Slussenanalys - Liemannen (video)
New music from Finnish noisepunx Slussenanalys, far more wheezy and drawn-out than anything I've posted from them previously.
Country: Finland
Cats on Fire pre-order promo
A quick 1-minute promo for the upcoming Cats on Fire album "All blackshirts to me", now available for preorder.
Svart to reissue Nolla Nolla Nolla
is doing a reissue of Finnish cult punks Nolla Nolla Nolla and their much sought-after 1984 self-titled album in a deluxe remastered format: http://www.svartrecords.com/shoppe/943-nolla-nolla-nolla-lp.html
Hebosagil - Tältä tuntuu
From the band's latest 7" "Herätys", out now via and sounding as brutal as always.
Take Away Show: Mirel Wagner
Check out Finnish/Ethiopian artist Mirel Wagner performing a couple tunes live for Le Blogotheque's renown Take Away Show. More info: http://www.blogotheque.net/2012/02/20/mirel-wagner/
All Will Be Quiet - Wide eyes and space flights
Can't say that I agree with the "post rock" genre designation, but let's not be too picky -- this is a decent example of expansive, melancholic rock from Finland that should appeal to fans of Mew and the like. Look for All Will Be Quiet to release their debut album "On the first day" this coming May via .
New Moonface album to feature Siinai
Finnish act Siinai have recorded a new album in collaboration with Canadian artist Moonface, aka Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown). The resulting work is entitled "With Siinai: Heartbreaking bravery" and will be released on April 17 via . Listen to a sample tune: http://soundcloud.com/jagjaguwar/moonface-teary-eyes-and-bloody
Fleshpress
Acid mouth strangulation
Svart Records
It's generally a prerequisite of sludgy doom metal that intros and track lead-ins run for inhuman amounts of time and Finland's Fleshpress are no exception. We're over half way through the 11-minute opener, "Glass trails", before there's any hint of something solid starting, with the initial six and a half minutes sounding off like an ethereal soundtrack to one of the Wallander movies. The track then plods along in simplistic Tool-esque mode before hitting its stride and finally breaking into a killer mid-paced fist-pounder resplendent with vocals touching on a mix of The Secret and Zao. "Copper eye" kicks off with more of a straightforward dirty black metal outlook, although the sludge base is prevalent throughout, while closer, "Oblivion persistent" adopts the sludge penchant for dragging the hell out of a tune to the point that it seems like it'll never end. It's crafted so well and with such menace, though, that it's captivating -- and devastating -- from start to finish. The few moments that drag or don't seem too inspired on this take little from the remainder of the recording. Good stuff indeed!
- John Norby
Mirel Wagner in the Village Voice
The esteemed Village Voice has a sizable profile piece on Finnish/Ethiopian artist Mirel Wagner in advance of her hitting the States for SXSW: http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-02-22/music/on-mirel-wagner-and-the-alleged-death-and-apparent-spread-of-freak-folk/
Garfield Steel going solo
Steel Mammoth frontman Garfield Steel is going solo and will release his debut album "Darkness freedom" on March 28 via in collaboration with sublabel and . Says the press release: "Darkness Freedom is part classic [huh?] NWOFHM and part futuristic synthesizer exploration. Hard rocking guitars intertwine with smoothly pulsating drum machines and eerie effects, creating a haunting new synthesis of heavy rock and electronic sound manipulation."
Off the Record: Soen
Finnish live music site Off the Record has a new session up featuring Swedish/American metal act Soen (ex-Willowtree, Opeth): http://offtherecord.fi/soen/
NME Radar at by:Larm
NME sends a reporter to by:Larm who actually manages to (gasp!) report back exclusively on Scandinavian bands and not just the usual names either: http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=15&title=radar_at_by_larm_2013&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Iconcrash - We are the night (video)
New visuals from Finnish act Iconcrash for their Eurovision entry "We are the night". Also! The band will be doing a live stream of the entire church performance you see at the end of this video later today at 8pm local Finnish time (+2 GMT) -- preview clip and details here.
Nordic Music Prize 2011: Goran Kajfes
Swedish trumpet player/composer Goran Kajfes is this year's winner of the Nordic Music Prize for his album "XY" on .
Burning Hearts
Extinctions
Solina Records/Shelflife Records
Burning Hearts' second full-length "Extinctions" is a treat. Delving into description disguised as heavy-handed metaphor would be a disservice to such a carefully crafted, thoughtful album, so I'll simple start with a hearty "wow." (It's worth noting the decision to forgo poetics was made after several spins marked by hand flailing and randomly squealed superlatives)
Yeah. It's good.
Other than injecting a note of mystery to their otherwise light-as-air pop confections -- perfected with the debut, "Aboa sleeping" -- very little has changed since the last time we met the Finnish quintet. Not that anything needed altering. The band has created another charming outing that leans just as much on French pop as Scandinavian melancholy, its nine tracks (including "The swallows" and "Into the wilderness" which first hit ears with last year's excellent "Into the wilderness" EP) splitting the difference between wistful refrains and modern synths. The album benefits heartily from vocalist Jessika Rapo's latter-day Nico delivery, but nowhere does it hit such heights as on "Love and dissonance", the soaring line, "Beautiful, beautiful sing me a song the way you used to do," rendered downright beatic in her melodic whisper. On "The best" her languid call hopscotches over the band's near near-folk instrumentation, complete with steel drum backing. But perhaps most surprising is "The swallows", where their formula of gentle instrumentation is turned on its head in favor of 1980s synths, with Rappo as a slow-motion dancing queen. Sure, their music is still sweet, but "Extinctions" -- in all its subtle variations -- only servers to demonstrate that Burning Hearts should be considered pop heavy weights.
- Laura Studarus
