has announced the signing of Bjørst and will be releasing their debut LP "Blandt de levende" on May 2 with a record release show celebrating the occasion on April 29 at Raahuset in Copenhagen. Hear a few sample tunes at SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/jkrogholt/sets/fg-1/
Various ArtistsThe only thing worse than listening to a comp of unsigned bands is being the poor schlub whose job it is to sort through the countless no-name acts to decide who makes the cut. Even the mere suggestion makes me shudder -- for all the talk about the increasingly level playing field, let it be know that just because you can make a record, doesn't mean you should. Anyhow, as one would probably expect, this AllEars.se sampler is a mixed bag with near-nil flow and very little replay value. The majority of the acts aim squarely for the middle and don't disappoint in that regard, but unless you're in one of these bands or related to someone who is, who cares? How much mediocrity can you handle? As for the exceptions, let's run them down: Icke Lika Med stands out by injecting a bit of progg into their whitebread rock and Mourning Tears pulls off a competent goth/classical/martial neo-folk instrumental. Glass, the only band here that I've actually heard before, submits a solid midtempo power-pop track and are followed by The Lonesome Whistle Boys, a band who display a firm grasp of the valued "less is more" concept with a track that comes in just under 1:40. That's an admirable decision, especially since it actually makes me curious to hear more. Finally, CCT-Band deserves a mention as well for their confident swing-time jazz -- par for the course, yet aberrant when it comes to this collection. As for everyone else, well... they aren't awful. It's best I leave it at that.
- Avi Roig
The first single I heard from these guys showed a lot of promise and this new one more than lives up to expectations. Imagine a less manic version of The Hives with stronger chops and you'd have something like The Ackermans. Both bands play high-energy garage pop, but what The Ackermans lack in punk vigor, they make up for with musical competence. Lots of nice interplay between the two guitarists and good, strong, clean vocals. Can't go wrong with the personalized cover either.
- Avi Roig
This band plays upbeat garage punk that'll probably remind most folks of The Hives at first, but sounds to me more like classic Lookout! Records stuff such as The Hi-Fives. It's got the usual ingredients for the genre: jangly, sharp guitars, slightly fuzzed-out vocals, good hooks, hyperactive drumming and so on and so forth. The two songs on this single pass by so quickly, it's already over by the time I really start getting into it. Though it's definitely not be anything I haven't heard done before, I still dig it.
- Avi Roig
Somewhat typical Swedish hard-rock ala the Backyard Babies. I'd probably like this a bit more if they beefed up the guitar tone and tuned down a bit to make their sound heavier. They could possibly even compete with Entombed if they tried, especially with the kinds of half-tempo breakdowns they throw in. As for now, they firmly reside in the realm of the mediocre and generic.
- Avi Roig
