The video for the new David Sandström Overdrive single "Not a good boy" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pMjSquuw3Y&fmt=18
Fellow ex-Refused member Kristofer Steen is the director.

MP3: David Sandström Overdrive - Lisa, Lisa

Razzia Records was kind enough to pass along the brand new David Sandström Overdrive single "Lisa, Lisa" and naturally, I'm more than happy to share it with you. Like a lot of folks, I first became aware of David back when he was in Refused and have been following his career ever since, but of all the post-Refused bands, his solo work shines brightest. I have much respect for The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Text, Cobolt and so on, but they can't hold a candle to David's increasingly diverse catalog. From "Om det inte hånder..." aka The Grandfather Album to this, a slow dance number? Perhaps not so surprisingly when you consider that he now as AC4 as an outlet for his more aggressive side, though you gotta connect a lot of dots to span the difference. It doesn't really matter though 'cuz all it all depends on whether the song is good here and now and guess what? It is. I might be surprised somewhat by the content, but definitely not by the quality.

David Sandström Overdrive - Lisa, Lisa

MP3: Like Rats From A Sinking Ship - Smash the crystal larynx!

Yesterday's adventure started off nice enough. My hosts and I walked a bit around Malmö in the AM, stopping in at Rundgång to say hello to the Deleted Art crew and such and also stopping to eat some of (what I'm told to be is) Malmö's famous falafel. From there it was off to Copenhagen for a quick trip through the national museum and then a rendezvous with Stytzer from Hits in the Car which meant enjoying a beer on the harbour. See- so far, everything was very, very nice. We even managed to find a decent restaurant for a proper dinner before exploring Christiania and heading to Loppen to see Norwegian act Like Rats From A Sinking Ship. Nothing really bad happened to us I guess, but the other band Haust canceled the show so that meant there were only 18 or so people in attendance. And then there's the Like Rats tour story: robbed twice in 4 days, freaked out and camping in the woods for 3 days, a broken kick pedal. All things considered, they took it in stride and put on a great show, but I think their bad luck rubbed off on us as our train back to Sweden broke down, making our trip home take 3x as long as it should've. Not a nice way to end the evening, y'know? Anyhow, the music of LRFASS is raw, discordant hardcore interspersed with little electronic bits not too unlike "Shape of punk..."-era Refused. Also, the best use of theramin in hardcore I've ever seen. Obviously I haven't had a lot of time to absorb their debut release "Sxy Sxy Gsw EP" yet, but here's a track that I like, especially the slower coda part. Good times!

Like Rats From A Sinking Ship - Smash the crystal larynx!

Hell yes! Live video footage of the new Umeå hardcore band AC4 featuring ex-Final Exit/Refused members Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqA8VKySe_0

Ex-Refused/Final Exit members Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström have started a brand new hardcore band together called AC4. The lineup features Dennis on vocals, David on bass, Kalle from The Vectors on guitar and Jens from Regulations on drums.

Lack
Saturate every atom
PlayRec

Lack is easily one of the more interesting indie rock acts out there right now. Going from clarity to clarity, I thought that "Be there pulse" (2005) was an excellent display of Fugazi-sounding hard-hitting rock, they now release a breathtaking album of furious and melodic punk-/indie rock. In fact, the Danes have found what I've been looking for in their previous albums; a delicate mix of hardcore and hooks. Not many bands accomplish that, At the Drive-In, Refused, Drive Like Jehu and Shellac did it, and here are the Danish heirs. Clocking in under an exemplary 30 minutes "Saturate every atom" offer its listeners a concise journey where Denmark's asylum policy, male domination, among others are matters of discussion and as an old hardcore dude, my eyes are filled with tears. It's been a long time since something this compassionate sounded this good. Produced by Per Cnöeldh (Menfolk), mixed by Lack in true DIY-style and mastered by none other than Bob Weston from Shellac, the simple, yet powerful sound gives the band justice. And speaking of justice, nothing would be more unfair if this doesn't lead to further recognition. It is that good. Try it, you'll like it!
- Jonas Appelqvist

Supposedly there might be a Refused live album in the works: http://www.refusedfan.com/news2008.html
Kinda pathetic at this point if you ask me, but whatever. Take the money and run! In semi-related news, look for details concerning a new David Sandström Overdrive single + album to be revealed soon.

Two new Matts Katt tracks over at Discobelle, including one with sample riffs from fellow Umeå artists Refused: http://www.discobelle.net/2008/01/27/matts-katt-remixes/

Jennie Abrahamson
Lights
How Sweet the Sound

I have a soft spot for talented pop singers. A decent amount of my time is spent enjoying the works of artists like Imogen Heap, Lily Allen, Annie, Gwen Stefani, Robyn, and others, some guilty pleasures, others with no guilt whatsoever. Jennie Abrahamson, a Norrland girl from the same part of Sweden that birthed the Refused and The Perishers (whose singer, Ola Klüft, is featured on "Wasted heart"), has crafted a solidly produced, though somewhat lacking pop record. The melancholy sounds okay, but it doesn't always feel quite right. Title track "Lights" begins to feel like a meandering and lost expedition when it could easily have bore direction and teeth, and that can be said for a number of tracks. On "Songs we sing", Abrahamson's gorgeous voice sits comfortably alongside a song that has a sense of forward motion. "Lights" could have been so much more, and I hope Jennie Abrahamson's future recordings are - it would be a shame that such a talented vocalist should be overlooked because of lukewarm songwriting.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Royal Downfall
These means have no end
Luftslott

"These means have no end" sounds like one of those records from the late 1990s that was given such significance when Fugazi and Refused were suddenly revisited and proclaimed the "new black" as the whole hardcore/indie/emo scene exploded in the early 00s. And, while complementary in many ways, this dated element works both ways - instilling a sense of nostalgia, but also a sense of missed progression. All the components are here: the meandering assault of At the Drive-In paired alongside the more spacey approach of Sparta, the Fugazi bass lines wrapped with Promise Ring-esque guitar lines, and, just like many of those records, "These means have no end" grows on your more and more with each listen, but the overall punch is lacking force. That being said, Royal Downfall have made a record that deserves to be placed alongside many of the bands' works that I've noted here, faults and all. "A backlash is here" is anthemic, title track "These means have no end" has an ending that puts many electro-indie tracks to shame, and "March of the musicians" seems to take stock of the contemporary Swedish indie scene, incorporating some its more easily noticed elements (glockenspiels and all) into the band's regimen. My money's on the next album, but "These means have no end" has a welcome place in my record collection for the foreseeable future.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

The Lost Patrol Band, the all-star Norrland powerpop outfit fronted by Dennis Lyxzén (Int'l Noise Conspiracy, ex-Refused) is working on new material including both an English-language and a Swedish language album. The band is also contemplating a name change seeing as how NYC act Lost Patrol owns the US rights for the name, thus stifling all efforts to make inroads in America. More details when I get it.

According to the Refused fansite, there's a new DVD documentary on the way about David Sandström entitled "Tillflykt". See more here: http://www.refusedfan.com/upcomingreleases.html

Södra Promenaden is offering up the 1989 demo from pre-Refused/Final Exit/Noise Conspiracy act Garbage Pailkids: http://sirling.blogg.se/1197467618_the_shape_o.html

Ebba Grön
We're only in it for the drugs/Kärlek och uppror/Ebba Grön
Mistlur/MNW

Swedish legendary punk band Ebba Grön only recorded three studio albums, but since their demise in 1983 (after being together for 6 years), three compilations, one live album and a four disc box set have all been released (the last compilation was released in 2005). The reason for this is simple - Ebba Grön still sell records in Sweden, due to the simple fact that they were really good (their singer Joakim Thåström also had a successful career after Ebba Grön, both with Imperiet and currently as a solo artist). Earlier this year all of their studio albums were reissued with a couple of bonus singles and b-sides not featured on the original albums stuck onto each disc. Ebba Grön's first album "We're only in it for the drugs" (don't let the English title fool you, Ebba Grön, on their records, strictly sang in Swedish, and also - the title is ironic) came out 1979 and it's without a doubt their finest work and one of the best Swedish albums of all time. After that they went a bit too soft and acquired too much of that 80s swing that sounds so dated today. If you'd like to check out some classic Swedish punk, I'd recommend you to get "We're only..." or "Ebba Grön samlingen". "We're only..." is raw and energetic whereas with the follow-ups, Ebba Grön became more and more pop and less punk. "Kärlek och uppror" is a bit hit and miss and their third (self-titled) album is more miss than hit, despite having classics such as "Flyktsoda" on it. The Swedish punk scene in the last 70s and early 80s was perhaps vibrant and some great songs were certainly produced, but overall it didn't really make too much of a mark. Ebba Grön are the exception to this, they were in a different league to the rest, a bit like what Refused were to Swedish hardcore in the 90s.

Individual Scores:
We're only in it for the drugs: 10
Kärlek och uppror: 7
Ebba Grön: 5
- Simon Tagestam

MP3: Lack - Achilles and the tortoise

Lack, one of my favorite modern hardcore acts, has a new split 7" with Beta Satan (preview clip here) plus a new album on the way early next year. They've progressed an immense over the years, so I figure it's a good time to check in again with where they came from. Their 2001 debut "Blues Moderene: Danois Explosifs" is considered by many to be the finest post-Refused album emulating the Swedes' angular, polyrhythmic style. Personally, I'm a much, much bigger fan of the 2005 follow-up "Be there pulse", a far more melodic and progressive album. The huge gap between records gave them ample time to regroup and reemerge as a band with their own distinctive sound. However, there's certainly something to be said for that first album. I think it actually holds up much better than Refused's "The shape of punk to come" as it's far more streamlined and fierce. The jazzy bits and electronica dabblings that seemed so amazing and groundbreaking at the time of its release, come off as tired now. What Lack manages to do, is refine all the other bits that made Refused so good. Sure, there's tons of other 'core bands that can out-tech them, but that's not the point. That whole riff-salad approach doesn't appeal to me anyhow, especially if you don't have anything to say. For Lack (and Refused too, for that matter), that's not a problem. As to where their career takes them next, guess we'll have to wait and see.

Lack - Achilles and the tortoise