"Another tunnel, another light" is the debut video from It's a Bird! It's a Plane!, the Swedish duo of Joel Sjöö (They Live By Night) and Andreas Söderlund (Sounds Like Violence, Niccokick). Direct link: http://youtu.be/ymU-B3iaFZw
It's a Bird! It's a Plane!, the new Swedish act featuring Joel Sjöö (They Live By Night) and Andreas Söderlund (Sounds Like Violence, Niccokick), will be doing a number of European dates supporting Glasvegas:
03/06 - Vega, Köpenhamn (DK)
03/07 - Kägelbanan, Stockholm (SWE)
03/09 - Molotow, Hamburg (GER)
03/10 - Magnet, Berlin (GER)
03/17 - Nouveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
03/18 - Sugar Factory, Amsterdam (NL)
I like this song a lot. It's really different from Andreas Söderlund's other bands (Niccokick/Sounds Like Violence) material in that it's very beat heavy and loaded with synths. Heavy 80s vibe too, especially with the over-the-top guitar solo ala "Beat it" (though Andreas doesn't milk it as much as I'd like). Curious to hear how the rest of the album stacks up, especially since title track "Daustralien" is more typical for him and far less exciting. I think the more he steps away from his over-emotive rock guy shtick, the better. A solo album is the perfect opportunity to indulge in indulgent sounds and with "Hawaii", he does it well.
Andreas Söderlund - Hawaii
Andreas Söderlund's debut solo single from the upcoming album of the same name. It won't sound unfamiliar to anyone who knows his work with Niccokick or Sounds Like Violence, but it's not like that's a bad thing. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7oPxid5OQ
Swedish artist/producer Andreas Söderlund (Niccokick, Sounds Like Violence, Hello Saferide, etc.) is working on a Swedish-language solo album for release later this year. Hear samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/andreassoderlund
Check out a unique remix of Niccokick's "The poet": http://www.acapela-group.com/Greetings/fish-1-4-b8e2174a720c8
Here's the playlist for this past weekend's radio show:
01. Pluxus - Bootstrap
02. TALK 1
03. Marit Bergman - Straight into my lovers arms
04. Grande Roses - Dead town
05. Mikko Singh - Rauha
06. TALK 2
07. Namur - Draw us near
08. Lapko - Sawyer the brother
09. Paper - To her
10. TALK 3
11. Johnossi - Train song
12. Markus Krunegård - Rocken spelar ingen roll längre
13. Printer - You need to
14. TALK 4
15. Firefox AK - Once I was like you (Boeoes Kaelstigen remix)
16. Aerial - Time is on fire
17. Sahara Hotnights - Visit to Vienna
18. TALK 5
19. Siena Root - Time will tell
20. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
21. Anna Ternheim - Better be
22. TALK 6
23. Anna Leong - Guollotine
24. Folie - Krogg
25. Hearts of Black Science - Empty city lights
26. TALK 7
27. Inuit - En förlorad generation
28. The Psyke Project - Dark halls red floors
29. Memento Mori - Epilog
30. TALK 8
31. The Bear Quartet - Lights out, sound off
32. Fun - I know Ted Kennedy
33. Johan Heltne - Hjärta. Instinkt. Principer.
34. TALK 9
35. Lama - Bussi
36. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
37. Little Jimmy Reeves - Drowsy dogs
38. C.Aarmé - Visions
39. TALK 10
40. No Privacy - Blood over Denmark
Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center).
Niccokick's new video for "Teenage love" is streaming at Aftonbladet: http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/musikvideor/article2435531.ab
NiccokickNiccokick don't seem to have changed much since I last saw them live with Snook four years ago (no, not in Uppsala). They still very much embody the typical sound of "Swedish" indie-rock with its anthemic melodies and carpets of distorted guitars. Singer Andreas Söderlund has been pretty active in the meantime (in sideproject Sounds like Violence and as producer of acts such as Hello Saferide and David and the Citizens) and it shows. Niccokick's sound is more diverse on their second LP than previously -- the additional synths and the odd cello have definitely helped. And while Andreas' voice comes across as desperate as ever, it's nice to hear him cover other emotions as well. The songwriting is similarly passionate and direct, yet never embarrassing, and generally very dancable and catchy. Actually, that's also the record's main problem: all that energy, passion, and directness can become a bit too much at times. It's still a very good indierock album though, great for the
dancefloor and probably even better when performed live on stage.
- Arnulf Köhncke
Check out Djembefitta, a new thrash-punk/crossover act from Göteborg that prides themselves on being anti-everything usually associated with Gbg music: http://www.myspace.com/djembefitta
Their manifesto: "Our aim is to kill pop music from Gothenburg where every band has a singer that sings out of tune. Håkan Hellström/Bad Cash Quartet/Hästpojken/Broder Daniel/Jens Lekman/Niccokick (well they live close enough to Gothenburg to count) et al are so terrible but everybody loves them... Isn't that strange?"
Niccokick are keeping a tour blog (in Swedish): http://www.niccokick.com/news.asp?newsID=289
Live music from Niccokick today at PSL: http://svt-psl.colo.netstar.se/default.aspx?entryID=468
Here's the playlist for this weekend's radio show:
01. C.Aarmé - Blodet
02. TALK 1
03. Kaka - The hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)
04. Bitch Boys - Automobile
05. Benea Reach - Rejuvenate
06. TALK 2
07. The Second Band - The urgency of now
08. Breach - Murder
09. Montys Loco - Criminal
10. TALK 3
11. Det Gamla Landet - Krutrök
12. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Cardiac arrest
13. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire
14. TALK 4
15. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
16. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
17. When - The king
18. TALK 5
19. Beyond Dawn - Increasing the gravity
20. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Plokk
21. As In RebekkaMaria - She lion (Pato Sick Hangover remix)
22. TALK 6
23. Robert Svensson - 1987 (ft. Adam Olenius)
24. Paper - To her
25. Animal Alpha - Even when I'm wrong, I'm right
26. TALK 7
27. Niccokick - The poet
28. Asha Ali - Coward heart
29. Viola - I don't know how to party
30. TALK 8
31. Voices Break the Silence - No matter if it's now
32. Marybell Katastrophy - Red red lips
33. Anna Ternheim - Shoreline
34. TALK 9
35. Ulf Ljusberg - Here, me
36. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
37. Once We Were - Carnival
38. Birds On Holiday - I had a plan
39. TALK 10
40. Björn Kleinhenz - Tredje Långgatan 26
I had been planning to post Niccokick's new single "The poet", but then Absolut Noise pretty much made my opinion redundant, but fuck it- it's President's Day here in the US and I have the day off from the dayjob and am feeling lazy, so I'm gonna post it anyway. Like Aymeric says, "The poet" is a great song in classic Niccokick style, full of attitude and a little bit reckless. The band is truly at their best when they teeter on the brink and are just barely holding on. It's about energy and feeling, not craftsmanship and the closer they get to losing control, the more exciting it is to listen to. It's about getting lost in the moment, even if you feel a little bit silly about it. Don't be too self-conscious about it.
Niccokick - The poet
