Pitchfork reports on The Tough Alliance selling "First class riot" to Roxy Snowboards: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/47554-the-tough-alliance-roxy-snowboard-commercial

The Cricket's favorite Swedish albums of 2007:

01. Studio - Yearbook 1
02. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
03. Säkert! - Säkert!
04. Taken By Trees - Open Field
05. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
06. Christian Kjellvander - I See Her From Here/I See Here From Her
07. José Gonzáles - In Our Nature
08. Anna Järvinen - Jag fick feeling
09. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
10. Natalie Gardiner - California

Read more: http://www.thecricket.nu/recensioner.asp?id=969

Nöjesguiden's top 10 Swedish albums of the year:

01. Säkert! - Säkert!
02. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
03. Laakso - Mother, Am I Good Looking?
04. Dungen - Tio Bitar
05. Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her
06. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
07. Frida Hyvönen - Music From the Dance Performance Pudel
08. Conny Nimmersjö - Skörheten & Oljudet
09. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
10. Anna Järvinen - Jag fick feeling

Top 10s for 2007: Magnus Öberg (Nomethod)

Jonas Game
ADHD
Sincerely Yours

Expectations are everything. My roommate was prepared for the glitzy, sex-saturated retelling of "Beowulf", and I was hoping for the meat of the original epic poem, obviously retooled by the talented Neil Gaiman, with a little flash added by director Robert Zemeckis. Alan had a great time; I sat limply in my chair, groaning through the plot changes and, in my opinion, stilted and strained dialogue (and the humorously awful depiction of Grendel), only occasionally fazed by what flickered upon the screen.

But here I find myself on the opposite side of the fence. Mostly I've heard a negative reaction to Jonas Lundqvist's record, and surprise at some of the positive press he's received. I'm not sure what people were expecting when they saw that the former drummer of Bad Cash Quartet was releasing his debut solo album on The Tough Alliance's own Sincerely Yours label. (Personally I expected this sort of well-trodden pop exploration.) The title track is definitely the peak of the album, and the song that holds up best to constant scrutiny, but "ADHD" is a summer-y, sun-bleached pop record in the vein of Håkan Hellström and The Clash's more playful, simplistic moments. I even hear elements of Springsteen and mid-career-era Rancid (think "Life won't wait"). Would I run into a crowded room proclaiming the brilliance of Jonas Lundqvist? Probably not. Will I be listening to this album in an attempt to stave off the strengthening shadows of the coming winter? Probably, yeah. It's fun. I have no problem with a successfully attempted pop record.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

PopMatters reviews The Tough Alliance: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/49729/the-tough-alliance-a-new-chance/

Pitchfork lauds the US release of "A new chance" from The Tough Alliance: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45570-a-new-chance

The Tough Alliance will be travelling to NYC to perform at CMJ. So far all I've seen listed is a show at The Annex on October 19, but if I come across anything else, I'll be sure to post it.

Pitchfork (well, mostly just Marc Hogan) continues to gush over The Tough Alliance: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/45334-the-tough-alliance-a-new-chance

Festival report: Arvika

Pitchfork reviews the US release of The Tough Alliance's "New waves" EP: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44190-new-waves-ep

The Tough Alliance
Live @ Tack!Tack!Tack!, The Social, London, 07/02/07

Maracas! Strobe lights! Glow sticks! Noisemakers! A bubble machine! A glowing orb fake microphone! And a dysfunctional smoke machine - these were to be the tools of The Tough Alliance for the night. After a great opening set by The Honeydrips, they took the stage like two madmen, dancing and singing/miming along to "Something special" from their new album "New chance". With all the toys for the group to play with, the objects, along with drinks from the crowd, were all being passed around the stage area while the ecstatic crowd encroaching closer as each moment passed by. When "First class riot" began, the crowd went absolutely nuts, singing as loud as they could and probably making the people at the bar upstairs wishing they were downstairs. The band's engergy far surpassed that exerted by the crowd, obviously driven by the packed venue. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got in return was easily the best show I've been to all year and my brother, who was also in attendance, agreed with me. Other than the few confused audience members standing cross-armed and bewildered, the crowd was dancing and singing along and really having a damn good time. After all, we go to shows to be entertained, and with The Tough Alliance, that's just what you get.
- Matt Giordano

Indie MP3 with their take on last week's Tack!Tack!Tack! show featuring The Tough Alliance and The Honeydrips: http://www.indie-mp3.co.uk/2007/07/tough-alliancethe-honeydrips-tack-tack.html
Note the bullshit-detector comments.

Festival report: Accelerator

The playlist for this week's radio show on Sirius:

01. TALK 1
02. Fattaru - Stila upp din skit
03. Samuraj Cities - Thxa1000000
04. The Fine Arts Showcase - I don't worry
05. TALK 2
06. Imagine I Had Hands - Captive
07. Scraps of Tape - Pickpockets vow
08. FAP - Jag drar till sjöss en sväng jag
09. TALK 3
10. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
11. Mainliners - Good storm
12. Breach - Gheeá
13. TALK 4
14. Him Kerosene - Neutrino
15. Familjen - Nu händer det igen
16. Sista Sekunden - D.I.We
17. Nine - Time has come
18. TALK 5
19. Emperor - Towards the pantheon
20. September - Can't get over (Long disco mix)
21. Kornstad - Turkey, Texas
22. TALK 6
23. Camouflage - Syster sol
24. Lolita Pop - Salta diamanter
25. Leather Nun - Gimme gimme gimme
26. TALK 7
27. Superfamily - I could be a real winner
28. Juvelen - Hanna
29. The Book of Daniel - Death caps and moonshine
30. Monkeystrikes - Serial faller in lover
31. TALK 8
32. Torpedo - Hang me high
33. Erik Enocksson - The lingering procession
34. Hederos & Hellberg - No fun
35. TALK 9
36. Death By Kite - Himmelfahrtskommando
37. The Tough Alliance - Something special
38. Seance - Controlled bleeding
39. TALK 10
40. Shout Out Louds - Hard rain