The new Bröderna Lindgren album "I tiden" will be out on October 3 and you can preview the lead track "Här är jag" (feat. Ebbot Lundberg) at the label 's website: http://www.brusoknaster.se/
Other guest vocalists on said album include Amanda Bergman (Jaw Lesson), Britta Persson, Magnus Carlsson (Weeping Willows), Patrik Arve (Teddybears), Anja Bigrell (Montys Loco), Mattias Alkberg, First Aid Kit and more.
Weeping Willows frontman Magnus Carlsson has a new project together with DJ/producer Mikael Nordgren (Tiger Stripes) called Tandem Sky. The group's new EP "Hurricane" is out now and also features Britta Persson doing guest vocals on the title cut.
Dramatic pop from Swedish singer Edith Backlund. Perhaps not as overwrought as early Weeping Willows, but definitely in a similar vein.
Kind of old news at this point I suppose, but too weird not to mention: Nicke Andersson, Anders "Boba" Lindström and Robban Andersson of The Hellacopters have been enlisted as Lars Winnerbäck's new backing band for his summer tour along with Ola Nyström (Weeping Willows), Johan Persson (Hovet) and Jerker Odelholm. Read more. (in Swedish)
Musikindustrin reports that is starting a children's music sublabel called : http://www.musikindustrin.se/916/nyheter.html
The first release will be a comp entitled "Älskade barnvisor från den skimrande barnkammarboken" which will feature popular children's songs as performed by artists such as Björn Skifs, Magnus Carlson (Weeping Willows), Linda Bengtzing, Amy Diamond, Cookies n' Beans and more.
Weeping Willows frontman Magnus Carlson will release a new solo endeavor with backing band The Moon Ray Quintet on November 3 called "Echoes". Said album will be available on both CD and LP, with each version containing a slightly different tracklist and two exclusive cuts. Of course, buying the vinyl gets you a download link for the lot plus a video, but you already knew that because it's the modern way. Anyhow, here's the first single "Ain't there something money can't buy" which will be officially released on October 11: http://soundcloud.com/cosmosmusicgroup/magnus-carlson-the-moon-ray-quintet-aint-there-something-money-cant-buy/
Here is Kite covering "I give you morning", one of my all-time favorite ballads. Like a lot of people who read this site, I suspect we all first heard the song when Weeping Willows covered it, though of course it's been a longtime Swedish evergreen from way back when Fred Åkerström first did it på Svenska ("Jag ger dig min morgon") in 1972 on the album "Två tungor". And of course Håkan Hellström did it as well on his "visor" EP "Luften bor i mina steg". There's probably more versions out there, but let us not forget the original by Tom Paxton which I believe originally appeared on 1969's "The things I notice now" (and was rerecorded for 1982's "Even a gray day", an LP I have in my collection). Now, as far as ranking them goes, I consider the OG and WW versions to be my favorite, but this new one by Kite is pretty darn good, but even better: it's different. Reverence is for the weak; let's give it up for Kite's pulsating synth version!
Kite - I give you the morning
Swedish rapper Petter has a new video for the track "Gör min dag" which features guest vocals from Magnus Carlson (Weeping Willows): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQKgl2p-5PE
Chances are high this is probably the closest we'll get to Magnus Carlson revisiting the retro kitsch of early Weeping Willows and that's fine, I'll take it. As much as I love those first two albums, it's good that he moved on to try new things and isn't content to repeat himself. That's an admirable quality, as he could easily keep treading water and keep most of his fanbase contented. Admittedly, I'd probably be one of them. Instead, he keeps busy and keeps on trying new things -- sometimes it works (this), sometimes not. No surprise though really, as the idea of Magnus Carlson fronting a jazz-pop combo is not a stretch. Apart from the ridiculous Doors cover (listen here), the material is pure class and his take on the American folk tune "Sea lion woman" earns top marks. I still miss the melodrama, but I am not anti-fun. Enjoy!
Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet - Sea lion woman
TurboweekendPerhaps this is the sound Weeping Willows were going for when they switched gears to make "Into the light": dark, modern disco with a touch of the sublime. The difference is however, Turboweekend is a trio so their sound is far more pared down, sleek and sexy. It also has the clinical deliberateness of Talk Talk or Peter Gabriel; clean, concise and expertly arranged. Like a complicated recipe where you can still taste every spice, every instrument retains its own separate space, but is perfectly balanced against each other to raise the whole. Even better, the lyrical content is informed by much more than standard-grade Scandinavian romantic melancholy. Yes, there's plenty of love and loss, but songs like "Holiday" for instance give working for a weekend an apocalyptic dimension and others such as "Sweet Jezebel" and "Up with the smoke - Down with the ash" touch on the supernatural. The mood is consistently somber and fully engaged; not something I normally expect from an act that could be mistakenly construed to be "merely" dancefloor fodder. Whether heard on headphones or in the club, the experience is just as good.
- Avi Roig
Turboweekend's new album "Ghost of a chance" is now streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/turboweekend
As said before, I dig this one quite a bit. Kinda reminds me of later-era Weeping Willows, but with far more electronic-oriented instrumentation.
I actually dig the new Trummor & Orgel disc "Thunderball sessions" quite a bit, shame that the single is the weakest moment. I'm not sure if it's the wrong key or what, but Magnus Carlson's velvet croon comes across as strangely sterile here. I'm surprised, especially considering the way he's able to make even the most rote Weeping Willows material sound Important, but anyhow, let's emphasize the positive, shall we? Concentrate on the instruments, not the vocals. The self-explanatory duo is in full-on Esquivel meets James Bond territory here, creating a soundtrack for a spy movie that doesn't exist, so I suppose they need at least one pop number. "Secret mission", "Under cover", "Spy Island"... song titles that mirror the instrumentation as being very, very obvious, but also very well done. Of course it's cheesy, it's supposed to be, but they jam it out hard.
Trummor & Orgel - Somebody stole my thunder (ft. Magnus Carlson)
FatboyFatboy are one of few Swedish rockabilly bands that have been successful in reaching a broader audience. Their second album "In my bones" varies a lot; they start off playing straight rockabilly on the album's first single "Way down low" and then change to something more Sinatra-like in "Springtime". They are reminiscent of Weeping Willows at times too, especially in the way they combine rockabilly with a more alternative sound. They mix their music with jazz as well as pop, but still create a classic distinguished sound that tells the listener that this is Fatboy and nothing else... Even if it might look like it's just the usual stand-up bass supported trip back the 50's, there is enough creativity and effort put in for the album to avoid becoming nostalgic. The record is very well done and makes even a person like me that is not very interested in rockabilly to smile and sing along.
- Morten Frisch
AntennasAntennas do not lend themselves easily to comparisons -- there are elements of the pop structures of Shout Out Louds, of the angular nature of Laakso's approach, among other such attempts to define their sound, but very few of these associations hold up as you move through the tracklist. "The collector" is kitschy-chic, like a Weeping Willows ballad hijacked by CDOASS; "Lies" has far more soul and funk in its composition than three Swedes should be able to manifest in song; "Youngbloods" channels a bit of Brit-rock suave before throwing itself recklessly down dance-punk avenues; "Upwardly mobile" could almost be a Hot Chip track... and yet "Feeling feline tonight" feels like a unified work, each track flowing easily into the next, despite the differences in tone and method. Novoton Records apparently can do absolutely no wrong: "Book of Norma" was my first 10 out of 10, postpunkers Paper and Pixies-style rockers Pascal both put out fantastic efforts in 2008, and "Feeling feline tonight", with its ability to combine 80s pop craftsmanship and angular indie rock with the interesting, reactionary elements of some 90s music (think Stone Roses and Pulp), only strengthens Novoton's position as one of the very best labels in Sweden. "Feeling feline tonight" is my first great surprise of the year.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
I can hang with some Nisse Hellberg and other revivalists such as The Blasters/Dave Alvin, but more modern rockabilly falls short as pointless nostalgia. However, when bands like Fatboy go for the old-fashioned torch song ballad, I can dig it. Obviously, that's the basis of Weeping Willows' entire career and I fully back them, so why should these guys be any different? And I always appreciate anyone who's willing to send me the LP version, especially when they've got cover art like this. Add an ex-member of Whale? Sure, why not? As for the song itself, Fatboy and Sarah Dawn Finer attempt to spice up the old formula with an extra bite, but really, the mild expletives are unnecessary and unfitting. They only serve to distract. So yeah, it won't ever compete with any classic Tammy Wynette weepers ("Don't wanna play house" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", to name two), but it's okay. In fact, that pretty much sums up my thoughts on Fatboy in general: just okay.
Fatboy - The way we were (ft. Sarah Dawn Finer)
