Indie-dance pop is pretty near the top of my list of despised musical forms, but even in the darkest depths there can be light. Whether by pure accident or divine inspiration, Satellite Stories' "Helsinki art scene" does right by adhering more to the tenets of tightly wound post-punk or early indiepop than reconfiguring and watering down the artsy punk-funk of Talking Heads and their acolytes. The sound is stripped of all artifice, the pace is set to racing and the chorus is infectious; a simple and memorable descending single-note guitar line ties it together with a bow. Shame that the rest of the band's other material pales in comparison, but I'll always take one great song above the rest of the mediocre dreck that's overflowing my mailbox.
Episode #2 of my new podcast Harsh R is now online: http://www.harshr.com/
Features new music from Fun, Rising, Johan Heltne and others, plus a whole bunch of other things I've been listening to. Feedback is appreciated!
will be handling the domestic Finnish release of Rotten Sound's new album "Cursed", due out early next year. They also report that the band will be recording their upcoming gig at Vastavirta in Tempere on November 12 for an eventual DVD release.
It's been awhile since Finnish indie/shoegazers On Volcano promised us a new EP, but the end result is finally here and available for free download: http://www.onvolcano.com/
I have yet to listen myself, but if it's anything like their previous work then it's sure to be great.
Inspired by the British Mercury Music Prize, the folks behind Norway's By:Larm Festival have started the Nordic Music Prize which will feature 12 international nominees competing for a €20,000 prize, with the winner to be announced at the fest on February 19. For full details, including a who's who of the jury, see here: http://nordicmusicprize.com/
Artist/musician Sami Sänpäkkilä (, Es, etc.) interviews Timo Kaukolampi (Op:1 Bastards, K-X-P, Larry and the Lefthanded, etc.) for his "A Day in the Mouth" series in which he visits a person/organization/place and has "a little chat with the people involved and see what they're up to." Direct link: http://vimeo.com/15907535
If Rapeman continued on and kept going in a similar direction as latter-day Shellac, they might sound something like Fun do on their third album "New 13". They're still churning out some of the best cantankerous noiserock in the world, but they're also tempering it with a wisened, more expansive/more instrumental approach. If I'm correctly understanding this interview (my knowledge of Finnish is near-nonexistent), "Here comes the ugly man" is based off a Fugazimondegreen relating to the title track of "The argument", and though it doesn't bear any sort of direct musical resemblance, it's an interesting factoid to consider during listening. It's also a great tune highlighting the band's churning rhythm section melded with a slight touch of their matured sense of melody (hah!). Very recommended of course.
Live Evil is the underground metal festival happening in London this weekend featuring bands who have all had the honor of being selected as one of Fenriz's bands of the week. Like many folks, I am unable to attend, but lucky for us someone put together a mix with tracks from every act: http://afistinthefaceofgod.blogspot.com/2010/10/fist-in-face-of-god-presents-live-evil.html
Quite a few Scandinavian names worth noting there, including Sonic Ritual, Deathhammer, Obliteration, Hooded Menace, Nekromantheon, Ghost...
Check out an interview and live session with Finnish noiserockers Fun at Noise.fi: http://www.noise.fi/radio/soitin/index.php?id=4481
The talking is all in unintelligible Finn-speak, but that doesn't affect the rock.
The netlabel, an offshoot of the Eardrums Music blog, has released a new single from Finnish indie/pop act Paperfangs: http://www.eardrumspop.com/2010/10/20/epop006-paperfangs/
Two original tracks plus a cover of "Violet" by Kiss Kiss Fantastic and digital liner notes/artwork.