MP3: Traktor - Where water goes

Traktor are one of the proud few Swedish noiserock bands left carrying the torch in 2010 and "Where water goes" is their new single, the first from their forthcoming album due out this fall (via I Made This, I believe). As is so often par for the course, expect lots of subtely discordant melodies, sharp rhythmic turns, shouted vocals and, in Traktor's particular instance, a heavy reliance on single-note guitar lines. When they do break out the chords, it's well-employed for emphasis; otherwise the track is surprisingly spacious. It's that level of intricacy and attention to detail that makes this a decent listen, otherwise it's kind of lacking in dynamics and is most certainly way too long. Not sure the video adds much either, but it's worth a gander.

Direct link to the video: http://vimeo.com/11522336

Traktor - Where water goes

Lo-Fi-Fnk + I Made This

Lo-Fi-Fnk has officially joined the roster of I Made This.

A (short) film on Per Egland

I Made This has put together a short video documentary on their artist Per Egland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZqLF9XZ03g (in Swedish)

Giant Boar album soon

I Made This will (finally!) be releasing the new Giant Boar album "About dreams" in 2010. Preview: "Incesticide"), "Violence is timeless" continues to bristle alive with "LAX". Combining the youthful energy of garage and punk with the sensibility of indie rock, "LAX" is a dark track that effortlessly exudes a sense of 'cool' that has been lacking from much of the contemporary scene, most likely because it feels a little more aligned with the energetic efforts of Iggy Pop than more recent efforts to combine early punk with the trendy indie movement. From the opening two tracks, the album continues to show the development of Division of Laura Lee. The title track continues to expound the album's darker tendencies, driving onwards with the purpose of bands like Convoj and The End Will Be Kicks. The lyrics from which the album derives its title -- "It makes sense to die young, back where I come from violence is timeless" -- perfectly exemplify the strange balance between cynicism, melancholy and passion that the band successfully marries. Tracks like "Anytime" and especially "3 guitars", my favorite track on the record, show the influence that artists like Sonic Youth and Pavement continue to have on contemporary music. The ending track, "Do you love me", a fantastic homage to Fugazi's "Do you like me", ends the album on a strange note similarly to how it opened, and it shouldn't be any other way. "Violence is timeless" is an exceptional album, one that reminds us of the soundtracks that led us here, that continue to push us forward.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Soviac
Hello bunny
I Made This

With the strange ability to approach the often saccharine sweet world of electro-pop with an art-punk mentality, blurring the lines between simple pleasures and melodies that need time to unravel, Soviac's "Hello bunny" is a bizarre, though quite welcome effort. There are definitely some rather annoying moments, but this is to be expected with bands such as this who tread a strange path through The Knife's and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' terrain, and these flaws can be forgiven as the 'complicated dance music' approach pays off more and more as the record progresses - "Friction" being one of the first true signs of Soviac's talents. Sadly, even in its most enjoyable moments, I can't ever see myself falling truly in love with this record or allowing it heavy rotation in my stereo, but I will certainly enjoy it on the occasions "Hello bunny" does find its way back into my present.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Streetwaves
The pleasure to end all pleasures
I Made This

It's a shame that Streetwaves couldn't keep up the emotional velocity set out in the powerful opener "Whatever is available will be your next step", by far the best track on the entire record. But the energy is high throughout and I hope that my opening line does not color "The pleasure to end all pleasures" too darkly; while it has it's flaws, it's a fun, vigorous garage-indie-rock album. The bar is merely set very high by the opening track, and it remains a bar that the album doesn't approach again. The gritty Nine Black Alps and The Hives influenced mode, while strongly written and executed, occasionally suffers from a lack of direction and songs that could easily have been shortened by at least a minute. Complaints aside, there are a number of excellent high points. "Choking in the boysroom" is one the better dark indie songs I've heard in a while, its shorter length and lower-fi production benefiting the composition. The Pavement-like "Holy stranger" shows that Streetwaves are just as competent with slower tempos and clocks in as my second favorite song on the album. While far from faultless, "The pleasure to end all pleasures" is a dirty garage rock record, and in this vein it works – we already have enough finely tuned, flawlessly polished, and forgettable acts like The Strokes out there.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson