Top fives: 2005 so far
Avi Roig's top five across the board, plus one more for good measure:
01. Three EPs that prove Swedish indierock is still as strong as ever:
Convoj - s/t
Seven Feet Four - To kill is easy
Torpedo - Declare despair
02. Best single, hands down:
C.Aarmé - We are the world
Don't you know who we are? You do now.
03. The two best live sets I saw:
Silverbullit @ Umeå Open - Absolutely transcendent. Not only did the band give it their best, but the crowd was amped too.
The Ark @ The Troubadour in LA (ExMS Swedish Showcase) - Where did all those gayboy Ark fans come from? I was probably just as shocked as the band. Well worth the six hour drive each way.
04. The top four albums I can't stop listening to:
Isolation Years - Cover the distance
Logh - A sunset panorama
Desert Planet - Mario built my hot rod
Det Gamla Landet - s/t
05. Three reasons to keep an eye on Denmark:
Lack, The Psyke Project and The First Miles
I don't know why, but those Danes kick ass when it comes to both hardcore and Americana.
06. Two best non-Scandinavian albums:
Dredg - Catch without arms
Jesu - s/t
Two amazing albums from two of the world's best intelligent heavy rock acts.
Simon Tagestam:
01. Randy – Beware (song)
If the forthcoming album is as good as this (I doubt they got Fat Mike on any of the songs though), I'll forgive them for their last album (their only non-amazing release to date, according to me).
02. Robyn – Robyn
How would have thought it? An ex-soulpop girl making an album better than anything that inspired her to make it (i.e. The Knife, Kate Bush etc)
03. Frida Hyvönen – Until death comes
A colleague of mine thinks Frida can't sing and tries to get me into Joni Mitchell. Unfortunately Joni will never appeal to me as much as "Until Death Comes" does.
04. Mattias Alkberg BD – Jag ska bli en bättre vän
I haven't had this album too long, but at the moment it feels as it might be a contender for "album of the year"! That's right!
05. The Tough Alliance – The new school
This was not as good as I wanted it to be, but it's still crammed with excellent songs.
Navy Keophan's top five injuries sustained at shows for the first half of 2005:
01. Broken glasses, Millencolin show May 21: My eyesight is pretty bad (apparently, even worse than I thought) so when I took a hit from some crowd surfer that knocked them off my head, I was surprised I even made from Hollywood back to Long Beach safely.
02. Bruised shins, The Chinese Stars @ Koo's Feb. 6: Being in the front to take semi-decent pictures of one of your favorite bands = good. Having the crowd behind you push you into the shin-high stage for over 30 minutes = bad.
03. Bruised shins (again), Death From Above 1979 March 26: Again, much like the CS show, I was up front. Combine the thing that happened at that show with unexplainable moshing, another two weeks of pants-wearing.
04. Sore shoulders, Millencolin show May 22: Fist-pumpin' fun equated to arm cramps for the entire week.
05. Sore elbow, Millencolin show May 21: Damn moshers.
Kevin Renick:
01. Ephemera - Monolove
Every music lover should have one band they worship, one band that truly makes a difference in their life. For me, it's Norway's girl-pop trio Ephemera. I regard them not as mere musicians, but absolute creative Goddesses.
02. Bol - Silver sun
This jazz-poptronica trio from Trondheim have made a masterpiece with their second CD, a formula-defying journey up a river of humanity where heartbroken souls line the shore. 47 minutes of incandescent musical brilliance.
03. Hanne Hukkelberg - Little things
What a stellar debut! Norway's brightest new chanteuse delivers a rhapsodic set of tunes with constantly surprising arrangements, sterling production and her delightfully exuberant, upfront singing-which seems to reflect not only a zest for life but a playful "I'll try anything" approach.
04. Schtimm - The alcoholovefi collection
Although "Featuring" is actually their 2005 release, "TAC" is probably the best album by this mysterious Norwegian band, and I only heard it recently. Something about their music makes me think of haunted houses, as if you got trapped in a spooky mansion but found that the spirits of the place were only too happy to make music for you.
05. Efterklang - Tripper
The cutting-edge electronica from this Danish band has earned them rave reviews. Technology makes their intricate music possible, but they aspire to such a heaven-bound sound that you end up not thinking about the glitchy, twitchy elements in the mix at all, only the reverence you feel for the emotionally stirring, organic flow. Efterklang are one of today's most important and distinctive new bands, showing the uninitiated that there are sparks of magic shooting through the skies of Scandinavia.
Honorable mention: The State of Floral Beings - We know you love us and that's why we do this
Matthew W. Smith:
01. The Lionheart Brothers - Colour contrast context EP
Understated, bittersweet symphonic pop from Norway, featured on the "It's a Trap! Reader's Companion Vol. 1"
02. Kings of Convenience live at the Iota in Arlington, Virginia, February 2005
A no-frills, quiet performance that showcased Eirik and Erlend's guitar plucking, tight harmonies and sense of humor in front of a packed, respectful Iota.
03. Sharif - Lost causes, causes lost
Melancholy in both mood and lyrics, this well-constructed album signals a welcome return for this Swedish quartet.
04. Loopy - Smile back home
Leiv Aasen's vocals and a subtle blend of guitar pop and shoegazer on this debut make this tri-national band one to watch.
05. The Raveonettes - live at the Black Cat in Washington, DC, May 2005
See my review for more details, but the Danish outfit oozed 50s cool and blasted supersonic levels of guitar fuzz; the cover of "My boyfriend's back" provided a nice contrast to "Attack of the ghost riders".
One wish:
- I hope that Jennie, Johanna, Maria and Josephine from Sahara Hotnights have already recovered their missing gear and guitars or will soon!
Five things to look forward to for the rest of the year
- A new album quite soon from Icelandic band Leaves.
- The third album from Norway's purveyors of lowdown garage rock, Cato Salsa Experience.
- A successful trip to Connecticut for Tiger Lou, who will mix his sophomore album there with Peter Katis (Interpol, Denali) and hopefully release the results in the fall.
- More Danish success in North America, as The Blue Van continue to tour and Loopy has its album released stateside.
- Another new record from the rejuvenated Cardigans, who have already finished recording the follow-up to the fantastic "Long gone before daylight".
Simon Thibaudeau's top Scandinavian five:
01. Det Gamla Landet
02. EST - Viaticum
03. The Now
04. Spacious Mind – Rotvalta
05. Sayyadina - Fear Gave Us Wings
Per Apelqvist:
01. Moving back to Europe after 11 wonderful years in the US
02. Moneybrother live at the Barfly
03. David Fridlund - Amaterasu
04. 2 friends turning 30 and inviting over a hundred people to High Chaparal, the country western theme park in Sweden
05. Kent - Klaparen
Jason Christie:
01. [ingenting] - Allting ni gör
By way of "Songs we have learned to sing". Quite clearly the best I have heard in an age – still to learn though...
02. Sharif – You don't know
This track arrived at a tricky time, and then time tunnelled me back to the Basement club, Brighton circa 1995. Trust, that’s enough.
03. Pelle Carlberg – Oh no! It's happening again
A great writer, great vocalist and father of 4!
04. Café Alhambra – Clapham Common, SW4
Serving some of the finest
05. Chelsea Football Club
Where were you when they were rubbish?