies of their latest work "Count your blessings" in stock quite yet, but they are on the way and should be here any day now. In the meantime you can download their latest single "The streets" from the mp3 playlist today, buy "Reader's companion volume two" for the track "Slavesong" (and all the other good stuff contained therein), buy buy their split 7" with fellow Danes Pluto or purchase mp3s of their first album "Unlike you" (CDs coming soon as well). All of which are highly recommended, of course.

Munck//Johnson - The streets

Now in-stock: a new split 7" featuring melancholy Danish acts Pluto and Munck//Johnson, each with an exclusive cut: [click here]
Don't believe me? Listen for yourself! I know it's not for everyone, but I've been adding a ton of amazing vinyl records to the store recently and will even be putting out some of my own 7"s later this year. Yep, that 's' as in multiple. More details to come.

Munck//Johnson on tour in France with Tamara Williamson:

05/10 - MJC Pichon, Nancy (FRA)
05/11 - La Condition Publique, Roubaix (FRA)
05/12 - La Fleche d´Or, Paris (FRA)
05/13 - Le Bonbard, Nantes (FRA)
05/14 - Dum Dum Bar, Chalon Sur Saone (FRA)
05/15 - Le Cyrius- Lyon (FRA)
05/16 - Fairfield Café, Toulouse (FRA)
05/17 - El Inca, Bordeaux (FRA)

Munck//Johnson
Count your blessings
PonyRec

Still bummed because Minnesota mopemeisters Low got all rocked up on their last album and subsequently didn't provide the misery/melancholy quotient you counted on them for? Relax, my frowning friends; Munck//Johnson are here to help. On their second album, the Danish duo sound incredibly like Low at times, and Camilla Munck shouldn't feel at all belittled to be called the Danish Mimi Parker. Her voice is just as lovely, just as capable of expressing deep, private sorrow that doesn't reveal its source openly. "Last wish" and the evocative organ utilized on "The streets" are unquestionably Low-ish (never more than when those tight harmonies deliver the goods). But my favorite tracks are the beautifully eerie "This time," which features electric guitar washes distorted to create an evocative ambient soundscape over which sparse synth and the quietly sombre vocal effectively stir up your most buried emotions, and the graceful piano-laden "Be kind," which is truly lovely. Elsewhere, several tracks are just Moogie Johnson's simple acoustic guitar and Camilla's delicate voice ("Ellis of Davenport," "Sweet and lowdown," "Flesh and bone"). While this is often downbeat music, it's engaging and poetic, and it always feels genuine. With a little patience, anyone into introspective, soul-searching music should be able to appreciate this disc, which is a tad more consistent than last year's debut.
- Kevin Renick

I'm not posting a new mp3 today because I have something even better for you, the tracklist for "It's a trap! reader's companion volume two". Behold:

01. HELLO SAFERIDE - If I don't write this song, someone I love will die (SWE)
from the album "Introducing: Hello Saferide" (Razzia)
02. RICOCHETS - Cold outside (NOR)
from the album "Isolation" (KongTiki)
03. VIOLA - Invisible revolution (FIN)
from the album "Anyone can stop us" (If Society)
04. BJÖRN KLEINHENZ - Pocket of gold (SWE)
previously unreleased
05. PLAIN FADE - Itä-Aure (FIN)
previously unreleased
06. THE BEAR QUARTET - Birds are singing deep within the greenery (SWE)
from the album "Saturday night" (A West Side Fabrication)
07. MOONBABIES - Take me to the ballroom (SWE)
from the as-yet-untitled forthcoming third full-length album (Moonbabies Music)
08. MUNCK//JOHNSON - Slavesong (DK)
from the album "Count your blessings" (PonyRec)
09. PHONOPHANI - I.F.A. (NOR)
from the self-titled album (Biophan [1998]/Rune Grammofon [2006])
10. MONEY.PAPER.THEPOLICE - Jim Morrison (SWE)
previously unreleased
11. DET GAMLA LANDET - När vi vaknar (SWE)
previously unreleased
12. THE FIRST MILES - The best one around (DK)
from the album "Aim for the heart, go!" (Little Bad Bear)
13. PARIS - Captain Morgan (SWE)
from the album "Secrets on tape" (Parismusic/V2)
14. THE END WILL BE KICKS - Medicine and airbags (SWE)
previously unreleased
15. DON JUAN DRACULA - Run away with you (NOR)
from the album "Young debutantes II" (Switch Off)
16. TIGER LOU - Nixon (SWE)
from the album "The loyal" (Startracks)
17. THE GRAND OPENING - Slow motion (SWE)
previously unreleased

Artwork is still being finalized, but if you head over to my myspace page you can see the cover art and listen to Björn Kleinhenz's track. Exact release date is still tbc, but I expect CDs in-hand by early April.

Top 10s for 2005: Kasper Find (PonyRec)

Munck//Johnson
Unlike you
PonyRec

Most people I know wouldn't make it all the way through a disc as somber and musically sparse as this debut by Danish duo Camilla Munck and Moogie Johnson, but I suppose I'm a musical masochist. I like to suffer for other people's art, and all I ask is that it stir my emotions sincerely and have enough going on to hold my interest when I'm in one of my receptive moods. "Unlike you" bobs and drifts uncertainly toward that goal, and JUST makes it over the rope. That's mostly due to Camilla's unabashedly emotional, upfront singing (there's no denying the genuineness of her potently sad delivery) and the weird snatches of distorted keyboards and other stuff here and there that add sort of an alien atmosphere (though the primary accompaniment is simple acoustic guitar). Some tunes such as "The sky", "Ease me" and "Lilies" are merely quietly pretty and melodic. Others dive straight to the murky depths like "Sister Mine" which really creates a funereal atmosphere, but I love the blend of organ and acoustic guitar. And it takes a genuinely focused/emotionally committed artist to conjure the utterly spooky vibes of "Ghostdance" and "For my sweetheart", which out-Low the lowest of, uh, Low, this group's nearest comparison. Nothing here to rev you up for the hardships of life, but as a soundtrack to same, this is often gripping stuff.
- Kevin Renick