I've talked a lot about Culkin the past few years, but here now finally is the band's first official single "Libbets Casey". Look for the band's much-anticipated (and totally great) album "Several Sundays" to be released on March 7 via .
Finally, new music from Culkin, giving us a taste of what to expect from their long-awaited full-length debut which will be out on ... eventually. The band will also be touring Scandinavia with Simon Says No! and Youngteam as part of the "Revolution in Sound" tour in September -- dates here: http://www.brothersister.se/gigs/
In case you overlooked it when I first posted about it (though admittedly, not so directly), Sad Day for Puppets are giving away the new track "Monster & the beast" as a free download: http://saddayforpuppets.bandcamp.com/
The band's new album "Pale silver & shiny gold" will be released on September 1 via /.
Sad Day For PuppetsThe 90s have been somewhat redeemed in recent years - grunge has made a little resurgence in acts like Nine Black Alps and I Am Bones; Britpop has retained much of its shimmer; indie acts like Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. continue to inspire... but what of the other stuff that was happening back then? Sad Day For Puppets would fit quite perfectly onto the "So I Married An Axe Murderer" soundtrack, right between the Boo Radleys, Spin Doctors, and Toad the Wet Sprocket, and yet this designation doesn't seem to carry with it the dreaded "cultural black hole" label for Sad Day that haunts so much of the artistic contributions of the 1990s. The influence is there, but somehow Sad Day instill a degree of sincerity into the saccharine-sweet swells of guitars. The music is just as catchy, and yet there's no bad taste left in the mouth. There is also an attempt on "Unknown colors" to update this decade-old sound: "Mother's tears", the album's standout, takes a less optimistic approach, a little reminiscent of The Stone Roses; "Lay your burden on me" could almost be a Granada song; and I can't help but hear a little Håkan Hellström in "Last night". Sad Day For Puppets have achieved quite a feat - an album saturated in the 90s that doesn't feel like a guilty pleasure.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Sad Day For PuppetsThis is the debut release from the Stockholm-based band. It's released on Radio LXMBRG's Haha Fonogram Records, and produced by Alex Svenson-Metés of the same band. Musically, this couldn't be further apart from Radio LXMBRG. "Annie says" is reminiscent is one of The Concretes' more tender moments, whilst the rest of the EP brings to mind eighties indie pop bands like The Cocteau Twins and the long-forgotten, but rather excellent, Voice Of The Beehive. The dreamy melodic sounds transport the listener back to a more innocent time when shonky anorak-clad bands genuinely believed they could change the world. With this release, Sad Day For Puppets are very well placed to capitalise on the micro indie-pop phenomenon currently doing the rounds on MySpace.
- Nick Levine
Radio LXMBRGRumour has is that it was so hard for Radio Lxmbrg's first record to receive any press, that the band constructed a lot of KLF-esque mythology around their second release. I'm not exactly sure what this is inclusive of, but in part it could be that legendary Cherry Records A&R Mike Alway (patron saint of their debut) is one of their biggest fans, and that French disco doctor Bertrand Burgulat held a ceremony for blessing the master before the record was manufactured.
"Trivial matters" is a very slick dance/rock crossover record, which in parts could soundtrack a seventies porn film. Its Krautrock undertones give it an overall slightly sombre feel. Summer download hit "Feel the heat", with its stuttery riffage is a pure slice of disco heaven which really begs to be listened to on Mediterranean sun-drenched beaches by hot young things, whose minds run away with perverse thoughts about what delights the evening's nightlife will bring them. "Out of tune" could be Franz Ferdinand in one their poppier moments, whilst "Score on the floor" is an encore in waiting, a Krautrock anthem which could soundtrack the closing credit to a film noir. This is a record which should gain an avid evangelical following from a cult audience.
- Nick Levine
This is one of the most impressive debut records I've heard lately because it breaks the usual first-album trend of having weaker filler songs to round out a few good singles. Start to finish, Radio LXMBRG kept up my interest with catchy, well-constructed pop songs. The Swedish six-piece glides with ease from dark indie pop to Saint Etienne-style lounge to synth-heavy pop that nods to early 80s New Wave. Even better, the band has three lead singers who veer off in radically different directions. Lisa Holmqvist's low, sultry voice adds an element of mystery to the Portishead-esque "Teach me how to say goodbye." "John the Baptist" sounds like a blend of The Cardigans' Magnus Sveningsson in his guise as Righteous Boy and Taco, of "Puttin' on the ritz" remake fame (or infamy). That might sound scary, but it adds the just the right edge to the cinematic "It's cruel up north". And then there's the smoother Sebastian Castro, who sings lead on the club-worthy, soulful "Under starry skies". Already out in Sweden and soon to be released in Norway and Denmark, Radio LXMBRG deserve a wider audience. Hopefully other international labels will license this one soon.
- Matthew W. Smith
