Artist: The Tough Alliance
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I used to think that The Tough Alliance was total garbage, but in spite of my overwhelming curmudgeonry, I have to grudgingly accept that they are improving. It helps now that I now recognize TTA are simply Bad Cash Quartet with synths instead of guitars. It's all just Göteborg pop after all and who am I to disparage that? Their new EP "New waves" still has a few clumsy missteps here and there (no more faux-reggae/island bits, plz), but it does way more things right than wrong. If they keep putting out stuff like this, I might even start to consider myself a fan. But please please please, don't let them do another full-length album for a long time. Shorter = smarter, better.
The Tough Alliance - Silly crimes
This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played artist chart:
01. The Pipettes
02. The Knife
03. Belle and Sebastian
04. Radiohead
05. The Radio Dept.
06. Death Cab for Cutie
07. Calexico
08. Kent
09. Sufjan Stevens
10. Hot Chip
Top 10 tracks for the week:
01. The Pipettes - Dirty Mind
02. Hot Chip - Over and Over
03. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
04. Sambassadeur - Kate
05. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
06. The Pipettes - Your Kisses are Wasted on Me
07. Peter, Bjorn and John - Young Folks
08. David & the Citizens - Are you in my blood?
09. The Tough Alliance - Silly Crimes
10. The Tough Alliance - Kill Kill Kill
If you want to see your favorites listed here you should join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Look! A new single from The Tough Alliance: http://www.sincerelyyours.se/offer.html
I have to be honest, I wasn't that keen on Lo-Fi-Fnk's debut EP "...and the JFG?" that came out last year. Amid brilliant releases from other Swedish "electro duos", such as The Tough Alliance, Three is a crowd, Cat5, and Le Sport (then known as Eurosport), Lo-Fi-Fnk just didn't cut it. Now, with no new TTA material around, a dissapointing album from TIAC, Cat5's album yet to be released, and an album from Le Sport that's got a lot of great songs although I've heard most of them before - "Boylife" comes as a true saviour. The first half of the album is superior to the second, but that's mainly due to starting off with the two magnificent tracks "City" and "Adore". If you're into any of the bands I mentioned above, you should check this one out as well; it's one of my favourites of the year so far.
- Simon Tagestam
Here are the winners of the Manifest, Sweden's alternative to the Grammy:
Hip-hop/R'n'B/Soul: Jaqee
Electronic/Post-rock/Synth: Midaircondo
Pop/Rock: The Embassy
Jazz: Bobo Stenson Trio
Singer/songwriter: Lars Bygdén
Dance/House/Techno: DK7
Hard-rock/Punk: Grand Magus
Folk/Worldmusic: Sofia Karlsson
Best liveartist: Timbuktu
Newcomer: The Tough Alliance
Best unsigned act/Digfi prize: Intohimo
The latest from The Tough Alliance regarding their fatwa on The Sounds:
"Mattias Wachtmeister from Warner Music Sweden asked Embassy to ask us to remove the fatwa on The Sounds. He was worried that it might disturb the marketing of their new album. Of course it's darklords in suits as Mattias, not marionettes like The Sounds, who are the real forces of evil in this world. People who work actively to manipulate and defile the art. People who work actively to maintain the spectacle.
So as you wish Mattias, whoever the fuck you think you are, now it's on you.
This will be the last words from TTA regarding this issue. There are limits to how far into the darkness you go even when someone tries to kill your friend. The fatwas (tell the retards it doesn't even mean anything) are hereby dissolved. Ahead lies only pure, glittering future. See you there..."
Apparently The Tough Alliance has declared a Fatwa on The Sounds: http://www.thetoughalliance.com/
I guess The Sounds and The Embassy got in a fistfight at the Göteborg Filmfestival and one of the Embassy guys ended up in the hospital.
Nominees for this year's Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative to the Grammy:
Hip-hop/r&b/soul:
Form One - Meet Johnny Rhino
Hearin´Aid - The Boom Lucy
Jaqee – Blaqalious
Looptroop - Fort Europa
Timbuktu – Alla vill till himlen men ingen vill dö
Electronica/post-rock/synth:
Folie – Eyepennies
Midaircondo – Shopping For Images
Ola Bergman – The satellite city
Tape – Rideau
Thermostatic – Joy-Toy
Pop/Rock:
Embassy – Tacking
Jenny Wilson – Love And Youth
Blood Music – Sing a Song Fighter
El Perro Del Mar - Look! It’s El Perro Del Mar!
Lucknow Pact – A Few Drinks- A Few Laughs
Jazz:
E.S.T. - Viaticum
Jeanette Lindström – In The Middle Of This Riddle
MUSICMUSICMUSIC – What´s a good boss anyway?
Bobo Stenson trio – Goodbye
Ulf Wakenius – Notes From The Heart
Singer/songwriter:
Lars Bygdén – Trading Happiness for Songs
Frida Hyvönen – Until Death comes
Hello Saferide – Introducing: Hello Saferide
Christian Kjellvander – Faya
Billie the vision and the Dancers – The world according to Pablo
Dance/techno:
Hundarna från Söder – Troika
DK7 – Disarmed
Skugge & Stavöstrand – Humla
John Dahlbäck – Man From the Fall
Dibaba – Songs For Good Lives
Hardrock/punk:
Randy – Randy the band
Disco Volante – Blood On The Walls
Witchcraft - Firewood
Regulations - s/t
Grand Magus - Wolf’s return
Folk/world-music:
Sofia Karlsson – Svarta Ballader
Harv – Polka Raggioso
Ellika och Solo – Abraka/Tack
Svenska Akademien – Resa sig opp
Simone Moreno – Samba Makossa
Best live act:
David Sandström Overdrive
Frida Hyvönen
Jenny Wilson
Robyn
Timbuktu
Best newcomer:
The Tough Alliance – New school
Timo Räisänen - Lovers are Lonely
Frida Hyvönen – Until Death Comes
Montt Mardié – Drama
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names – #3
Best unsinged act:
She
Insert Coin
Anagoes
Intohimo
Loney, Dear
Winners will be announced on February 9.
With a chorus borrowed from a song by The Tough Alliance and songs sounding like a mix between Jens Lekman and Moneybrother, this album could hardly have been done any other time and place than in Sweden 2005. But even though "Drama" is a very timely album, David Pagmar (who is Montt Mardié) has also constructed a great piece of music, in fact one of the best this year! There are some really outstanding "souly" tracks on here (e.g. "Huckleberry friend" - one of my favourite songs of 2005), and also a bunch of uptempo ones, and at the end of the album we get treated to a magnificent cover of Håkan Hellström's sucker punch of a song "Kom igen Lena" shrewdly called "Come on Eileen", which is done in a beautiful stripped-down fashion. I love this album and if I had the money and time I'd spend the rest of the year dressed up as Santa and walk around the streets giving away copies of it out to everyone I met.
- Simon Tagestam
Nominees for the Swedish radio 2006 P3 Gold awards:
Best female artist:
Laleh
Jenny Wilson
Hello Saferide
Frida Hyvönen
Robyn
Best male artist:
Moneybrother
Håkan Hellström
Timbuktu
Alf
Darin
Best band:
Kent
Cardigans
The Ark
The Embassy
Bodies Without Organs
Best newcomer:
Laleh
Jenny Wilson
Darin
Le Sport
Frida Hyvönen
Best song:
Robyn - Be mine
Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
Laleh - Live tomorrow
Moneybrother - They're building walls around us
September - Satellites
Guldmicken (best live):
Hellacopters
Laleh
Robyn
Timbuktu
Lars Winnerbäck
Best rock/metal:
Burst - Origo
Grand Magus - Wolf’s Return
Hellacopters - Rock & Roll Is Dead
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Rentokiller - Cadaveri Eccelente
Best hip-hop/soul:
Hearin’ Aid - The Boom Lucy
Looptroop - Fort Europa
Peshi - The Work of Art The Art of Work
Stacs Of Stamina - Tivoli
Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
Best pop:
The Embassy - Tacking
Frida Hyvönen - Until Death Comes
Paddington DC - The Sun is Down And The Sky is Grey
The Tough Alliance - The New School
Jenny Wilson - Love And Youth
Go here to vote for your favorites: http://www.sr.se/p3/p3guld/
Winners will be announced January 21.
The Tough Alliance has reportedly left Service Records. Will a bigger label know how to handle those guys? I sense disaster.
Pretentiousness aside, this is almost a perfect slice of pure (somewhat) subversive pop with sexy lyrics and vocals. They look like a female version of labelmates The Tough Alliance, but their music is much less indie and way more pop. Fun stuff.
- Simon Tagestam
Montt Mardié