Top 10s for 2008: It's a Trap! (albums)

Top 10s for 2008: Niklas Åström (And the Sound)

Top 10s for 2008: Rasmus Kellerman (Tiger Lou/Araki)

The video for the new Tiger Lou single "Crushed by a crowd" is finally online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRl6bkFtgY0

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Tiger Lou
02. Anna Ternheim
03. Hello Saferide
04. The Soundtrack of Our Lives
05. Frida Hyvönen
06. Jens Lekman
07. The Bear Quartet
08. The Tough Alliance
09. Logh
10. The Fine Arts Showcase

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Tiger Lou
A partial print
Startracks

I'm going to admit from the start that I had some difficulty with "A partial print" when I listened to it on Startracks' page a week or so before its release. I was overwhelmed and excited by the opening five compositions, and then this feeling slipped a little - the abandonment of Tiger Lou's typically quite structured, complete arrangements on tracks like "Trails of spit" seemed to dilute the weight of the songs' conclusions, and the closing, nine-minute long opus felt too ambling and unfocused to be a proper culmination of the album's energies. I admit these issues here only to demonstrate that "A partial print" is not an album that reveals its immediacy, its intentioned presence on a first or second listen - what you are presented with is a collage, a collection of images, all of them darkly beautiful extensions of the emotional landscape of "The loyal", but the connections between these impressions can take some time to present themselves, but they will, and then "A partial print" comes fully into being.

The tone of "A partial print" is a dark one, represented not only in the recurring theme of leaving a small fragment of yourself behind, but in the intricate abandon and melancholy of the instrumentation which, on a number of occasions, evolves into heavy, post-hardcore breakdowns akin to the efforts on Small Brown Bike's brilliant swansong "The river bed". The production on the album is fantastic, accentuating the full drum arrangements, the beautiful guitar and bass work, and, of course, Rasmus Kellerman's magnificent, haunting voice. "The less you have to carry", in my opinion the greatest song Tiger Lou have crafted, is the first to truly bear the burden of "A partial print", and is therefore the song that fashions the aesthetic tenets of the album. The line "A partial print is all that I'm leaving behind, a little something to remember me by" is repeated in the closing title track, giving the record an unsettling conclusion - that of an endless cycle of departure and loss, but, as Tiger Lou established themselves as the masters of harrowing grace with "The loyal", this journey doesn't feel haunted or disillusioned, not even as you retrace your footsteps. Nor is it all a cynical, disheartening experience - glimmers of hope shine through in "So demure" and the single "Crushed by a crowd".

"A partial print" is difficult, complicated, heartbreaking, and inspiring - everything we've come to expect from Tiger Lou.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

For everyone who pre-ordered the new Tiger Lou album "A partial print" -- copies are finally here and being shipped out as quickly as possible. Everyone else, please note that yes, I do indeed have the full double-disc edition with remixes as well as the 7" single for "Crushed by a crowd" and the vinyl LP version of the full album. You know you want it!

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Tiger Lou
02. Frida Hyvönen
03. Anna Ternheim
04. Juvelen
05. Hello Saferide
06. The Radio Dept.
07. Kent
08. Jens Lekman
09. Britta Persson
10. The Legends

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Tomas Halberstad - Travel as I wait
02. TALK 1
03. Robert Svensson - 1991
04. Auton - El Dorado
05. Parken - Jag har varit vilsen, Lisa
06. TALK 2
07. Tiger Lou - Trust falls
08. Promise and the Monster - Night out
09. Park Hotell - Black hole
10. TALK 3
11. Sort Sol - Excalibur
12. Convoj - The shovel
13. Satyricon - Black crow on a tombstone
14. On Volcano - Out of sight
15. TALK 4
16. Hello Saferide - Anna
17. Him Kerosene - Ventilate
18. Tobias Hellkvist - Ships of the North Atlantic
19. TALK 5
20. Division of Laura Lee - LAX
21. Oskar Schönning - Nino casino
22. Haust - Success
23. TALK 6
24. Passiv Dödshjälp - Helvetet, tur och retur

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XM U. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Tiger Lou
02. Frida Hyvönen
03. Anna Ternheim
04. Juvelen
05. Hello Saferide
06. The Radio Dept.
07. Kent
08. Jens Lekman
09. Britta Persson
10. The Legends

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Norma
Book of Norma
Novoton/NONS

I'll admit that I had a little difficulty at first with Norma's debut "1". I fell hard for "Love no other", but found it slightly demanding to be as powerfully drawn to the rest of the EP. As an English professor of mine would carefully say about a book he didn't appreciate to the extent his colleagues did: "I'm not ready for it yet." Still, something about Norma imbedded itself into me and I couldn't shake them. I can say now: I'm ready for Norma.

"Book of Norma" is overwhelming and disconcerting, yet it is precisely in this difficulty that Norma best profess their talents. No band attempting to provide a facile listening experience would start a record with "S.A.M", a track that starts off as though its been recorded from the backstage room of a club. Even in the most simple, driving moments of "S.A.M" or "Waste", there is a fullness that most bands lack - in "S.A.M" this comes from the dark amplitude of the production and in the bridging of Krautrock with indie rock; in "Waste", Norma separate themselves through attitude and approach alone, taking what could almost be a track from Tiger Lou's "The loyal" and saturating it with a dysphoria present not only in the song's pacing, but in the detached lyrics. "Book of Norma" is brilliant, be it in the near freak out of "Evelyn", the unsettlingly fast/slow pacing of "You go, we follow", or in the beautiful closer "Empty hands" which is only made more remarkable through Andrea Kellerman's (of Firefox AK) backing vocals. I've never given full marks to a band before, nor do I hesitate to do so with this - "Book of Norma" is the record to beat in 2008.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

MP3: Tiger Lou - Crushed by a crowd

I won't pretend to be impartial on Tiger Lou's new album "A partial print". Not only do we have a working relationship (I put out the "Until I'm there" 7"), but I am also lucky enough to consider Rasmus Kellerman a friend. Apparently I'm also something of an inspiration, having intoned the words "The more you give, the less you carry" when offering to lend a hand with the band's gear at Umeå Open. Who knew I was such a font of wisdom? Who would've thought such seemingly mundane circumstances can be so transformed? So yeah, I am about as far from unbiased as one can be, though I hardly let such matters keep me from opining on many subjects.

"Crushed by a crowd" struck me as an odd choice for a single at first, but I've since come around, having considered it more in context. It may not be the album's highlight, but it is immediately accessible and it sounds the most like the Tiger Lou you've come to know, as opposed to the Tiger Lou you thought you knew, the Tiger Lou of "A partial print". Every new album is different than the last and this one is far more austere and opaque than anything he's done before. It's also more grandiose and imposing when taken as a whole, in its intended dosage. Hence, "Crushed by a crowd" gives an easy in; its comforting familiarity allays concerns, the fear of change. And it's also a great song, one I appreciate the more I listen. That's the other thing - "A partial print" is, above all, a grower. It's a big, modern rock record with moments of huge bombast, but fans craving a more intimate connection will need to spend more time digging below the surface looking for a way in. It's there for you if you want it, but it holds you back at arm's length. Trust me though, it's worth it.

Tiger Lou - Crushed by a crowd

Now available for pre-order: Tiger Lou - A partial print (CD)
CDs aren't in stock just yet, but they should be here very soon. Don't forget to take advantage of our November sale!

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Frida Hyvönen
02. Tiger Lou
03. Hello Saferide
04. The Bear Quartet
05. Glasvegas
06. Britta Persson
07. Anna Ternheim
08. Kent
09. Shout Out Louds
10. Loney, Dear

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
02. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
03. Agnes - Dance love pop
04. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
05. Jill Johnson - Bbaby blue paper
06. Thorleifs - Förälskade
07. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
08. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
09. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
10. In Flames - A sense of purpose
11. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
12. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
13. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
14. Tiger Lou - A partial print
15. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
16. Takida - Bury the lies
17. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
18. Andreas Johnson - Rediscovered
19. Pain - Cynic paradise
20. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...