Top 10s for 2008: It's a Trap! (albums)

Top 10s for 2008: Niklas Åström (And the Sound)

Mattias Alkberg (The Bear Quartet, MABD) has a new song posted on his website featuring backing from a couple of guys in Park Hotell: http://www.mabd.se/?p=96

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Tomas Halberstad - Travel as I wait
02. TALK 1
03. Robert Svensson - 1991
04. Auton - El Dorado
05. Parken - Jag har varit vilsen, Lisa
06. TALK 2
07. Tiger Lou - Trust falls
08. Promise and the Monster - Night out
09. Park Hotell - Black hole
10. TALK 3
11. Sort Sol - Excalibur
12. Convoj - The shovel
13. Satyricon - Black crow on a tombstone
14. On Volcano - Out of sight
15. TALK 4
16. Hello Saferide - Anna
17. Him Kerosene - Ventilate
18. Tobias Hellkvist - Ships of the North Atlantic
19. TALK 5
20. Division of Laura Lee - LAX
21. Oskar Schönning - Nino casino
22. Haust - Success
23. TALK 6
24. Passiv Dödshjälp - Helvetet, tur och retur

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XM U. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. TALK 1
02. Anna Maria Espinosa - A little moonlight
03. Marit Bergman - 1985
04. The Goner - Haven
05. TALK 2
06. Park Hotell - Black hole
07. Fredrik - Holm
08. Emmanuel Tegel - Solaris (beat mix)
09. TALK 3
10. The Alien - Extract #3
11. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Radius (Boeoes Kaelstigen's yea/nay remix)
12. Montt Mardié - Modesty Blaise
13. TALK 4
14. David Sandström Overdrive - Songs that maybe won't be forgotten
15. They Live By Night - Endless summer
16. Katzenjammer - Tea with cinnamon
17. TALK 5
18. Nitad - Dag efter dag

Reminder: my show airs on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.

Park Hotell
Free for friends
Ultra Radio Records/BD Pop

I've been waiting for Park Hotell's debut full length since the summer of 2007, the moment after the final track of their "The guest who stayed forever" EP came to a close. While fulfilling on its own, "The guest..." heralded a new Norrland talent, and six songs can only hold one over so long. "Free for friends" continues on in their C86-style -- the jangled guitar work struggling its way through the fantastically lower-fi production, the bass and superb drum work reinforcing the sound, with the vocals settled comfortably atop the swells of melody. Opener "Dead ringers", which It's a Trap! made available back in August, is easily one of the best songs of 2008, bringing to mind both The Bear Quartet and early New Order. With the standard set, "Free for friends" continues to deliver: "Black hole" with its wonderful, anthemic chorus of "Let some light in" perched perfectly upon surging instrumentation; the delightfully frantic guitar arrangements of "Happy love"; the chorus and ending of "Pandemonium ducks"; the grungy, angular attack of instrumental "Trouble kid"; and the powerful close provided by the title track and "Rubberneck". In the beginning, there were tracks I had to learn to appreciate through repeated listening, but I find this a compelling aspect of a record rather than a dissatisfying one. I like records that surprise me as they continue to reveal layers not visible on first glance. "Free for friends" is a perfect autumn record: tracts of introspection still fuelled by the reckless hope of summer days. Well worth the wait.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Now in stock and ready for pre-order: Park Hotell - Free for friends
Yep, the long-awaited full-length is finally here and ready to be shipped in time for arrival on the release date October 29. Listen to tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/parkhotell

Eardrums has revealed the lineup for their upcoming free fall mp3 compilation: http://eardrumsmusic.com/2008/09/17/artists-and-tracks-on-the-new-eardrums-compilation-autumn-2008/
Looks like they've got a lot of good stuff including Jesper Norda, Park Hotell, Je Suis Animal, Pelle Carlberg, Vapnet, The Tiny and lots, lots more.

The new Park Hotell album "Free for friends" will be released on October 25.

Park Hotell has recorded a new track for an upcoming Eardrums Music comp. No more info yet, but keep an eye on this page: http://eardrumsmusic.com/the-label/

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Pascal - Längtar efter dig
02. TALK 1
03. Division of Laura Lee - Central Park
04. New Decade - While tonight still is
05. Abduktio - Uutisia rintamalta
06. TALK 2
07. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
08. Fireside - Silver muscle car
09. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
10. TALK 3
11. NEI - New morning
12. The Bear Quartet - All your life
13. Park Hotell - Dead ringers
14. KVLR - Spit
15. Electric Retard - Skate girl
16. TALK 4
17. Samuraj Cities - Ugly kids are alright
18. Barra Head - Iron to skin
19. Death By Kite - Himmelfahrtskommando
20. TALK 5
21. Blithe - Haven
22. Starmarket - You can't come
23. Lukestar - White shade
24. Monkeystrikes - Tahonga take away
25. TALK 6
26. Voices Break the Silence - This awful friend

Reminder: My show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.

Anthem Magazine on Park Hotell: http://anthemmagazine.com/story/731

MP3: Park Hotell - Dead ringers

Fridays are typically reserved for old music, but I was handed a brand new mp3 from Park Hotell yesterday afternoon and it's too good not to share. The band has a new album on the way and "Dead ringers" is the first taste of what's to come and I have to say that it's got me excited. No more synths, no more shoegazer vibes, just organic indie rock'n'roll. I definitely get a Manchester/Britpop vibe on this too and while that's not something that normally appeals to me, I fully back Park Hotell's take on it because they make it their own. Maybe it's the influence of producer Jari Haapalainen, but I'd say this has more in common with Laakso than The Smiths, though the latter is certainly a good reference point. I also hear echoes of peak-era Swedish indie such as Eggstone or The Wannadies, the sort of stuff that defined the scene back in the 90s and is rarely emulated today.

"Dead ringers" features aforementioned producer extraordinaire Jari Haapalainen on drums and fellow Swedes/sister duo Taxi, Taxi! on backup vocals. Look for the new (as yet unnamed?) album to be released this fall via BD Pop/Ultra Radio Records.

Park Hotell - Dead ringers

Interview: Mattias Alkberg

Peter Morén does the guest list thing for Pitchfork, throwing in shout-outs for Park Hotell and The Bear Quartet: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/49705-guest-list-peter-morn