Frontwoman Victoria Bergsman has left The Concretes to start a solo career. Hey, maybe the The Concretes will be good now. Read the band's official statement: http://www.theconcretes.com/news.html

Slottet is the name of a new label founded by the unlikely partnership of Maria Eriksson (The Concretes), journalist/promoter Conny C. Lindström and sax player/notorious band whore Mats Gustafsson (The Thing, Sonic Youth, etc.). The first releases from the new imprint include 13-year-old girl-punk duo Dräp En Hund and Strountes, a folk/noise act featuring Mats and Maria plus Anla Courtis from the Argentinian act Reynols, both of which come out June 12. Future release include records from Christian Marclay/Mats Gustafsson duo and Boots Brown, a combo featuring Mats again along with Johan Berthling, Magnus Broo and David Stackenäs. Both of those come out September 1 and you can listen to the latter at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bootsbrown
Visit Slottet's useless and horrible flash-only website here: http://www.slottet.eu/

Dusted reviews the latest from The Concretes: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/2907

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:

01. Radiohead
02. Sufjan Stevens
03. The Radio Dept.
04. Death Cab for Cutie
05. Belle and Sebastian
06. The Pipettes
07. The Knife
08. Hello Saferide
09. Franz Ferdinand
10. Hot Chip

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
02. Vapnet - Thoméegränd
03. Peter, Bjorn and John - Young Folks
04. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
05. The Radio Dept. - A window
06. The Radio Dept. - Tell
07. Band of Horses - Wicked Gil
08. The Concretes - Chosen One
09. Band of Horses - The Funeral
10. Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body

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After being robbed in NYC, The Concretes have befallen yet another setback. Frontwoman Victoria Bergsman has taken ill and a doctor advised they cancel the rest of their current US tour, so the band reluctantly agreed, threw in the towel and has flown home. No word on when they'll be back, but they say they hope to reschedule the dates eventually.

MP3: Peter Bjorn and John - Young folks

Got the new Peter, Bjorn and John single for you today. It's such a hearty slice of pop genius that not even Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes) can ruin it with her flat, listless vocals. I don't mean to get on her case, but I think it's an important testament to the unstoppable pop genius of this trio. And c'mon - who can resist the siren song of that whistle refrain? It's exactly the kind of tune you find yourself humming throughout the day, apropo of nothing. This is the first single from the band's forthcoming album "Writer's block" which I sadly have not yet heard beyond the few songs posted on the band's myspace page, but if those four are any indication of what's to come, it's gonna be amazing. Can't wait!

Peter Bjorn and John - Young folks (ft. Victoria Bergsman)

PopMatters on the The Concretes latest: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/the_concretes_in_colour/

Updated tourdates for The Concretes:

04/29 - Triptych Festival, The Venue, Edinburgh (SCO) w/Tape
04/30 - Triptych Festival, The Tramway, Glasgow (SCO) w/Belle & Sebastian
05/04 - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON (CAN)
05/05 - Petit Campus, Montreal, QC (CAN)
05/07 - Club 9:30, Washington, DC
05/08 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
05/10 - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
05/11 - TLA, Philadelphia, PA
05/13 - Martyrs', Chicago, IL
05/14 - The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
05/17 - Richard's On Richards, Vancouver BC (CAN)
05/18 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
05/19 - Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
05/20 - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
05/23 - The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
05/24 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA
06/16 - Hultsfred Festival, Hultsfred (SWE)
07/14 - Summercase Festival, Madrid (ESP)
07/15 - Summercase Festival, Barcelona (ESP)

Support on all North American gigs will come from New Buffalo.

Stylus reviews the latest from The Concretes: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3984

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:

01. The Knife
02. The Radio Dept.
03. Belle and Sebastian
04. The Concretes
05. José González
06. Radiohead
07. Tiger Lou
08. Death Cab for Cutie
09. The Strokes
10. Håkan Hellström

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. The Concretes - Chosen One
02. The Radio Dept. - The worst taste in music
03. The Knife - Heartbeats
04. The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
05. Morrissey - You Have Killed Me
06. Le Sport - it's not the end of the world
07. The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
08. Tiger Lou - The Loyal
09. Band of Horses - The Funeral
10. Khoma - Hyenas

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This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
02. Totta & Wiehe - Dylan
03. Sebastian - Sebastian
04. Linda Bengtzing - Ingenting att förlora
05. The Refreshments - 24-7
06. Magnus Uggla - Ett bedårande barn av sin tid
07. Marie Serneholt - Enjoy the ride
08. Andreas Johnson - Mr johnson, your room is on fire
09. Christer Sjögren - King creole
10. Son of a Plumber - Son of a Plumber
11. The Knife - Silent shout
12. Rebecka Törnqvist - Melting into orange
13. Timo Räisänen - I'm indian
14. The Sounds - Dying to say this to you
15. Lotta Engberg - Världens bästa lotta
16. Ulf Lundell - När jag kysser havet - det bästa 75-84
17. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
18. Håkan Hellström - Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått
19. Petter - P
20. Rigmore Gustafsson - On my way to you

Last week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:

01. Tiger Lou
02. The Radio Dept.
03. The Knife
04. Morrissey
05. The Concretes
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. Arctic Monkeys
08. Radiohead
09. The Strokes
10. José González

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. Morrissey - You Have Killed Me
02. The Radio Dept. - The worst taste in music
03. José González - Heartbeats
04. The Knife - Silent shout
05. Morrissey - I Will See You In Far Off Places
06. Timo Räisänen - Fear no darkness, promised child
07. Timo Räisänen - Gee Whiz
08. Timo Räisänen - Lead Star
09. Tiger Lou - Oh Horatio
10. Tiger Lou - The Loyal

Want to see your favorites listed here? Please join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
02. Sebastian - Sebastian
03. The Refreshments - 238814
04. Andreas Johnson - Mr johnson, your room is on fire
05. Evergrey - Monday morning apocalypse
06. Magnus Uggla - Ett bedårande barn av sin tid
07. Linda Bengtzing - Ingenting att förlora
08. Christer Sjögren - King creole
09. The Knife - Silent shout
10. The Sounds - Dying to say this to you
11. Petter - P
12. Lotta Engberg - Världens bästa lotta
13. Son of a Plumber - Son of a Plumber
14. Rigmore Gustafsson - On my way to you
15. The Concretes - In colour
16. Ulf Lundell - När jag kysser havet - det bästa 75-84
17. Da Buzz - Last goodbye
18. Ulf Lundell - Venus & jupiter - det bästa 94-05
19. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
20. Ulf Lundell - Danielas hus - det bästa 84-93

Aversionline on Head Control System, the new project from Garm of Ulver collaborating with Daniel Cardoso (ex-Sirius, Re:aktor): http://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2006/03/best-nu-metal-album-of-all-time.html

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:

01. The Knife
02. Belle and Sebastian
03. Death Cab for Cutie
04. The Concretes
05. Radiohead
06. The Strokes
07. Morrissey
08. Tiger Lou
09. Håkan Hellström
10. Mew

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. Morrissey - You Have Killed Me
02. José González - Heartbeats
03. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
04. The Radio Dept. - The worst taste in music
05. The Strokes - Heart in a Cage
06. Morrissey - The Youngest Was The Most Loved
07. Le Sport - it's not the end of the world
08. The Concretes - Chosen One
09. The Strokes - You Only Live Once
10. José González - Crosses

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Swedish ambient artists Tape on tour, including a number of gigs as Andreas Mattson's backing band:

04/15 - Konserthuset/Stenhammarsalen, Gothenburg (SWE) (backing Andreas Mattsson)
04/19 - KB, Malmö (SWE) (backing Andreas Mattsson)
04/20 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm (SWE) w/The Tiny
04/26 - Triptych Festival, Mono, Glasgow (UK) w/Tarwater
04/29 - Triptych Festival, The Venue, Edinburgh, w/The Concretes
04/30 - Triptych Festival, The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (UK) w/Arab Strap, etc
04/23 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm (SWE) (backing Andreas Mattsson)
05/20 - "Made in Umeå festival", Umeå (SWE)
05/30 - Luminaire, London (UK) w/Volcano!, Greg Davis, Sebastien Roux
06/03 - Venn festival, Bristol (UK)
06/10 - Teatro i, Milano (ITA)

Swedish/London-based indie label Wichitia will be teaming up with V2 to release Peter, Bjorn and John's new album "Writers block". It will be out this spring and the first single "Young folks" features Viktoria Bergsman of The Concretes.