Swedish indie act Penny Century is offering their 5-track EP "Valencia" as a free download: http://promotion.pennycentury.se/
Be sure to check out the band when they're in the UK next month:
04/14 - The Liquid Ship, Glasgow
04/15 - The White Room, Sunderland
04/16 - Newcastle Arts Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne
04/17 - The Enterprise, London
04/18 - tbc, London
Penny Century has uploaded their entire new album to AllEars for listening: http://www.allears.se/ViewBand.aspx?bandId=09eaf54d-6a78-4077-8de7-847fc0aed2cc
You can also head to myspace to hear a few tracks as well: http://www.myspace.com/pennycentury
Swedish indiepop act Bonnie and Clyde has recorded a cover of their peers Penny Century (now Little Big Adventure) and posted the track for free download: http://www.littlebigadventure.se/happypeople.mp3
Penny Century has some new songs posted on myspace from their forthcoming album: http://www.myspace.com/pennycentury
This week's Bear Quartet post comes to us from the other Penny Century, now known as Little Big Adventure:
"Guess every fall has its storm / but it's not knocking on my door / as you used to"
I would like to favouritize the latest album "Eternity now" and it's outstanding track "The lost kid office".
At first I thought I should say something about "Suits on for Sandi". Something about how beautiful the lyrics, with its suppressed darkness and sadness, is. With its romantic nostalgia. And the light, but heavy guitar-structures. Ugly but beautiful. Like always with this band. Just in the middle of the best record The Bear Quartet has released. The best song in the trilogy about Sandi.
But then I listen to "The lost kid office". The sound is strange at first. You don't know if it's your speakers that are broken or your ears. Maybe it's supposed to sound like this? Like something coming out of a can. Wet and smeary. It sounds like the song is about to explode, but something is holding it back.
The vocals is so light. So high and wobbly.
You expect Matti's voice to crack at any time. Everything will fall apart.
Soon.
But then something happens. The song explodes. Everything is everywhere. And at that moment I realize that no other song before or after this will ever be so beautiful. So heartbreaking and intelligent. At that moment, this is the best song, the best sound, ever that has come out of a pair of speakers. Everything else falls apart.
I would like to favouritize "The lost kid office".
I would like to.
But I can't.
For more on Little Big Adventure, including free mp3 downloads, go here: www.littlebigadventure.se
The Bear Quartet - The lost kid office
Little Big Adventure (nee the other Penny Century) has two new songs online for free download: http://www.littlebigadventure.se/?p=19
It's a trap! loves The Bear Quartet. It's no secret. A couple weeks ago I wondered aloud about instituting a regular BQ-tribute post and, after a bit of back n' forth with some potential guest writers, it was settled. Every Saturday throughout the year of 2007, IAT will honor Sweden's greatest indierock band. However, the term 'greatest' can mean a lot of things, especially when referring to a band like BQ. They are one of my most favorite bands. The can be beautiful, inspiring, even profound, but they can also be infuriating, confusing and just plain weird. We may disagree on when each of those moments occur and that's part of what makes them so special.
For this first edition of the new series, I've asked the band Penny Century to contribute:
Ok, we picked "Mom and dad" as our favorite. A bit of a boring choice we suppose, but if you don't want your band to break up after fighting over different songs, you better pick the classic.. There's so many great tracks, but never the less, this is probably the one BQ-song that has been quoted, sung and played most by the members of Penny Century through the years. With wonderful melodies, a harmonica to kill for and incredibly well-written lyrics, this little childhood recollection never fails to move us. "I'm still stuck somewhere between who I was and who I wanted to be." That line alone is reason enough to name your band after a Bear Quartet album.
The Bear Quartet - Mom and dad
Little Big Adventure (nee Penny Century, one of many) has a new two-song single posted for free download: http://www.littlebigadventure.se/
Little Big Adventure nee Penny Century has posted two new tracks on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/centurypenny
Look for a new 6-song EP sometime in November.
Download Little Big Adventure's (ex-Penny Century) cover of "Oh yeah" by Daft Punk: http://www.littlebigadventure.se/music.htm
Absolut Noise talks to Penny Century: http://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2006/09/interview-penny-century-and-their.html
I'm pretty fearless in my willingness to review weird records; I guess I like the challenge of seeking a perspective on strange and offbeat sounds. So I didn't flinch after listening to Swedish electronica songwriter Olof Broström's curious sophomore full-length disc, although I wasn't sure what I would say. But let's start with the often surreal lyrics (which were handily printed out on an insert sheet), Olof's alternatingly deadpan, disembodied or just plain sad vocals, and the determinedly offbeat synth and rhythm track combo employed throughout the 15 songs. Interesting tracks include "The creation," where the vocal seems to convey a sort of pain generated for dramatic effect rather than personal catharsis, "We travel north," notable for its gurgling percussion and more balanced vocal track, "The mighty teardrops," whose minimal synth--possibly even played on a cheap Casio--does nothing to dampen the very eccentric arrangement and effects, which features an appearance by Penny Century, and on "You look like gold," the quaver in Broström's vocal adds drama to the already strange lyrics ("Of course I hear you/You're outside my window"). The instrumental "Mexico 86" sounds like traveling through a forbidding landscape at dusk, and the two "Big waters" tracks that close the album are densely textured ambient music, with the latter making a genuinely eerie, hypnotic and unsettling impression. So...Olof is eccentric and a bit outside of categories. This isn't an easy listen, but I dig artists like Mr. Broström who come from a place far away, and capture that feel in their music quite well.
- Kevin Renick
Nomethod has revealed that besides from new full-length albums and digital singles from both Mixtapes & Cellmates and Aerial, they'll be doing a comp this winter featuring a large cast of exciting Scandinavian artists. Names confirmed so far include Bobby Baby, Mixtapes & Cellmates, Kuryakin, Most Valuable Players, Aerial, Tar...Feathers, Echo Is Your Love, Cat Burglar, Penny Century, We Are Soldiers We Have Guns, Otur, Audrey and KVLR. More details to come!
Penny Century has posted the entire "Instructions on how not to do it" EP for free download: http://www.slangbella.se/pc/instructions/instructions.htm