Pixie Carnation - Hiding in the sun

At long last, new music from Pixie Carnation. "Hiding in the sun" is the b-side to the band's upcoming single "Speed up your heart".

MP3: Pretties For You - Silver lining

Give me an epic indierock tune with expansive pop hooks and a masterful sense of dynamics and of course I'm going to be impressed. It's a formula that can be easily codified on paper, but that doesn't mean it's so easy to replicate, though plenty of Swedish artists -- Magnus Ekelund, We Are the Storm, Pixie Carnation to name a few -- have definitely hit the mark at least once. Now add Pretties for You to the list; the title track of their new EP "Silver lining", just released today via A West Side Fabrication, is a sure-fire qualifier. They take their time getting to the chorus payoff, but it's worth it.

Pretties For You - Silver lining

Tobias Hellkvist confirms new EP

Tobias Hellkvist (Pixie Carnation) has announced that he will be releasing a new solo EP entitled "Kaskelot" on August 19 via the label Tokyo Droning. Said release was improvised and recorded during a single session at Sundlaugin Studio in Reykjavik, Iceland this past April.

Pixie Carnation in the UK

Pixie Carnation recently did a very well-received showcase gig in London in April and now they're heading back over once more to build more hype:

06/29 - Monto Water Rats, London
06/30 - Old Queens Head (Chess Club), London
07/01 - KOKO (Club NME), London
07/02 - Unit, Southampton

Quarterly report: Q12011

Pixie Carnation - Webseries preview

Malmö-based indie act Pixie Carnation will be launching a live-in-studio webseries this weekend; this is a preview. Direct link: http://vimeo.com/21170891

Top tens for 2010: Tobias Hellkvist (Pixie Carnation)

Pixie Carnation - Speed up your heart

Tapete Records will be releasing a new 7" single from Malmö-based act Pixie Carnation, the first from the band's forthcoming album. No exact release date yet, but expect it to appear around February 2011.

MP3: Another Nation's National Anthem - About your fathers

I am a big appreciator of the large gesture. Pixie Carnation and We are the Storm are two fine examples of contemporary Swedish acts achieving epic indie rock grandeur; Another Nation's National Anthem is another. The band's new EP "Conscious castle" is a concept work that flows steadily from track to track, from one climatic moment to the next; in between are moments of refined melancholy that remind me of Tiger Lou, especially on the two-part "Hold, stranger". The band's own descriptor of "massive" implies a heaviness that they lack, but they got the size part right on. Many acts have been following similar paths in the wake of Arcade Fire, most of them falling far short; ANNA succeeds with their restrained bombast and a balanced fragility/woundedness. They could probably still do more to differentiate themselves from the rabble, but I can't begrudge a song like "About your fathers" when it does it so well.

Another Nation's National Anthem - About your fathers

Pixie Carnation now mixing

Excellent Malmö-based indie act Pixie Carnation reports that they have finished recording their debut full-length and are now currently mixing/mastering at Svenska Grammofon with Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm (TSOOL). There's no confirmed title or label yet, but the album will contain 11 tracks, including 4 re-recorded versions of songs from the group's "Fresh poems" EP, and it should be out sometime early next year.

Pixie Carnation in the studio

Pixie Carnation is in the studio working on what will become their full-length debut album. Expect a 7" single this fall with the album itself to follow in early 2011, assuming all goes according to plan.

PopMatters reviews Dream Evil, Pixie Carnation

New short take reviews at PopMatters cover two wildly different Swedish acts, Dream Evil and Pixie Carnation. I'm a fan of both.

Top 10s for 2009: All Scandinavian

Pixie Carnation - From the view of a gun (live video)

Check out Pixie Carnation performing an acoustic version of the new song "From the view of a gun": http://vimeo.com/7517482

Pixie Carnation selected for KEXP song of the day

IAT favorites Pixie Carnation were selected for respected indie radio station KEXP's song of the day today: http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2009/11/02/song-of-the-day-pixie-carnation-when-did-the-lights-go-out/