IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

New Moneybrother in September

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:01:09 -0700

The new Moneybrother album "This is where life is" will be released on September 26. Basic tracks were done at Steve Albini's Electric Audio in Chicago and from there Anders and producer Christoffer Roth travelled the world -- LA, London, Rio, Jamaica, etc. -- adding overdubs, all while filmmaker Jim Dziura documented the process.

Ingrid signs Kriget, Woodlands

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:42:08 -0700

All-star Swedish label collective Ingrid will release new albums from both Kriget and Woodlands this fall: http://www.ingrd.com/2012/first-news-for-fall/
Kriget, as mentioned before, is the instrumental act of Per Nordmark (Fireside, Britta Persson, etc.), Crille Roth (Monster, Hets) and Gustav Bendt (Moneybrother, Club Killers). Woodlands, on the other hand, features Sara Wilson (First Floor Power), Niklas Korssell (Tutankamon, The Plan) and Marcus Holmberg (Komeda).

New Moneybrother album in the works

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:00:51 -0700

Apparently Moneybrother is working on a new album and will be documenting the process for a film to be released in conjunction: http://gaffa.se/nyhet/52066 (in Swedish)
No release date yet, but apparently production is just about to wrap up.

Moneybrother mixtape

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:05:24 -0700

Moneybrother aka Anders Wendin made a mixtape for The Swede Beat: http://www.theswedebeat.com/mixtape/the-swede-beat-mixtape-vol-2-moneybrother

Kriget post album for free

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:39:11 -0800

Drums, bass and sax = Kriget, a new combo featuring Per Nordmark (Fireside, Britta Persson, etc.), Crille Roth (Monster, Hets) and Gustav Bendt (Moneybrother, Club Killers) respectively. Download the band's debut record "What a day" for free/donation: http://www.kriget.com/

New Mommyheads single to feature Moneybrother

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:04:34 -0800

American act The Mommyheads have collaborated with Anders Wendin (Moneybrother) on a new single called "Just give me a reason" which will be released on March 18.

More US tourdates for Moneybrother

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:54:00 -0700

Moneybrother will be back in the US yet again, this time on tour with Bedouin Soundclash:

11/03 - Le Posson Rouge, New York City, NY
11/04 - Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
11/05 - Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
11/06 - Jerky's Music Hall, Providence, RI
11/07 - Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
12/03 - Wild Buffalo, Bellingham, WA
12/04 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
12/05 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
12/07 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA
12/08 - Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA

This week's Last.fm chart

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:13:10 -0700

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Familjen
02. Robyn
03. Säkert!
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Moneybrother
06. First Aid Kit
07. Kent
08. The Tough Alliance
09. Efterklang
10. Broder Daniel

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Moneybrother to support Jesse Malin

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:18:27 -0700

Moneybrother will be supporting Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social for a full US tour starting next month:

09/08 - North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA
09/09 - Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
09/10 - The Southern, Charlottesville, VA
09/12 - DC9, Washington, DC
09/14 - Le Belmont, Montreal, QC
09/15 - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
09/16 - Club at Water Street, Rochester, NY
09/17 - Basement, Columbus, OH
09/18 - Subterranean, Chicago, IL
09/19 - Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
09/20 - Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
09/21 - Marquis Theater, Denver, CO
09/22 - The Complex, Salt Lake City, UT
09/24 - Knotty Pine, Victor, ID
09/25 - The Reef, Boise, ID
09/26 - Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
09/27 - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
09/29 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
09/30 - Viper Room, Los Angeles, CA
10/02 - Yucca Tap Room, Tempe, AZ
10/04 - Red 7, Austin, TX
10/05 - Vino's, Little Rock, AR
10/07 - Club Café, Pittsburgh, PA
10/08 - Bowery Electric, New York, NY

Moneybrother - Down at the R

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:04:31 -0700

Moneybrother's new US single "Down at the R" is being given away as a free download: http://www.thetripwire.com/listen/2010/06/29/premiere-moneybrother-down-at-the-r/
This is a newly re-recorded version of the track for the US release of "Real control".

Presenting: Psykakuten

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:57:37 -0700

Psykakuten is the name of a new project featuring Karolina Stenström of Steso Songs and guitarist Henrik Svensson from Moneybrother/Doktor Kosmos/Hets!/etc. Look for their debut single "If I could love I would" to be released via their own label Lyckan on May 5 with the self-titled album to follow on June 23. Samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/psykakuten

Moneybrother US tour blog

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:57:04 -0700

A member of Moneybrother's American backing band is blogging from their current US tour for Willamette Weekly: http://blogs.wweek.com/music/2010/04/21/moneybrother-it-only-takes-a-couple-of-short-skirts-to-remember-who-we-are-raleigh-nc/
It's true about Seattle too, shows there almost inevitably suck. Lame crowds, lame scene.

Moneybrother gets US album release, tour

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:49:08 -0700

Swedish artist Moneybrother will be releasing "Real control" in the US on April 27 via Bladen County Records in a new version with four re-recorded tracks. And no, I'm not sure which ones, but this will be his proper US debut following Sabot Productions' sampler "They're building walls around us" which came out a few years back. Want one? I've got a few copies left and will sell 'em cheap! Otherwise, check him out when he's on tour:

03/30 - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
04/10 - East End, Portland, OR
, 04/11 - Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA
, 04/15 - Pourhouse, Raleigh, NC
, 04/16 - The Handlebar, Greenville, SC
04/17 - Alley Katz, Richmond, VA
04/18 - Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, VA
04/20 - Southgate House, Newport, KY
04/21 - Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY
04/22 - Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI
04/23 - Headliners, Toledo, OH
04/24 - Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
04/25 - Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
04/26 - Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
04/28 - Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME
04/29 - Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
04/30 - Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY
05/02 - Disel, Pittsburgh, PA

All dates post-April 16 are with Against Me!.

Swedish Grammis 2010 best video nominees

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:25:36 -0800

The nominees for the Swedish Grammis/MTV award in the category of best music video have been announced:

Adam Tensta, Eboi, Infinite Mass - Area turns red 09 (dir. Marcus Lundin)
Adiam Dymott - Miss you (dir. Senay & Kolacz)
Air France - No excuses (dir. Marcus Söderlund)
Amanda Jensen - Happyland (dir. Jerker Josefsson)
Bob Hund - Bli aldrig som oss bli värre! (dir. Johan Söderberg)
BWO - Right here right now (dir. Josef Andersson)
El Perro Del Mar - Change of heart (dir. Filip Nilsson)
Elin Lanto - Love made me stupid (dir. Robinovich)
Fever Ray - When I grow up (dir. Martin de Thurrah)
Jenny Wilson - Like a fading rainbow (dir. Marcus Söderlund)
Pato Pooh feat. Adam Tensta - Follow me (dir. Maceo Frost)
Peter Bjorn and John - It don't move me (dir. Filip Nilsson)
Promoe - Svennebanan (dir. Magnus Härdner)
Taken By Trees - My boys (dir. Marcus Söderlund)
The Sound Of Arrows - Into the clouds (dir. The Sound Of Arrows)
Timbuktu - Välj mej (dir. Daniel Wirtberg & Jonas Rudström)
Promoe - Mammas Gata (dir. Magnus Härdner)
Moneybrother - Born under a bad sign (dir. Kalle Haglund)
Mando Diao - Gloria (dir. Jörn Heitmann)
Melody Club - The only ones (dir. Peder Bergstrand)

View/vote here: http://grammis.mtv.se/

This week's Last.fm chart

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:17:05 -0800

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Kent
02. Markus Krunegård
03. Tutankamon
04. Håkan Hellström
05. The Mary Onettes
06. A Camp
07. Bob Hund
08. Anna Ternheim
09. Moneybrother
10. Deportees

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Moneybrother in Germany, Austria

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:45:36 -0700

Moneybrother on tour in Germany and Austria:

12/01 - Beatpool, Dresden
12/02 - Zeche Carl, Essen
12/03 - Kamp, Bielefeld
12/05 - Postbahnhof, Berlin
12/06 - Grünspan, Hamburg
12/07 - Stollwerck, Köln
12/08 - Backstage Halle, München
12/10 - Substage, Karlsruhe
12/11 - Kino, Ebensee
12/12 - Weekender Club, Innsbruck
12/13 - WUK, Wien
12/14 - Centralstation, Darmstadt

Hello Saferide Live @ Magnet, Berlin, 09/24/2009

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:43:37 -0700

I'd waited several years for Annika Norlin and her bandmates to finally make their way to Germany and yet I really didn't know what to expect. Or rather, the show made me realize what I had been expecting by the surprises it gave me. I guess it was Annika's performance as a singer that stood out most -- she came across as a very strong and powerful storyteller, not as the tender or vulnerable songwriter some of her work portrays her to be. I'm not taking the cliché (and sexist) perspective here that "female songwriters have to be gracious creatures": It was her music and not her gender that had me expecting something slightly different. The whole evening came to contain more audience-directed performance than self-referential authenticity -- very refreshing from a pop-cultural point of view -- with Annika not singing, but more likely declaiming the lyrics, when without instrument often with erratic hand or head movements somewhat reminiscent of Anders Wendin (Moneybrother). I've always found Annika's songs to share similarities with short stories, especially in their careful plot construction with turning points and punchlines placed at the end of songs. In a way, Annika staged this affinity to fictional prose very well in her performance: While evidently telling other people's stories and not hers, she did so in a very captivating and engaging way. Especially the duets "Overall" (with album producer Andreas Mattson) and "Long lost penpal" (with Andrea "Firefox AK" Kellerman) reminded me of Stars' Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan acting and interpreting songs rather than just singing them. I believe that it was exactly this enthusiasm which Annika and her five bandmates presented their songs that really won over the crowd in Berlin's well-filled Magnet Club. In the case of Stars, the short-story'ness of their songs has gotten a bit old with time, but Annika was clever enough to throw in more personal, quieter moments like the beautiful "I wonder who is like this one" or the atmospheric encore-closer "Arjeplog" that allowed listeners to connect with her performance on a more emotional level. Now that Annika has proven to be an extremely skillful, conceptually working lyricist and performer well-versed in the art of pop culture, I'm curious to see where she'll go next.

Moneybrother to get US release in 2010

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:52:06 -0700

Moneybrother's most recent album "Real control" will get a US release in early 2010 via Bladen County Records and he should be back in February for more tourdates. At least that's what the man himself told me at the show on Friday. I've seen Moneybrother in a lot of different places all over the world (LA, Umeå, GBG and now Seattle) and it's always a little different with this last one being the oddest yet. Moneybrother with an acoustic guitar and a brand new 75% American pickup band in a small club, playing first and trying his hardest to win over the room? That's a far cry from performing in front of a friendly festival crowd. He didn't act entitled though, he worked it like the struggling musician he is in this part of the world and I gotta respect that, even if I'm not too into his latest records (or the quieter, acoustic format for that matter). Now as for whether or not he'll break through here I don't know, but he's certainly putting forth the proper effort.

Moneybrother back to the US

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:07:53 -0700

Moneybrother's current album "Real control" has been licensed by Bladen County Records for a US release in January and he'll be coming back for another batch of US dates in September:

09/18 - The Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA w/The Love Language
09/19 - Rontoms (Music Fest North West), Portland, OR w/The Love Language
09/22 - Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco, CA
09/24 - The Viper Room, Los Angeles, CA w/Tigercity

Moneybrother lines up German release, tour

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:33:25 -0700

Moneybrother's recent album "Real control" will get a German release on September 25 via Rough Trade. Look for tourdates in December.

This week's Last.fm chart

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:23:48 -0700

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Bob Hund
02. Håkan Hellström
03. Mew
04. The Soundtrack of Our Lives
05. The Radio Dept.
06. Moneybrother
07. Deportees
08. Britta Persson
09. Broder Daniel
10. Hello Saferide

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Moneybrother - We only die once (video)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:26:48 -0700

Aftonbladet has the new Moneybrother video for "We only die once": http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/musikvideor/article5402087.ab

Skiva presents new singles from Moneybrother, Jacob Felländer

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:11:41 -0700

New tracks streaming at Skiva:

Moneybrother - We die only once (and for a very long time)
Jacob Felländer - Wrong

The former is the latest single from the popular Swedish artist and is described as a "lowbrow summer reggae tune." As for the second, it was produced by Christian Kjellvander and was written to accompany Jacob's photo exhibition "Choices" and his art-book "Stand Still - Drift Theories".

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 22 May 2009 11:44:35 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Dead By April - Dead By April
02. Thorleifs - Sweet kissin' in the moonlight
03. E.M.D. - A state of mind - deluxe
04. Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken
05. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
06. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
07. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
08. Malmö Opera Kör & Orkester - Jesus Christ superstar
09. The Boppers - Vibrations
10. Innocent Rosie - Bad habit romance
11. Sten & Stanley - Allsånger på vårt sätt
12. Maia Hirasawa - GBGvsSTHLM
13. Lisa Ekdahl - Give me that slow knowing smile
14. Måns Zelmerlöw - MZW
15. Alcazar - Disco defenders
16. Alf Robertson - En flisa av granit
17. Lili & Susie - Nu och då - Det bästa med Lili & Susie
18. Promoe - Kråksången
19. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
20. Moneybrother - Real control

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 15 May 2009 11:37:50 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Thorleifs - Sweet kissin' in the moonlight
02. E.M.D. - A state of mind - deluxe
03. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
04. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
05. Malmö Opera Kör & Orkester - Jesus Christ superstar
06. The Boppers - Vibrations
07. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
08. Måns Zelmerlöw - MZW
09. Innocent Rosie - Bad habit romance
10. Lisa Ekdahl - Give me that slow knowing smile
11. Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken
12. Promoe - Kråksången
13. Alcazar - Disco defenders
14. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
15. Intohimo - Us; the hollows
16. Pauline - Never said I was an angel
17. Moneybrother - Real control
18. Lili & Susie - Nu och då - Det bästa med Lili & Susie
19. Theresa Andersson - Hummingbird, go!
20. Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:20:43 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Thorleifs - Sweet kissin' in the moonlight
02. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
03. Promoe - Kråksången
04. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
05. The Boppers - Vibrations
06. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
07. E.M.D. - A state of mind - deluxe
08. Alcazar - Disco defenders
09. Måns Zelmerlöw - MZW
10. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
11. Lisa Ekdahl - Give me that slow knowing smile
12. Innocent Rosie - Bad habit romance
13. Melody Club - Goodbye to romance
14. Moneybrother - Real control
15. Malmö Opera Kör & Orkester - Jesus Christ superstar
16. Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken
17. BWO - Big science
18. Bob Hund - Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk
19. Susanne Alfvengren - Bbortom tid och rum - det bästa
20. Shirley Clamp - För den som älskar...en samling

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 01 May 2009 13:27:11 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
02. E.M.D. - A state of mind - deluxe
03. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
04. Alcazar - Disco defenders
05. The Boppers - Vibrations
06. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
07. Lisa Ekdahl - Give me that slow knowing smile
08. Malmö Opera Kör & Orkester - Jesus Christ superstar
09. Måns Zelmerlöw - MZW
10. Kevin Borg - The beginning
11. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
12. Moneybrother - Real control
13. Maia Hirasawa - GBGvsSTHLM
14. Melody Club - Goodbye to romance
15. Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken
16. BWO - Big science
17. Pauline - Never said I was an angel
18. Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home
19. Magnus Lindberg - Ett eget liv
20. Stiko Per Larsson - Kap farväl

Moneybrother - Born under a bad sign (video)

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:42:18 -0700

The video for the new Moneybrother single "Born under a bad sign" is online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiylR5BrFsM&fmt=18

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:20:48 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
02. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
03. Moneybrother - Real control
04. E.M.D. - A state of mind - deluxe
05. Alcazar - Disco defenders
06. Malmö Opera Kör & Orkester - Jesus Christ superstar
07. Lisa Ekdahl - Give me that slow knowing smile
08. Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
09. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
10. Marit Bergman - The tear collector
11. BWO - Big science
12. Shirley Clamp - För den som älskar...en samling
13. Caj Karlsson - Tillsammans med mig
14. Måns Zelmerlöw - MZW
15. Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken
16. Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home
17. Salem - Astronaut
18. Hammerfall - No sacrifice, no victory
19. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
20. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday

Moneybrother, the soup

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:25:25 -0700

Besides releasing a new album, Moneybrother is also releasing a line of tomato soup. I wonder if he'll have any on the upcoming US tour...

New Moneybrother = Real control

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:00:31 -0700

The new Moneybrother album "Real control" will be released on April 15 via Hacka Skivindustri and you can now hear the first single "Born under a bad sign" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/moneybrother
Various songs on the album were produced by Jari Haapalainen, Björn Yttling and Christoffer Roth and besides a few of his usual backing musicians, members of The Hives and Randy lent a hand as well.

'The Sweptaways show' revealed!

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:52:39 -0800

Yesterday I told you there was a new Sweptaways album on the way, today I give you full details. Once again, the release date is April 15 and here now is the tracklist with full guest + songwriter details:

01. Democracy – The Sweptaways and Sir Eric Beyond [Erik Aalto]
02. Sign your name – The Sweptaways and Nina Ramsby [Terence Trent D'Arby]
03. They don't know about us – The Sweptaways and Anders Wendin aka Moneybrother [Kirsty MacColl]
04. Electric – The Sweptaways [Dag Volle, Martin Sandberg, Herbert Crichlow, Leila K]
05. Time of the season – The Sweptaways and Pelle Almqvist (The Hives) [Rod Argent, originally performed by The Zombies]
06. Happiness will be my revenge – The Sweptaways and Jens Lekman [Jens Lekman]
07. I've got your man – The Sweptaways and Robyn [Marion Hall, Richard Martin, Rickardo Ducent, originally performed by Lady Saw]
08. With every heartbeat – The Sweptaways and Simone Rubi (Rubies) [Robin Carlsson, Andreas Kleerup]
09. Vintersaga – The Sweptaways and Uje Brandelius [Ted Ström]
10. The world's greatest – The Sweptaways [R Kelly]
11. Something special – The Sweptaways and Asha Ali [Dolly Parton]
12. Tjörn – The Sweptaways and Björn Olsson [Björn Olsson]

Expect the first single (tbd) in mid-March.

Moneybrother confirms US dates

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:44:29 -0800

As promised, here are West Coast tourdates for Moneybrother:

04/21 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
04/23 - Ike Box, Salem, OR
04/24 - The High Dive, Seattle, WA
04/25 - East End, Portland, OR
04/27 - Press Club, Sacramento, CA
04/28 - The Cellar Door, Visalia, CA
04/29 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA

Moneybrother working on soul album, US tour

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:00:30 -0800

Moneybrother is reportedly working on a new record which might just end up being a soul record. And apparently he'll be touring the US West Coast in April. Wait and see...

MP3: Boris och the Jeltsins - Begär

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:06:02 -0800

December is the season of sharing, so with that in mind, I'm letting Simon Tagestam handle today's mp3 post:

About 10 years ago, the first 45 seconds of "Begär" would have had me going through the roof with excitement, but now it mostly makes me a bit confused - how can someone in 2008 from Sweden make a song with that intro (combined with the rest of the song)? Obviously they've heard Bruce Springsteen, Moneybrother and Håkan Hellström, but is there any chance that they somehow missed all the watered down version of aforementioned artists that were doing the rounds about 4-5 years ago? It's not a bad song as such, it's quite catchy and it's sweet and short, but it is so extremely clichéd that it almost comes across as an ironic statement from someone taking the piss out of this particular genre. I bet a few of the kids will go crazy for this, especially if Boris och the Jeltsins can back it up with a great live show. It should also be noted that I'm not a guy who looks for originality when it comes to music. I'm a fan of lot of artists who sound like someone who sound like someone else, but whereas certain songs wear their influences on their sleeves "Begär" cuts off my ears with them (thus making me feel alienated and sad).

MP3: Anna Maria Espinosa - Glowing with you

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:11:01 -0800

My promo copy of Anna Maria Espinosa's album "Glowing with you" didn't come with liner notes, but it hardly matters - I'm confident I can accurately guess a large number of the co-writers and backing musicians based on sound alone, if not for past associations. If you're at all familiar with the crowd she keeps, it won't be hard either - this is the sound of peak Stockholm rock circa 5+ years ago or thereabouts. Her time with Club Killers is more than apparent and so it's only natural that she also takes on the sounds of Moneybrother and, as you'll hear on the title track posted today, Weeping Willows. It's a classic WW-style ballad; I half-expect Magnus Carlson's croon to enter on every new verse though Anna does manage to pull it off on her own. She can't quite wrench out the teardrops like Magnus on the peak of that sad, sad chorus, but still, she soars admirably. Yes, it's terribly derivative, but come on, are you surprised? You shouldn't be.

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:28:46 -0700

Moneybrother is touring as a folk trio this fall: http://www.luger.se/_nyheter.asp?PK_Id=1000 (in Swedish)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:54:42 -0700

Jacob Felländer, a Swedish artist probably best known so far for his photography, will release his debut album "Letters from the Trenches" on June 4. Guest musicians on said album include Dan Lepp (Grand Tone Music), Patrik Andersson (Moneybrother, Club Killers, Barr). Per Nordmark (Fireside, Breach, Christian Kjellvander), Britta Persson and many more. Hear samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jacobfellander

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:52:47 -0700

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Franke - Jag älskar dig
02. TALK 1
03. White Knives - Welcome transplants
04. Bobby and Blumm - Drow a bow
05. Anna Leong - Guillotine
06. TALK 2
07. Juvelen - Don't mess
08. Eucharist - The Eucharist
09. Sophie Rimheden - Go away (ft. Aaron Phiri)
10. TALK 3
11. Form One - Money (ft. Vincent)
12. Tape - Augustan chateau
13. Moneybrother - They're building walls around us
14. TALK 4
15. Lapko - Killer whales
16. The State of Floral Beings - Bad broker
17. Opération Zéro - Grand Pere
18. TALK 5
19. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune
20. Kusowsky - Jonny
21. Motorhomes - Into the night
22. TALK 6
23. They Live By Night - Endless summer
24. Cleaning Women - Clean up your body
25. Kaka - What a frame
26. Gorgoroth - Krig
27. TALK 7
28. Markus Krunegård - Samma nätter väntar alla
29. Snöleoparden - Waterpuppet theatre
30. Oskar Schönning - Stoner
31. TALK 8
32. Tellu - Tuulet
33. Convoj - Cultural legacy
34. Lukestar - White shade
35. Silver - The personal decay
36. TALK 9
37. Brick - Labrador
38. Callisto - Anastasis
39. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - When she's GONE
40. TALK 10
41. Magyar Posse - Singlesparks are spectral fires

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:12:32 -0700

New livedates for Moneybrother:

05/15 - Jazzhaus, Freiburg (GER)
05/18 - Posthof, Linz (AUS)
05/19 - Rockhouse, Salzburg (AUS)

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:09:17 -0800

Aftonbladet reports that Moneybrother is doing some songwriting sessions here in the US: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesliv/musik/article1716560.ab (in Swedish)

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:37:16 -0800

Updated tourdates for Moneybrother:

02/14 - Bygget, Åre (SWE)
02/16 - Statt, Karlskoga (SWE)
02/25 - Mau Club, Rostock (GER)
02/26 - Grünspan, Hamburg (GER)
02/27 - Factory, Magdeburg (GER)
02/28 - Hirsch, Nürnberg (GER)
02/29 - Substage, Karlsruhe (GER)
03/02 - Weststadthalle, Essen (GER)
03/03 - Jazzhaus, Freiburg (GER)
03/04 - Posthof, Linz (AUS)
03/05 - Rockhouse, Salzburg (AUS)
03/07 - Stollwerck, Köln (GER)
03/08 - Faust, Hannover (GER)
03/09 - Conne Island, Leipzig (GER)
03/10 - Batschkapp, Frankfurt (GER)
03/12 - Forum, Trier (GER)
03/13 - Haus der Jugend, Osnabrück (GER)
03/14 - Die Pumpe, Kiel (GER)

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:18:21 -0800

The final list of this year's Swedish Grammi nominees have been confirmed:

Best Album
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Dance/Hip-Hop/Soul
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
Ken - Äntligen Hemma
Mange Schmidt - Känslan Kommer Tillbaks
Petter - God Damn It

Best Folk/Country
Abalone Dots - From A Safe Distance
Ale Möller - Band Djef Djel
Lars Demian - Välkommen Hit
Sofia Karlsson - Visor Från Vinden
Sven-Bertil Taube - Alderville Road - Ord & Toner Av Evert Taube

Best Group
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Mando Diao - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend
The Hives - The Black And White Album

Best Hard-rock/Metal
Entombed - Serpent Saints
Hardcore Superstar - Dreamin' In A Casket
Lillasyster - Hjärndöd Musik För En Hjärndöd Generation
Mustasch - Latest Version Of The Truth
Takida - Bury The Lies

Best Jazz
Alice Babs Med Jan Johansson & Georg Riedels - Orkester Illusion
Bitter Funeral Beer Band W Don Cherry & K. Sridhar - Live In Frankfurt 82
E.S.T. - Live In Hamburg
Nils Landgren - Funk Unit Licence To Funk
Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone With You

Best Songwriter
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Joakim Berg & Martin Sköld - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Ola Salo - Prayer For The Weekend
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Best Female Artist
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Laleh - Prinsessor
Miss Li - God Put A Rainbow In The Sky
Sonja Aldén - Till Dig
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Live Act
Lars Winnerbäck
Lena PH & Orup
Takida
The Hives
Timbuktu

Best Song
Lars Winnerbäck & Miss Li - Om Du Lämnade Mig Nu
Mange Schmidt Feat. Petter - Giftig
Sahara Hotnights - Cheek To Cheek
Salem Al Fakir - Good Song
The Ark - The Worrying Kind

Best Male Artist
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand By For…
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande

Best Newcomer
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Producer
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Björn Olsson - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Björn Yttling - Writer's Block & What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Jon Joshua Schuman & Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Best Lyrics
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Eva Dahlgren - Petroleum Och Tång
Jason Diakité - Oberoendeframkallande
Joakim Berg - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

MTV-Prize for Best Video
Adam Tensta - My Cool (Dir: Marcus Lundin)
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle (Dir: Johan Söderberg)
Kent - Ingenting (Dir: Mattias Montero/Adam Berg)
Slagsmålsklubben - Malmö Beach Night Party (Dir: Andreas Nilsson)
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend (Dir: Magnus Renfors / Kindpeople)

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:32:52 -0800

This year's Swedish Grammi (Grammy) Award nominees have been announced:

Best album:
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend
The Hives - The Black And White Album
Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande

Best dance/hip-hop/soul:
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Dogge Doggelito - Superclasico
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
Fjärde Världen - Världens Ände
Ken - Äntligen Hemma
Mange Schmidt - Känslan Kommer Tillbaks
Million Stylez - From A Far
Petter - God Damn It
September - Dancing Shoes
Vincent - Lucky Thirteen

Best group:
Eldkvarn - Svart Blogg
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Mando Diao - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend
The Hives - The Black And White Album
Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed
Peter Bjorn And John - Writer's Block
Weeping Willows - Fear & Love

Best hard-rock/metal:
Arch Enemy - Rise Of The Tyrant
Candlemass - King Of The Grey Island
Clawfinger - Life Will Kill You
Crashdiet - The Unattractive Revolution
Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
Entombed - Serpent Saints
Hardcore Superstar - Dreamin' In A Casket
Lillasyster - Hjärndöd Musik För En Hjärndöd Generation
Mustasch - Latest Version Of The Truth
Takida - Bury The Lies

Best songwriter:
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her
Joakim Berg & Martin Sköld - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
José González - In Our Nature
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Ola Salo - Prayer For The Weekend
Peter Bjorn And John - Writer's Block
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Best female artist:
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Eva Dahlgren - Petroleum Och Tång
Jaqee - Nouvelle D'amour
Laleh - Prinsessor
Louise Hoffsten - Så Speciell
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Miss Li - God Put A Rainbow In The Sky
Sonja Aldén - Till Dig
Sophie Zelmani - Memory Loves You
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best live act:
Benny Anderssons Orkester
Jens Lekman
Lars Winnerbäck
Lena Ph & Orup
Parksommar
Per Gessle
Peter Jöback
Takida
The Hives
Timbuktu

Best song:
Lars Winnerbäck - I Duett Med Miss Li Om Du Lämnade Mig Nu
Mange Schmidt Feat. Petter - Giftig
Markoolio - Ingen Sommar Utan Reggae
Martin Stenmarck - 100 År Från Nu (Blundar)
Måns Zelmerlöw - Cara Mia
Sahara Hotnights - Cheek To Cheek
Salem Al Fakir - Good Song
Sonja Aldén - För Att Du Finns
The Ark - The Worrying Kind
Ola - Natalie

Best male artist:
Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here / I Saw Here From Her
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
José González - In Our Nature
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand By For...
Peter Lemarc - Kärlek I Tystnadens Tid
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande
Timo Räisänen - Love Will Turn You Around

Best newcomer:
Abalone Dots - From A Safe Distance
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand By For...
Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Sonja Aldén - Till Dig
Säkert! - Säkert!
Vincent - Lucky Thirteen

Best producer:
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Björn Olsson - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Björn Yttling - Writer's Block & What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Jari Haapalainen - Svart Blogg
Jon Joshua Schuman & Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
José González - In Our Nature
Laleh - Prinsessor
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Vincent Pontare - Lucky Thirteen

Best lyrics:
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Eva Dahlgren - Petroleum Och Tång
Jason Diakité - Oberoendeframkallande
Joakim Berg - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Ola Salo - Prayer For The Weekend
Peter Lemarc - Kärlek I Tystnadens Tid
Plura Jonsson - Svart Blogg
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Go here for the full list: http://www.musikindustrin.nu/mi/smpage.fwx?page=198&NYHETER=8646

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:45:58 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
02. Christer Sjögren - Älskade andliga sånger
03. The Hives - The black and white album
04. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
05. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
06. Thorleifs - Våra bästa år
07. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
08. Ola - Good enough
09. José González - In our nature
10. Hammerfall - Steel meets steel - Ten years of glory
11. Miss Li - Songs of a rag doll
12. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
14. Soilwork - Sworn to a great divide
15. Dia Psalma - Djupa skogen
16. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
17. Bo Sundström & Frida Öhrn - Den lyckliges väg
18. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
19. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
20. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:29:33 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
03. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
04. Thorleifs - Våra bästa år
05. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
06. Dia Psalma - Djupa skogen
07. Ola - Good enough
08. Hammerfall - Steel meets steel - Ten years of glory
09. José González - In our nature
10. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
11. Oh Laura - A song inside my head, a demon in my bed
12. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
14. Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone with you
15. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
16. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
17. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
18. Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand by for...
19. September - Dancing shoes
20. BWO - Fabricator

Moneybrother Mount Pleasure Burning Heart Records

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Much more impressive than Moneybrother's latest album is Anders Wedin's constant output of new material (this is Moneybrother's fourth album since 2003). The quality of his songs might vary, but even at his lowest, Wedin's never really that bad, his worse is quite medium. This is why I'm not too bothered about "Mount Pleasure" not being as solid as Moneybrother's first two albums. It's a predictable collection of songs, and, except the first single ("Just another summer"), there aren't too many songs that I'd miss if this album was forever erased from the history of music (harsh, I know). As we'd come to except by now, it's a lot of songs sounding like Bruce Springsteen, Thin Lizzy and a few that could have been done by Monster (Wedin's band before Moneybrother). Let's hope that Moneybrother will release a new album not too far away from now, and that it'll be both fresh and absolutely amazing, "Mount Pleasure" is just about too "meh" for me and my dear ears.

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:19:11 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
02. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
03. Ola - Good enough
04. Thorleifs - Våra bästa år
05. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
06. Crashdïet - the unattractive revolution
07. Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone with you
08. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
09. José González - In our nature
10. The Poodles - Sweet trade
11. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
12. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
14. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
15. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
16. BWO - Fabricator
17. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
18. September - Dancing shoes
19. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
20. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:03:11 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
02. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
03. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
04. José González - In our nature
05. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
06. September - Dancing shoes
07. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
08. BWO - Fabricator
09. The Poodles - Sweet trade
10. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
11. Mange Schmidt - Känslan kommer tillbaks
12. Arch Enemy - Rise of the tyrant
14. Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone with you
15. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
16. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
17. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
18. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
19. Danny - Heart beats
20. Markoolio - Värsta plattan

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:30:05 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
02. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
03. BWO - Fabricator
04. The Poodles - Sweet trade
05. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
06. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
07. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
08. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
09. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
10. Danny - Heart beats
11. Markoolio - Värsta plattan
12. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
14. Per Gessle - En händig man
15. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
16. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
17. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
18. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
19. Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Licence to funk
20. Oh Laura - A song inside my head, a demon in my bed

FWIW, the Swedish chart site Hitlistan is now called SverigeTopplistan.

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:10:05 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
02. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
03. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
04. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
05. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
06. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
07. Per Gessle - En händig man
08. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
09. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
10. Timo Räisänen - Love will turn you around
11. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
12. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
14. Danny - Heart beats
15. Ted Gärdestad - För kärlekens skull - Det bästa med
16. Torsson - Det fjärde bästa bandet i Lund
17. Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Licence to funk
18. Oh Laura - A song inside my head, a demon in my bed
19. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
20. Mustasch - Latest version of the truth

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:58:46 -0700

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Jens Lekman
02. Shout Out Louds
03. José González
04. Death Cab for Cutie
05. Belle and Sebastian
06. Interpol
07. Moneybrother
08. The Knife
09. The Radio Dept.
10. The Bear Quartet

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
02. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
03. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
04. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
05. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
06. Timo Räisänen - Love will turn you around
07. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
08. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
09. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
10. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
11. Per Gessle - En händig man
12. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
14. Magnus Carlsson - Live forever - The album
15. Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Licence to funk
16. Torsson - Det fjärde bästa bandet i Lund
17. Lars Demian - Välkommen hit
18. Oh Laura - A song inside my head, a demon in my bed
19. Ted Gärdestad - För kärlekens skull - Det bästa med
20. The Ark - Prayer for the weekend

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
02. Timo Räisänen - Love will turn you around
03. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
04. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
05. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
06. Torsson - Det fjärde bästa bandet i Lund
07. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
08. Markoolio - Värsta Plattan
09. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
10. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
11. Per Gessle - En händig man
12. Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Licence to funk
14. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
15. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
16. Lars Demian - Välkommen hit
17. Ted Gärdestad - För kärlekens skull - Det bästa med
18. The Ark - Prayer for the weekend
19. Magnus Carlsson - Live forever - The album
20. Alice Babs med Jan Johansson & Georg Riedels Ork. - Illusion

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
02. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
03. Tommy Körberg - Rakt upp och ner
04. Per Gessle - En händig man
05. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
06. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
07. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
08. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
09. Lars Demian - Välkommen hit
10. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
11. Markoolio - Värsta Plattan
12. The Ark - Prayer for the weekend
14. Calaisa - Calaisa
15. Ted Gärdestad - För kärlekens skull - Det bästa med
16. Povel Ramel - De bästa av Povels mångsidor
17. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
18. Sarah Dawn Finer - A finer dawn
19. Sofia karlsson - Visor från vinden
20. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkalland

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

New updated European tourdates for Moneybrother:

09/25 - Vega (small hall), Köpenhamn (DK)
09/26 - Kamp, Bielefeld (DE)
09/27 - Kleine Elserhalle, München (DE)
09/28 - WUK, Wien (AT)
09/30 - Abart, Zürich (CH)
10/01 - Prime Club, Köln (DE)
10/02 - Starclub, Dresden (DE)
10/03 - Postbahnhof, Berlin (DE)
10/04 - Grünspan, Hamburg (DE)
10/07 - Cirkus, Stockholm (SWE)
10/13 - USF - Verftet, Bergen (NO)
10/14 - Rockefeller, Oslo (NO)
10/16 - UKA-07, Trondheim (NO)
10/18 - KB, Malmö (SWE)
10/19 - Kåren, Halmstad (SWE)
10/20 - The Tivoli, Helsingborg (SWE)
10/25 - Hörnet, Västerås (SWE)
10/26 - Konsert & Kongress (Garden), Linköping (SWE)
10/27 - Älvan, Avesta (SWE)
10/31 - Katalin, Uppsala (SWE)
11/01 - Spegeln, Gävle (SWE)
11/02 - Popup på Folkets hus (Idun), Umeå (SWE)
11/03 - Harrys Pub & Restaurang, Falun (SWE)
11/08 - Trädgår'n, Göteborg (SWE)
11/09 - Palace, Kalmar (SWE)
11/10 - Statt, Karlskoga (SWE)
11/15 - Torsdagsklubben på Conventum (Club 700), Örebro (SWE)
11/16 - Nöjesfabriken (Stora scenen), Karlstad (SWE)
11/17 - Valhall, Skövde (SWE)
11/23 - Stadshuset (Spegelsalen), Sundsvall (SWE)
11/24 - O'learys, Östersund (SWE)

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Jens Lekman
02. Belle and Sebastian
03. Interpol
04. Shout Out Louds
05. Moneybrother
06. Rilo Kiley
07. Kent
08. Sufjan Stevens
09. Feist
10. José González

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Superfamily - I want my money back
04. The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
05. Ståålfågel - Små gröna män
06. TALK 2
07. Printer - Satisfaction (radio edit)
08. NEI - New morning
09. Paper - Out of it into it
10. Darkthrone - Canadian metal
11. TALK 3
12. Sweatmaster - Animal
13. Bloodbath - Buried by the dead
14. Moneybrother - Guess who's gonna get some tonight
15. TALK 4
16. The Perishers - Victorious
17. The Skull Defekts - Unholy drums are singing
18. Hell On Wheels - Alexander
19. TALK 5
20. Karin Ström - Ordlös
21. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Skulldrummantra
22. Scraps of Tape - How your heart gets thrown
23. TALK 6
24. Brainbombs - Stinking memory
25. M:40 - Brännmärkt
26. Logh - Bring on the ether
27. TALK 7
28. CS Nielsen - Happy
29. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
30. Juvelen - Hanna
31. TALK 8
32. Killerchaps - Equally dumb
33. Dinosau - Derr lady
34. Knugen Faller - Inte som ni
35. TALK 9
36. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
37. Pg.Lost - Yes I am
38. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Marry me
39. TALK 10
40. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home

MP3: Moneybrother - Just another summer

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Moneybrother's third album "Mount pleasure" is the last in his contract for Burning Heart and it sure feels like it. Not in the sense that it feels like a conclusive kiss-off, rather that it's a ragtag collection of mediocre, b-side quality tracks. Nothing says "contractual obligation" quite like that except maybe a live album or a "greatest hits" comp. Unlike a lot of people I know, I fully admit to being a fan of Moneybrother's last proper full-length "To die alone" and was looking forward to this one. I didn't have sky-high expectations, but I really thought it would be better. Today's mp3, the lead track "Just another summer" is one of the few standouts. As usual, it's got Anders Wendin doing his best Springsteen impression with a bit of a Clash-style breakdown thrown in for good measure. It's fine, but it's nothing we haven't heard from him many times before. It's certainly not enough to convert the skeptical, much less a proper big summer single as I'm sure was intended. Maybe next time?

Festival report: Way Out West

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Thursday

The day started off well enough. I woke early and had a good stroll around central Göteborg and managed to get myself fairly oriented to city. I also had a surprise run-in with Viktor Sjöberg in an empty parking lot and his dog Douglas suprised me right back, sending my cup of coffee flying through the air. Things were off to a good start! The majority of my afternoon was spent exploring the Konstmuseum (I think I'll be needing an Ivar Arosenius print at some point) and then it was time to meet more friends and start the Way Out West concert experience.

I missed openers Function, but Low exceeded expectations with their set at Trädgär'n. I'm only moderately familiar with their catalog, but what I saw was understated, elegant and quite powerful. Following them was another American act, Woven Hand. Naturally, I came to WoW primarily to see Swedish acts, but since Woven Hand tours Sweden far more often than the US, I made sure to make this show and they did not disappoint one bit. Frontman David Eugene Edwards has an incredibly intense stage presence, on par with Neurosis, easily one of the most emotionally demanding bands I've ever been fortunate enough to see.

Knowing fully well that there would be no way to top Woven Hand, I still set out to Pustervik to catch some more bands for my evening's entertainment. ...And You Will Know Us By Our Trail of Dead was packed solid and admitting no new patrons, so I went upstairs to check out Last Days of April. The wait was slightly longer than expected, but Håkan from Division of Laura Lee/Carcrash Records kept things interesting from his position behind the DJ booth. As for LDOA when they did finally take the stage, they were 100% solid despite a less-than-stellar placement in the lineup. I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. Another time, another place perhaps.
(AR)

Friday

At last, the start of the 'real' festival and the Boredoms set things off right. I was bit hesitant, having been disappointed by a show sometime around the period of "Super Æ", but this was something else entirely. My impression is that today's music was based on (or at least similar to) the recent "77 drummers" performance. It featured a steady onslaught of three pounding drummers and the reappearance of Eye's percussive guitar tree. The meandering psychedelia of years ago was vanquished from my mind and I let myself get lost in the endless hypnotic beat. I still can't say that I'll always be into everything the Boredoms do, but it's undeniable that they are always interesting and this performance certainly lived up to the hype.

I tried my best to avoid Salem Al Fakir's weak Billy Joel impression at one of the many beer tents before securing myself a proper position up front for Hello Saferide. The show was everything I'd hoped for: charming and sweet; equally balancing the upbeat, poppy material with the darker, more soulful (and often far more satisfying) ballads. All of the proper album highlights were played as well as a brand new track and the recent "I was definitely made for these times" single. It wasn't quite the transcendent experience I had hoped for, but it was quite nice to finally hear the songs in-person from the band's own instruments.

After Hello Saferide, it was proper time again for more beer and meeting friends. Finally got a chance to meet up with contributor Simon Tagestam (his SMS: "Hey Avi! You at the festival? Watching rubbish Laleh...") as well as a multitude of other folks. The next band to catch my attention: The Hellacopters. An experience made all that much greater from standing next to Fredrik Holmgren of Startracks who would constantly interrupt himself to yell things like "Oh my god! This fucking song! Yes!". Yeah, they were pretty good. And then The Hives - jeez, now there's a band that know's how to work a crowd of 16,000. Performing a few tracks from the forthcoming "The black & white album" as well as a plethora of classics, Pelle and the boys put on a proper show. Even if said record ends up being a total disaster, they are still a band not to be missed on tour. That's been obvious ever since the first time I saw them blow The (International) Noise Conspiracy off the stage.

Having now hooked up with another IAT contributor, a certain Jonas Appelqvist along with photographer companion Sofia Qvarnström, we decided it was a good time to exit the main festival grounds, seek nourishment from something besides weak Swedish lager and headed up to Sticky Fingers for Juvelen and Laakso. Once we arrived, it became instantly obvious that we made the right decision because the venue filled up right after our arrival. The unmistakable Ebbot Lundberg kept the people entertained from behind the decks as we waited patiently for the show to get underway.

Juvelen proved himself to be a considerably bigger draw than I anticipated and the crowd gushed with adoration as he strutted back and forth across the stage. No backing band, just lights, smoke and a guitar. That's all he needed. The females in attendance didn't seem to mind that he kept shedding layers of clothing as well. Impressive, for sure!

Of course, the big draw of the evening, especially for me, was Laakso and they were absolutely everything I had hoped them to be. Anthemic and glorious, perhaps even a bit cathartic. They played the hits and then they played some more. Annika Norlin came out and joined them for a rousing version of "Italy vs Helsinki". The band performed with fiery vigor and not a single moment was wasted. Some say that Laakso is currently Sweden's best band. I'm inclined to agree.

I should've called it a night following Laakso, but instead I set out on a fool's errand for a proper after-after-party. A wasted effort and a long walk home, but a good way to clear my jetlagged-rattled head and wind down. Lesson learned!
(AR)

Due to a wedding on the Saturday I was only able to attend Way Out West on Friday and I also had to leave early (halfway through The Hives' decent set) which meant I missed all the club nights too. Instead of getting to see Moneybrother, Regina Spektor, Juvelen, Laakso, TTA, Säkert!, Kanye West, Franke etc I was treated to the dire 'talents' that are Salem Al Fakir, Laleh, Albert Hammond Jr and the now questionable lot of The Hellacopters. Salem Al Fakir and Laleh could have been the worse festival combo I've ever witnessed, I was in shock by their horrible performances. Thankfully, Hello Saferide turned out to be a hint of sunshine in the rain, her set was much better than I expected it to be (I'm half a fan). The weather was rubbish, it was humid and rained most of the time, but the festival itself was nice. I love festivals near city centres! I'm definitely coming back if there will be a WoW in 2008, as long as I can go to the day when all the good bands are playing (no weddings then, please).
(ST)

Anticipations for the forthcoming album by The Hives are sky-high worldwide. And by all means, they should be. We're talking about a band putting up with a lot of pressure from, like, everywhere; the media, the record label and, most of all, the fans. And they know it. 'Cause what we saw was a hungry band eager to show off some new tunes and live up to the live rumor they've earned. After being locked up in studios around the globe for a long, long time it was quite obvious that Howlin' Pelle, Chris Dangerous, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction and Nicholaus Arson wanted to kick ass. And maybe that's what made it come off as overkill. Sure, the band is a really tight one; the entertainment is top notch (especially Howlin' Pelle's banters wherein he heckles the crowd while stating that what we're watching is the greatest band in the world) but there's a downside to the enthusiasm. The new songs suffer from the furious tempo on stage. And frankly, those songs were the ones I wanted to hear. The new single "Tick tick boom" is a good choice for the first one out from "The black and white album" with its hooks and easy sing-along, but as a whole, the other new ones tleft me a bit disappointed. The patented Hives-sound was all over and that's what I'm having problems with. Been there, done that. But hey, don't worry; the gig as a whole wasn't a disappointment. It's when these guys from Fagersta play the wonderful "AKA I.D.I.O.T" from my favorite album "Barely legal" the show starts for real! Elegant as always, they deliver punk rock for the masses with crowd pleasers such as "Walk idiot walk" and "A little more for little you" (dedicated to Nicke Andersson from The Hellacopters who was celebrating a birthday). Pelle had the crowd right where he wanted them, following his every move. And guess what?! His voice lasted the whole show. A seldom heard thing.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of electronic dance music, or Prince for that matter. But I can tell when competent music is performed and this was one show that proved me wrong. Performing inside a club and not on a stage at an outdoor festival definitely improved Juvelen since his music is made for the dance floor. And the crowd danced! And that's what it's all about I guess. The live show is secondary in this case and it should be, as long as you have great music to back things up. The hit single "Hannah" is a perfect example of that. Sung in a high falsetto over samples and a hot-tempered distorted guitar, the tune almost gets me down on the dance floor myself. And that is perhaps the best review you can get from me, seeing that I very rarely do such a thing! I have problem with the fact that a lot of the songs get kind of monotonous, but this one man show was a small success. At least if you're dancing.

Entering the stage 1:30 am and what a show they put on! Laakso's "Mother, am i good looking?" is one of this year's best records this far and Avi, photographer Sofia and me weren't the only ones at the venue with that opinion. Right from the first chords of "Worst case scenario", the band kickstarts into a euphoric journey full of Markus Krunegård's lyrical anguish with the added glam touch and disharmonic guitar licks of Bear Quartet's Jari Haapalainen. You could definitely tell that the band really loved this gig as they repeatedly stated that the clock was too much. The wonderful storytelling on "Västerbron", the heavy metal shouts on "In my blood", the reckless drumming on "Hang me in the Christmas Tree" and, of course the duet with Annika Norlin on "Italy vs Helsinki"; all that made this gig a tremendous experience.
(JA)

Saturday

The euphoria of the previous evening must've still been with me because I rose early again, ready and raring to go despite very few hours of sleep. I had some doubts about passing on The Pogues the previous night, but those fears were allayed from friends who declared the performance to be a pathetic travesty of a freakshow. No thank you! So with that, it was off for another long day of performances, starting off with Florence Valentin who were a perfect, rousing way to start the afternoon. The band's ample membership filled the Linné stage and their considerable energy got the crowd moving. That's some classic Göteborg indiepop done right and I'm glad they're back.

From Florence Valentin, it was back to the beer tent for refreshment after a quick glimpse at Shout Out Louds who were just as exciting as expected (read: not very). Caught a few songs from Sparta somewhere in there, then back for more beers to allay the boredom of the mid-afternoon lull. It was quite telling that the random dude Devandra Banhart invited up to perform a song far outshined the man himself. Moneybrother, sadly, proved to be equally lackluster, especially when compared to the full band with strings show I saw at Umeå Open two years ago. Again: no thanks.

Peter Bjorn and John on the other hand, delivered a strong and confident set, no doubt a testament to their endless tour schedule. Seeing as how they are still a small-stage act in their native Sweden, the set was all top-shelf material of wall-to-wall hits. Once again, Annika Norlin came out for a duet, this time filling in for Victoria Bergsman on the ubiquitous "Young folks". Well done! Funny that I had to travel thousands of miles to finally see these guys in the flesh, but I know it won't be for the last time. A small taste here at Way Out West whetted my appetite for the band's forthcoming club tour in the US this fall.

A break now for dinner (including a decent Swedish microbrew! shocking!) and then back in time for Säkert!, yet another festival highlight. Obviously I'm a big fan of Hello Saferide, but seeing Annika with the good folks of Isolation Years (plus Henrik Oya of The Spacious Mind and Jakob Nyström's sister Lovisa on keys/backing vocals) was fantastic. No gueststars today as all duets were aptly handled in-band, not that it mattered. They wrapped up the Parksommar tour here in top-notch style. The driving stomp of set-closer "Allt som är dit" was perfection and the crowd responded in kind. After that, I wandered over to catch the tail-end of The Ark's set, but was driven to seek shelter by the pounding rain. Had I been up front with sympathetic souls, I'm sure I would've loved it, but I opted for the easier (and drier) choice of watching from the safety of the beer tent. Hearing Ola Salo deliver a verse from "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" during one of their triumphant breakdowns was a nice touch.

Lily Allen replacement Teddybears STHLM proved to be far better than expected. Despite having a softspot for the band's obnoxious early years as a hardcore band, there's no denying the group's reinvention as the new century's biggest hitfactory. Each and every song, another solid gold single. It also must be said that the overwhelmingly surreal experience of thousands singing along to final track "Punkrocker" was a capper. "Cuz I'm a punkrocker, yes I am!" Oh, really?

The spectacle of Kanye West was alluring, even moreso with the promise of a PB&J cameo, but my friends and I opted instead for the elusive Franke. Bad move! Not that Kanye West would've been much better (reports have not been flattering), but Franke was absolutely dreadful. The sound was shit and so was the performance. By far the biggest disappointment of the entire festival. Wisely, we decided to cut our losses and headed back to the Norrländska Generalkonsulatet for late-night Randy and Bruce Springsteen singalongs plus plenty of Norrlands Guld. Now that is a proper way to end an evening and a perfect conclusion to the Way Out West experience.
(AR)

Anders Wendin has been a class act entertainer ever since the days he fronted the sadly missed Monster. Something that's oh so obvious at this gig as well. As with The Hives, Moneybrother also have a new record due to be released and the focus is concentrated on material from that one, "Mount pleasure". Apart from the first single "Just another summer" ,I have not yet heard the record, but what they presented live sounded great and familiar. And that is, as always, a problem. The songs sound a bit too alike live. But when putting on such a live show, you're excused. This, the only Moneybrother festival gig this year, was a pure discharge after just recently completing a summer tour. And with hits like "They're building walls around us", "The pressure" and the marvelous final number "Reconsider me", you just can't go wrong. Too bad the guys (presented by Anders as the most attractive band out there) had some difficulties with the sound at times, but that's a problem I can overlook. I can't wait to see this again in a more intimate club venue some time soon.

I'm sure everyone knows about Annika Norlin's Säkert! by now. But I could never imagine that she'd bring such an all-star team to Way Out West. The fellow musicians were, among others, Mats Hammarström and Jakob Nyström from Isolation Years, Henrik Oja from David Sandström Overdrive and Tonteknik and other studios way up north (he's like the Swedish equivalence to Steve Albini, lots of great records bear his mark)! Aware of this fact or not, the crowd was euphoric and sang along to every song. The feeling in that big tent was a warm and fuzzy one and just what this, in Annika's own words, more outspoken cousin to Hello Saferide deserves. As much as I adore HS, I must say that Säkert! gets to me in a more direct way. And that's not at all just about me understanding the words, the music is more exposed and in your face. This is exactly why this was a really nice experience. With only one record out, the band can only do so much, but what they did was more than enough. Hearing Jakob singing Martin Hanberg's part on "Sanningsdan" is something I will remember as one of the finest things from this festival. The only downside was that Juliette & the Licks drowned some of the more mellow songs with their mediocre rock n' roll. Definitely nothing that Annika can be held responsible for. All in all, one of the finest shows at the festival!
(JA)

What can I say? Way Out West was a smashing success. And I nearly missed it. Who could have thought that this rookie-festival would sell out as fast as it did? With such a strong line up, it was a matter of time really, but several weeks ahead? And with me being quite lazy, well, Friday came and I still had no ticket. I did try though, I even went to the black market, but no. The Hives, Hello Saferide, The Hellacopters, and I wasn't there. Saturday came and I was about to lose all hope when luck finally came about. 200 extra tickets where released on demand and I got one. Off to the festival then!

Even though I couldn't make it the day before, I wasn't all bummed out. Saturday actually held a couple of really good and exciting Scandinavian bands as well. I missed Shout Out Louds due to my ticket problem, but since I've already seen them on just about every festival this summer, I couldn't care less. A little part of me felt sad for not being able to see the Saturday opening act Florence Valentin though. Instead, I arrived right on time to catch the one and only Moneybrother. In 2003 I saw Anders Wendin perform on one of the smaller stages on Accelerator, The Big One. Some had heard of Monster, none had heard of Moneybrother. And the gig was great. The two following records, "Blood panic" and "To die alone" were also great. Moneybrother was here to stay. But things change - sometimes you can only push things to a limit and thereafter it becomes boring. Anders Wendin and his colleagues give their best, but the news songs simply won't stick to my mind. No, more of the old Anders and less of Bruce Springsteen/Ulf Lundell.

Peter Bjorn and John. I've given these guys a hard time in the past, I know. I still think "Writers' Block" is a mediocre record, but live these guys rock! The place is crowded and I even forgive those who wait for that one special song alone. There's no Victoria Bergman on guest vocals today, but Annika Norlin from Säkert!/Hello Saferide still manages to give a golden touch to the indie anthem "Young folks". The gossip of today is, or course, what will Peter Bjorn and John pull off when they are to play with Kanye West this evening? Speaking of Annika Norlin, I was quite sceptical of her new project Säkert! when I heard the first single "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt", but yet again, I'm overwhelmed by the outcome live. It just sounds great. A little bit more raw and intense, exactly how I like my music. Annika Norlin is truly something special.

I skipped Timo Räisänen to get something to get something to eat and a new set of dry clothes (the sky opened up during the Regina Spektor concert, of course). I wasn't that sad about it, you've heard one Timo song, you've heard them all. Come to think of it, having already released two records, with a third on the way, and still getting to play just about anywhere, the guy must be doing something right. But you can't argue with hunger and cold. The Ark played about every festival I've been to this summer as well, but I still haven't been to an entire concert up to now. Why you ask? Well, it tends to become quite static after a while. This time it's different. As Ola Salo points out, it's the almost the end of the summer and soon enough it's back to school or to the old job. And we don't want that. So they play and we sing along.

Lilly Allen had to cancel, say hello to Teddybears STHLM! I've never been too fond of this band either (I know, I sound like a grumpy old man), but you can't argue with the hits. Who can say no to "Cobra style", "Punkrocker" and "Hey boy"? But there's Way Out West for you, bands you didn't expect to do well, did awesome instead.

I really wanted to get in the day before as well, but the Saturday alone gave me the chills. Too bad I was trapped inside a manic crowd during Kanye West (and yeah, Peter Bjorn and John did play "Young folks" again. This time it sucked though), I really wanted to see a couple of songs with Franke. Next time perhaps.
(CS)

Who's who:

CS: Christian Stenbacke

ST: Simon Tagestam

AR: Avi Roig

JA: Jonas Appelqvist

Pics by Sofia Qvarnström

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Moneybrother has a new website along with a track-by-track rundown of the new record "Mount pleasure": http://www.moneybrother.net/
I've listened to it once so far and it seems alright. Expect a more detailed analysis in the near future.

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

New Moneybrother tourdates:

09/25 - Vega (small hall), Copenhagen (DK)
09/26 - Kamp, Biefeld (GER)
09/27 - Kleine Elserhalle, Munich (GER)
09/28 - WUK, Vienna (AUS)
09/29 - Abart, Zürich (CH)
10/01 - Prime Club, Köln (GER)
10/02 - Starclub, Dresden (GER)
10/03 - Postbahnhof, Berlin (GER)
10/04 - Grünspan, Hamburg (GER)

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. At the Gates - Suicide nation
02. TALK 1
03. Moving Oos - Stronger
04. Eskju Divine - Hold on
05. Mechanical Bird - Sunday
06. TALK 2
07. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
08. DS13 - Thrash lifestyle
09. Montt Mardié - Metropolis
10. Junior Senior - Can I get get get
11. TALK 3
12. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
13. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
14. Death Breath - His protoplasmic worship
15. TALK 4
16. Mob - Ghost track
17. MZ412 - Unhealing wounds
18. Ugress - Manhattan sapphire
19. TALK 5
20. Shining - Låt oss ta allt från darandra
21. No Hope for the Kids - Rainy day
22. Moneybrother - Det blir ingen dans
23. Amandine - For all the marbles
24. TALK 6
25. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle
26. Last Days of April - Aspirins and alcohol
27. M:40 - När bomberna faller
28. TALK 7
29. Espen Jørgensen - The immaculate conception
30. Motorpsycho - For free
31. The Carny - Man under the sun
32. TALK 8
33. Karin Ström - Klaustrofobi
34. Badun - Pulsen
35. Meshuggah - Future breed machine
36. Värttinä - Mero
37. TALK 9
38. Randy - Better than art
39. Closer - Open casket
40. Alog - Buffalo demon
41. TALK 10
42. On Trial - Speaking of witch

Festival report: Accelerator

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Håkan Hellström has done it. The Hives as well. Moneybrother was still unknown when he did it. Loney, Dear has done it twice, counting this occasion. Done what you say? Played on Accelerator – The Big One of course. Or the Accelerator Festival as they call it these days. But what's so special about that you might ask? Great bands plays gigs all the time, right? The thing with Accelerator is that you get to see the stars of tomorrow today. Håkan Hellstöm played in 2000, The Hives in 2001 and Moneybrother in 2002. None of those bands had the stardom they have today, they where all artists on the rise. That's what makes the Accelerator festival so exciting, they have the perfect mix of really hot and great bands, both native and foreign. This year's line up includes the return of José González, Jens Lekman and The Tough Alliance. Peter Bjorn and John will play their super hit "Young folks" and Victoria Bergsman will introduce you to her new project Taken By Trees, proving that there's a life after The Concretes. To name a few things. But don't worry, IAT has its tentacles everywhere, and provides a full report from all three days in both Göteborg and Stockholm. Enjoy!
- Christian Stenbacke

Göteborg

Text and photos by Christian Stenbacke.

[ingenting]
I was wrong. In the festival preview I listed [ingenting] as one of the must-sees. I also wrote that the band has its ups and its downs; the gig at Accelerator Göteborg was surely not one of the ups, in fact, it was even worse than just a regular down. There's one thing that I can't stand, and that's when a band or an artist takes the audience for granted. Replacing Kate Nash at the last minute, [ingenting] suddenly got the chance to play one of Sweden's most credible events, but what do they do? Nothing. Singer Christopher Sander looks bored out of his mind, the rest of the band does try; but the energy just isn't there. And quite frankly, bands might need to rehearse from time to time. There are far too many technical errors to my satisfaction tonight. But then again, they do have the most marvellous songs. In my head I can hear perfect versions of "Julia" and "Suzanne (vi kan inte gå hand i hand)", even though they're not, because I want to. I really like this band, a genuine pop band singing in Swedish, and doing it well, but there's a limit to everything. And no "Punkdrömmar". The one song that could have made things somewhat right again. Oh well. Next time perhaps.

José González
When the first notes of "Crosses" echoes through the room I get goose bumps. Every single hair on my body seems to be on the rise. The song may have a couple of years on its neck by now, but it longer belongs to José González. It belongs to us. To the world. To everyone. Those where the words of Michael Stipe of R.E.M. when he introduced "Losing my religion" last time I went to one of their concerts. I believe you can use that phrase for most José González songs, the man has his way of stripping the music bare of nothing else but raw emotion. Even though it has been more than four years since the release of "Veneer", the songs still sound vital and fresh. But there's a new element in the live show this time around, the usually solitaire man from Göteborg is no longer alone. After at couple of songs, José is joined by Yukimi Nagano (known from her collaboration with Koop) on backing vocals and Erik Bodin on the bongo drums. Everything very subtle and gentle. Still, it brings a somewhat new dimension to the music. And the new songs… Perhaps nothing in the same class as "Crosses" or "Heartbeats" (a song he did not play tonight, unfortunately), but I have no doubt that "In our nature" (release date September 26) will be something to look forward to. Until then, make sure to catch José live if you have the opportunity, it's worth every penny.

Stockholm

Text and photos by Martin Eriksson.

Loney, Dear
The greatness of Loney, Dear lies not just within the amazing songwriting of Emil Svanängen, but in the chemistry between Emil and background vocalist Malin Stålberg. Watching Emil and Malin together makes you remember why people start bands in the first place. In contrast to Interpol's Paul Banks and his crew (playing later the same day), there is warmth about the whole performance. Watching Malin smiling as she sings and the band mates constant glancing at each other, you understand that these people were born to do what they do. In the afternoon sun, Loney, Dear made a terrific show, including a finale with up-beat versions of several songs from the albums.

Taken By Trees
Victoria Bergsman totally lives up to all expectations. Her performance is fragile, yet with some kind of power that leaves the crowd stunned and completely silent during the eclectic show. Backed up with several solid names (Björn Yttling, Jens Lekman, Erland Oye), Victoria's performance gave us proof that her talent didn't go down the drain with the split-up of The Concretes. (And no, she's not dull.)

Peter Bjorn and John
Although major parts of the crowd sadly left after playing you-know-what-song, Peter Bjorn And John made a great performance. Showing the ones of us who stayed the whole concert that the people begind the blog-movement "Stop Peter Bjorn and John" really should be going after someone else. There's lot of crap out there. PB&J is not included.

José Gonzáles
Backed up by talented companions on percussion and background vocals, José did a stunning afternoon show. When playing his cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop", a girl in front of me broke into tears. Seeking solace in her boyfriend, she buried her head into his lap. The boyfriend: "it's ok. I cried when I heard it the first time as well."

And finally, the no-no of the day: There is no way I can understand the hype of The Tough Alliance. The final concert of the festival was so crowded that I didn't even have a chance to shoot any pics. People gave up an amazing concert by Bright Eyes to stand in a 20-minute line to get a glance of two morons singing/miming to mediocre beats. No, I just don't get it.

MP3: Marit Bergman - Sweatbead

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Matt Giordano asked me about this song earlier this week so I figured, what the heck? Why not make it this week's Friday post. Marit Bergman has done a lot of fun covers for b-sides throughout the years - X-Ray Spex ("Oh bondage, up yours!"), AC/DC ("Highway to hell"), etc. - but it's her cover of fellow Swedes Fireside and the song "Sweatbead" that stands out. There's also a nice Moneybrother duet on the same disc (2003's "From now on" single) making it even more worthwhile to track down. Anyhow, Marit does away with Fireside's post-hardcore syncopation and gives the big chorus hook to the horn section, wholly making it her own. It's a really sweet song when you get down to it and I think that Marit does a great job of bringing that out, especially with the way she expands the song's dynamic range. Sometimes b-sides are obviously the tracks that weren't good enough for the album, but this most certainly is not.

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The new Moneybrother album "Mount Pleasure" will be released on August 22 via Burning Heart. The first single is called "Just another summer" and can be sampled here: http://www.musicbrigade.com/templates/Loka____15329.aspx?flashpage=1 (track 2)

Interview: Shout Out Louds

Wed, 09 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Shout Out Louds have just released their second album, "Our ill wills". We met up with guitarist Carl, drummer Eric and keyboard player Bebban to talk about the album, touring and love...
- Stefan Hartmann

The new album is quite different from the first one. How would you describe that change?

Carl: It's been a while since we've recorded the first one. So we've grown and developed. I guess our producer Björn (Yttling, of Peter Bjorn and John) has a big part in it as well. I really like the way he records drums. He takes away things more than adding things. And we picked a lot of guitars for instance and added more rhythmic instruments. Those are all big parts why we sound different.

Bebban: We are more experienced musicians now than we were on the first one so we know more about recording and we know more about sounds and layers and just little tricks you can use to make something sound different. We learnt that from our producer. When we recorded the EP with him a long time ago, we just discovered new ways. It would have felt really strange to record something similar to the last one now.

I noticed you took away a lot of the tambourine. It was all over the first album, and now it's all about percussion. It's like a red thread through most of the songs.

Eric: We talked about the drums a lot and how they can really turn a song around. The drums play a big, big role.

Carl: The tambourine is a nice instrument but there's a lot of other nice percussion you can use. Every band uses the tambourine.

Bebban: I still love my tambourine!

Carl: Yeah, I still love the tambourine, too. It's a great instrument! And Björn, he's a great producer to make drum sounds and percussion sounds, and we had help from John (Eriksson, also from Peter Bjorn and John) who helped us play a lot of percussion as well.

Eric: We use percussion more like an instrument than just something to bang on.

Bebban: You can think about drums and percussion as a way to just keep the beat, so that everyone plays it right, but this time we just realised that it is an instrument. The drum kit has such a huge effect. I actually think that drummers should have a lot more credit than they get because it just has such an impact.

Eric: Thank you! I mean, the drums on this album are not that difficult, it's a pretty straight-forward beat, almost like a disco beat. That's the core, and then we have the percussion as the added jewellery.

Bebban: The icing on the cake!

Eric: To emphasize different rhythmic parts. And it's nice to do that with different percussion instead of drums.

The change also seems to be on the lyrical side. It seems when you talk about broadened horizons that everything seems a little more laid back compared to the first one. Your press release described it as a spring feeling kind of record.

Bebban: Yeah, like a new beginning.

Carl: But more like a Swedish spring.

Bebban: Yeah, it has snow in April, but it's still nice.

A lot of it is still quite melancholic although it's very summery. There's always this kind of undertone.

Bebban: When I think of the lyrics right now it almost half and half. The feeling when you have lost something important and then you're just on the verge of gettin excited about what's coming next. For instance, in a relationship or if you move to a different place, there's both this sadness about what you left behind and wondering and remembering, but then sometimes you get a glimpse of "This is really exciting. What's gonna happen and who am I gonna be friends with tomorrow? Where am I going?" That's the theme for the record. And a lot of travel, too, which probably goes hand in hand.

You've been on tour for ages. Doesn't that kind of do your head in? Or is it something you can cope with quite well?

Bebban: We don't remember now. We were on tour for such a long time, and when we were getting towards the end of the touring last summer, we were all kind of sloppy and relieved that this is over. We were really eager to just go back and have a real life.

Carl: It was nice to be back in Stockholm.

Bebban: But kind of soon I started to think: "When are we heading out the next time?" We talked about it quite soon, much sooner than we thought. But now that we're in the middle of it all again, just on the verge of being out there so much again, that's when you remember the scary parts of being on tour. You know, when you get really sick and worn out and dirty - that kind of creeps up on you a little bit once you're going.

Carl: We just know what we have to expect and that has both an up- and downside. You have to think about how you deal with the downsides, cause that's the hard part.

Bebban: Like I said before, you both get a whiff of the fun stuff that is gonna happen, all the fun things about touring you get really excited about, but this time we know what the bad days look like and we fear them – we didn't really last time.

Eric: We know what to expect of touring but it's a new album, we don't know... We didn't play those songs live much yet, a couple of shows. We don't know how it's gonna be to play them live and how the audience will react. It takes a while to figure out how to play live. Even though we can sit and discuss the setlist, we have to play those songs live to see what actually works together, and see what happens with the album in different countries.

Bebban: That's a thing we really can't control.

Carl: We played the other day for the first time with this record and it was a very refreshing feeling compared to playing earlier when you can get into this kind of state of it just being... I hate to say it... it just being a job. And that's the worst feeling about it. It destroys every magic bit, everything about it. So this time, when we played, it felt like we were more collected and it felt more like we reached out. We really want people to feel something. Everything does matter.

Your're going away from EMI. You've got different small labels for different territories. Is that a conscious decision?

Bebban: It wasn't a choice, they kicked us out, you know, because of the merger with Virgin. And we were sad for maybe two or three days and then we realised how much better this would be for us, so as soon as we started hearing from the smaller labels we felt like this is really perfect. We're more suited for a smaller label.

Eric: I'm not badmouthing anybody, but it feels like sometimes they just work with so many different artists and so they have to love everything (or they don't say if they don't love us). You can feel that if you're working with different labels, you can choose the ones you feel the most love from.

Bebban: The Capitol thing was really good for us. It was good to end up there but I think we're better off this way, especially after that merger. We wouldn't have liked that at all.

Carl: It took us out here and left us. Now we have to stand on our own.

That network idea. Somehow I always get the impression that Sweden's music scene is very connected as well. You're being produced by Björn and he ropes in John for percussion etc etc.

Eric: Everyone is more or less connected, at least in Stockholm. It's not that big of a city, you collaborate a lot. Markus (Krunegård) from Laakso sang on this record, his album is produced by Jari (Haapalainen) and Jari's been working with The Concretes who are working with Björn who is working with Moneybrother...

Bebban: It's a close community, I guess.

You're singing a song for the first time, Bebban. How did it feel?

Bebban: It wasn't a plan for me singing, it just ended up on the record because it sounded okay. We did that separately from everything else. We did a strange and unfocused demo in Garageband and it sounded good somehow and we just redid the vocals and it ended up on the record. I've been trying not to think about that because I don't know if people are gonna think "What's this?" because to me it sounds more like an intermission. Like someone comes in and goes "Okay, I'm gonna sing while all the people vote." and then it's back to the programme.

On the album, there's the songs you kind of expect and then you get much mellower. Cause the first record was very in-your-face, very gritty, and now you've become quite subtle.

Carl: It's not like we planned the way we gonna sound like. The only thing we knew really was that once we got "Hard Rain" right, we knew this has gotta be the last song on the record. That was the only thing that I had set in my mind. It was only when we had all the songs together we though "Okay, how are we going to make it balance well as an album?" So some other songs ended up as b-sides because we wanted to make it a really nice balance and I hope we achieved that. It's kind of hard to analyse it.

Bebban: I think as far as the songs are concerned, iit takes a while to feel the punches. The other one was more in your face, more immediate and really direct, but some of these new songs are kind of cheeky in a way, kind of brave. Adam is really dramatic on "Parents livingroom", it's almost like a song from a musical on Broadway. He sings his heart out. The punches are there but it might take a while before you feel them. So it's sometimes more brave to be really, really not afraid to be interpreted as too emotional than to just sing something and just play hard on the guitar.

To me, "Impossible" seems like a centrepiece. Would you agree that is sums up the whole mood of the album?

Bebban: It's hard to decide which song is the most important, but I would say "Impossible" is the bravest song on the album because it's the one that could be interpreted as very disco, almost too disco for the cool kids. That's a two-faced song I think.

So you're not afraid of the cool kids?

Carl: We're afraid of everything...

Bebban: ... and everybody! (laughter)

We talked about loss, but love is everywhere on the record as well, well, lost love. Do you still believe in love?

Carl: Why would we be here if not for love?

Bebban: I think that it's all in the moment. Everything that's a vague and flaky as love is in the moments. There's moments when there is love but I don't think it's there all the time. It's like happiness: People thrive towards the day when they're gonna feel happy but it's never gonna really happen that way. You're never gonna be happy for 24 hours a day for a whole year. It's gonna be bits and pieces, and the more you can collect those, the luckier you are. And I think that's the way it is with love too. I don't believe in eternal love but I believe in momentary love.

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Check out the microsite for the new comp "Ge Fan I Våra Vatten", a benefit to raise money for fish/water restoration: http://www.sportfiskarna.se/gefan/
Many of the contributing acts such as Erik Ohlsson from Millencolin and Kimmo Kirvesmäki of Voice Of A Generation/The Accidents are sport fishermen themselves, so consider this a labor of love. Other contributing acts include The Hives, The Hellacopters, Millencolin, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Backyard Babies, Moneybrother, Weeping Willows and Randy. It comes out on May 18.

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Harmacy decries the current state of Burning Heart and their latest release by recent signees Kid Down: http://theharmacy.blogspot.com/2007/04/kid-down-and-noble-art-of-irony-burning_15.html
Personally, I think Moneybrother ("that annoying Swedish Joe Strummer dude") is fine, but it's 100% true: the label is suffering. This sad trend-chasing is a sure sign of a label in its death-throes. They got too big too quickly and too desperate to keep it up when they should've probably chalked it all up to good luck and kept living modestly.

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Moneybrother will play a special one-off gig in Berlin at Frannz Club on May 9.

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Ingmar Nordströms - Ingmar Nordströms Saxpartyfavoriter
02. Erik Segerstedt - A different shade
03. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande
04. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you
05. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
06. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
07. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
08. Calaisa - Calaisa
09. Weeping Willows - Fear & love
10. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
11. Tomas Andersson Wij - En introduktion till Tomas Andersson Wij
12. Veronica Maggio - Vatten & bröd
14. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
15. Laleh - Prinsessor
16. Säkert! - Säkert
17. Helena Josefsson - Dynamo
18. Nicolai Dunger - Rösten och herren
19. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
20. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande
02. Erik Segerstedt - A different shade
03. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
04. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you
05. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
06. Weeping Willows - Fear & love
07. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
08. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
09. Calaisa - Calaisa
10. Veronica Maggio - Vatten & bröd
11. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
12. Laleh - Prinsessor
14. Säkert! - Säkert
15. Fläskkvartetten - Voices of Eden
16. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
17. Östen Med Resten - 19 bästa och resten med Östen
18. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
19. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
20. Anna Ternheim - Separation road

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Weeping Willows - Fear & love
02. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
03. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
04. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you
05. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
06. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
07. Calaisa - Calaisa
08. Säkert! - Säkert
09. Laleh - Prinsessor
10. Isolation Years - Sign, sign
11. Fläskkvartetten - Voices of Eden
12. Veronica Maggio - Vatten & bröd
14. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
15. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
16. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
17. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
18. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
19. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
20. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you
02. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
03. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
04. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
05. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
06. Calaisa - Calaisa
07. Säkert! - Säkert
08. Ane Brun - Live in Scandinavia
09. Fläskkvartetten - Voices of Eden
10. Laleh - Prinsessor
11. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
12. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
14. The Knife - Silent shout
15. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
16. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
17. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
18. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
19. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
20. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
02. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
03. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
04. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
05. Fläskkvartetten - Voices of Eden
06. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
07. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
08. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
09. The Knife - Silent shout
10. Laleh - Prinsessor
11. Calaisa - Calaisa
12. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
14. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
15. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
16. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
17. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
18. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
19. Orup - Faktiskt
20. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
02. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
03. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Musikal - Cabaret - Svenska uppsättningen
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
09. Laleh - Prinsessor
10. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
14. Calaisa - Calaisa
15. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
16. Studio - Yearbook 1
17. Frida Hyvönen - Music from the dance performance Pudel
18. The Knife - Silent shout
19. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
20. Abba - Number ones

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Laleh - Prinsessor
03. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
04. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
05. Pain of Salvation - Scarsick
06. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
07. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
08. Pernilla Andersson - Baby blue
09. Calaisa - Calaisa
10. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
11. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
12. Abba - Number ones
14. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Jay-Jay Johanson - The long term physical effects are not yet known
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

In related news, Hello Saferide will be playing the Absolut Swedish Music Festival at The Village in Dublin on March 3 along with Moneybrother and Taxi, Taxi!. Other artists set to appear at the festival include Zeigeist, Samuraj Cities, Consequences, Juvelen, I'm From Barcelona and Salem Al Fakir.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Moneybrother will play Dublin on March 3.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
04. Laleh - Prinsessor
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
09. Abba - Number ones
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
12. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
14. Orup - Faktiskt
15. Koop - Koop islands
16. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
20. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Orup - Faktiskt
10. Abba - Number ones
11. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara
12. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
14. Vikingarna - Bästa
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Koop - Koop islands
17. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
20. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Apparently Moneybrother will stop sales of his album "Pengabrorsan" once the first run is gone. Read more: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,972632,00.html (in Swedish)
My Swedish is fairly rusty, so if anyone would leave a comment with details, it would be much appreciated.

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
05. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Orup - Faktiskt
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
14. Abba - Number ones
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
17. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
18. Vikingarna - Bästa
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 tracks of the week:

01. Band of Horses – The Funeral
02. Asobi Seksu – Thursday
03. The Knife – Silent Shout
04. Death Cab for Cutie – The New Year
05. The Arcade Fire – Intervention
06. Band of Horses – Wicked Gil
07. Band of Horses – The First Song
08. Beirut – Postcards from Italy
09. The Shins – Phantom Limb
10. Moneybrother – Livet börjar här

And the top 10 artists of the week:

01. Death Cab for Cutie
02. The Radio Dept.
03. The Knife
04. Moneybrother
05. The Decemberists
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. Sufjan Stevens
08. The Arcade Fire
09. Bloc Party
10. Radiohead

Help us improve our chart by becoming a member of our group! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Frans - Da man
14. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
15. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
16. Abba - Number ones
17. Orup - Faktiskt
18. Agnes - Stronger
19. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
20. The Boppers - Jingle bell rock

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 albums of the week:

01. The Arcade Fire – Funeral
02. The Knife – Deep Cuts
03. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
04. The Knife – Silent Shout
05. The Radio Dept. – Pet Grief
06. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
07. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
08. Camera Obscura – Let's Get out of This Country
09. Hot Chip – The Warning
10. TV on the Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain

And the top 10 artists of the week:

01. The Knife
02. Sufjan Stevens
03. The Arcade Fire
04. Moneybrother
05. Radiohead
06. Death Cab for Cutie
07. Bloc Party
08. David Bowie
09. The Radio Dept.
10. The Strokes

Help us improve our chart by becoming a member of our group! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Top 10s for 2006: Staff picks

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Not everyone was able to get their lists in on time, but I think you'll find more than enough titles here well-worth investigating, whatever your tastes may be. Enjoy!

Jonas Appelqvist:

01. The Fine Arts Showcase – Radiola (Adrian Recordings)
When Christian released a kinda mediocre record, Gustav stepped up, delivered and restored the honour of the Kjellvander brothers.

02. C.Aarmé – Vita (Burning Heart)
Music for the gut, not the brain. Göteborg's finest punks just recently split up, it's a pity.

03. Hets – s/t (V2/Etikett: Hets)
I was a bit hesitative when I heard that members from Laakso, Fireside and Moneybrother formed a band. They proved me wrong.

04. Raised Fist – The sound of the republic (Burning Heart Records)
This long awaited full-length proved to be exactly what I hoped for. Uncompromising hardcore, this time with hooks!

05. Insurgent Kid – Paranoia (Wasted Sounds)
Just recently released and it went straight into this list. The punkrock on this disc is, in fact, all I ever need.

06. Khoma – The second wave (Roadrunner)
I always knew something good would come out of Plastic Pride.

07. Aerial – Black rain from the nombing (Nomethod)
Epic and almost instrumental post-rock from Sandviken that moved me big time.

08. Tar... Feathers – Make way for the ocean floor to fall to the surface (Release the Bats!)
Self-willed indiepop that sounds like Modest Mouse mixed with Xiu Xiu at times.

09. Darkthrone – The cult is alive (Peaceville)
Pioneers that released their most interesting record since "Total Death". Black-metal with one hell of a punkrockattitude!

10. Cult of Luna – Somewhere along the highway (Earache)
One of the records I've listened to the most in 2006 and it's still intriguing.

Top 3 non-scandinavian records of 2006:
Converge – No heroes (Epitaph)
Electric President – s/t (Morr Music)
Cursive – Happy hollow (Saddle Creek)

Nancy Baym:

01. Hell On Wheels - The odd church (Hybris/PlayRec)
It's catchy, it's quirky, it's consistently strong. And it's interesting too.

02. Skywriter - Where both worlds never meet (Iceberg Records)
The slow ones drag a bit, but the fast songs are a sublime mix of sexy, cool, driving and restrained.

03. Consequences - s/t (BOW/Groover Recordings)
Puts the "infection" in infectious pop. I can't stop listening to it and really don't want to either.

04. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's block (V2/Wichita)
Not as good as last year's "Falling out", but an okay Peter Bjorn and John record is still better than most.

05. Pelle Carlberg - Everything. Now! (Labrador)
He's thoughtful, he's sensitive, he's twee, but most of all he's the perfect mix of soothing and beautiful. Frazzled nerves be gone!

06. The Phonies - Gran tourettes (Money Laundry Records)
Inconsistent record from Finland's Phonies, but it's best songs are exhuberant enough to carry the rest.

07. Billie the Vision & the Dancers - The world according to Pablo (self-released)
While I'm From Barcelona gets all the buzz, I prefer this. It's kind of mellow, a little dark, sort of conceptual if you bother to figure it out, but most of all, it just sounds good.

08. David & the Citizens - Stop the tape! Stop the tape! (Bad Taste)
David Fridlund's a melodic genius and the music may be better than ever, but Fridlund's angst runs too close to whining too much of the time.

09. Starflower - Moment in the sun (Music Is My Girlfriend)
Tranquil and poppy, youthful and tuneful, it's a gentle little debut from a band I hope will diversify its sound in releases to come.

10. The Charade - Real Life Drama (Skipping Stones)
Half of this is too sweet for me, but the rest is charming as all get out, and "September" easily wins the award for catchiest sugar pop song of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

Sivert Høyem and the Volunteers - Exiles (Hektor Grammofon)
It's not out yet and I've only heard 2 songs, but given his track record with Madrugada and his last solo record, it's guaranteed a spot in my top 10 when I do get to hear the rest.

Tiger Lou - The loyal (Startracks)
It came out in 2005 but now I've finally heard this record. It's got such a cool consistent vibe, such a unique sound, and I'm under it's spell completely.

Matt Giordano:

01. Peter Bjorn and John - Writers block (V2/Wichita)
After last years excellent "Falling out" I expected a great album, but this release just floored me.

02. Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John)
Yes, this is technically a re-release, and yes, it's that good.

03. The Fine Arts Showcase - Radiola (Adrian)
This is the new album I listened to most this year, and a it was quite a leap artistically for Mr. Kjellvander.

04. Hell On Wheels - The odd church (Hybris)
This one sat in my room for about a month until one day I brought it in the car with me, and to say the least, I was impressed.

05. Vapnet - Jag vet hur man väntar (Hybris)
"Thoméegränd" instantly hit me with pure pop genuis, and this album is so textured and deep, it has yet to be fully realised.

06. Firefox AK - Madame, madame! (Razzia)
It took me a while, but I have finally realised how genius this album is.

07. Nicolai Dunger - Sjunger Edith Södergran (EMI)
I believe this is Mr. Dunger's most cohesive album to date, and perhaps his most intimate.

08. Sibiria - Inom familjen (Hybris)
Martin A and Martin H put out two stellar albums in one year. Gorgeous.

09. The Knife - Silent shout (Rabid)
This album is both bleak and enchanting.

10. David & The Citizens - Stop the tape! Stop the tape! (Bad Taste)
This album is so solid, and it should silence all of the naysayers.

Other:

Best 2005 release of 2006:
El Perro Del Mar - El Perro Del Mar (Memphis Industries/The Control Group)
Gorgeous, that is the only way to describe the songwriting of Sarah Assbring, and it's good to see the rest of the world catching on.

Top three non-Scandinavian releases:

Tom Waits - Orphans (Anti)
This is absolutely essential.

Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory - Tree colored see (Mush)
Another post-Beachwood Sparks work of excellence, now I'm only wishing for Beachwood Sparks to reunite.

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos (RCA)
America's best current live band, and this is their document.

Top ten songs of 2006*
01. Montt Mardié - "My girlfriend is in the Grand Prix finals" from "Science" (Hybris)
02. Peter Bjorn and John - "Paris 2004" from "Writers block" (V2)
03. Kristofer Åström - "So much for staying alive" from "Black Valley" (Startracks)
04. Loney, Dear - "The city, the airport" from "Sologne" (Dear John)
05. Tom Waits - "Bottom of the world" from "Orphans" (Anti)
06. Vapnet - "Thoméegränd" from "Jag vet hur man väntar" (Hybris)
07. The Velvet Teen - "Gyzmkid" from "Cum laude" (Slowdance)
08. Nicolai Dunger - "Lyckokatt" from "Sjunger Edith Södergran" (Dolores)
09. Loose Fur - "The ruling class" from "Born again in the USA" (Drag City)
10. Islands - "Don't call me Whitney, Bobby" from "Return to the sea" (Equator)

*These songs, as well as 31 others appear on my "Best of 2006" mix, which I have made 20 copies of as a double-disc set to give away to the readers of It's A Trap! Here's the deal, the first twenty people to email me at matthew dot giordano at macys dot com with their name and postal address will receive a copy (as well as tracklisting) in the mail. Enjoy.

Kevin Renick, in alphabetical order:

01. Ampop - My delusions (Dennis Records)
Balancing the epic and the emotive is an increasingly dicey proposition as more and more groups on both sides of the Atlantic sacrifice one or the other in the process. Iceland's Ampop gets the blend just right with these 11 surgingly powerful, yet fragile tunes. .

02. El Perro Del Mar - s/t (Memphis Industries)
Possibly the most bubbly, infectious, melodically rich, beautifully sung sad album ever made.

03. Sofia Hardig - The need to destroy (Filthy Records)
An adventurous electronica foray in which Sofia makes an art out of distorted vocals that are nonetheless emotionally wrenching. Dark, machine-laden grooves that grip the soul.

04. The Knife - Silent shout (Brille Records)
By any standard, one of the year's boldest and most significant records, especially for a spooked, tech-savvy, mask-wearin', brother-sister dance-tronica act.

05. Lampshade - Let's away (Glitterhouse)
The sophomore release by this fabulous Swedish/Danish group is just as good as the debut; RebekkaMaria and company fuse primal rock and Scandi sensuality together in a thoroughly compelling manner.

06. Mew - And the glass-handed kites (Sony BMG Music)
A continuously flowing, continuously melodic and dazzling production that got many satisfying spins on my car stereo in 2006.

07. Monty's Loco - Man overboard (NONS)
Take a female vocalist who's like a tougher Emiliana Torrini, add equal parts acoustic/electronic instrumentation, throw in a few dollops of inspired weirdness and mix/produce well. Result: a grabber of an album that tickles the sonic taste buds..

08. Britta Persson - Top quality bones and a little terrorist (Amigo)
I like my Scandinavian music to be a little tart. Britta's debut CD is positively lemony from start to finish, a real standout in a year filled with great records by Scandi girls.

09. Patrik Skantze and the Free Souls Society - Fiction at first view (Mimo Sound)
A master class in inspired prog songcraft, superb guitar playing and the art of channeling diverse influences into your own lovingly prepared recipe.

10. Sonores - Elefanten (Structures Sonores)
As a long-time fan of both atmospheric ambient and mournful female vocals, this texturally absorbing disc had me at "eftermiddag".

Best EP: Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen (Danarkia)
Best CD to reevaluate your life to: Es - Sateenkkarisuudelma (K-RAA-K)
Best reasons to have faith that the spirit of weirdness lives on in Scandiland: The Bear Quartet, Sir Eric Beyond, and Tar...Feathers

Simon Tagestam:

01. Vapnet – Jag vet hur man väntar (album / Hybris)
Vapnet lived up to all my expectations and delivered a fantastic album

02. Moneybrother – De vet ingenting om oss (single / Hacka Skivindustri)
This song came totally unexpected and instantly floored me.

03. Lo-Fi-Fnk – Boylife (album / La Vida Loca)
Very exciting album from Sweden’s new dance kings, now TTA gone all new age.

04. Mattias Alkberg BD - Ditt hjärta är en stjärna (album / A West Side Fabrication)
Third and best album from this Bear Quartet member.

05. Taxi Taxi – Old big trees (song on myspace)
Killer song. Got high hopes for these young twins.

06. I'm From Barcelona - Let me introduce my friends (album / Dolores)
Hate them live, but still love their music.

07. Juni Järvi - Wherever thou art (album / Everlasting)
The surprise hit of the year, a collection of some magnificent songs.

08. [ingenting] - Mycket väsen för ingenting (album / Labrador)
An album that deserved much more attention and praise than it got.

09. Juvelen – Watch your step (song on myspace)
Sounds exactly like Prince when he was at his best. Pretty damn good that is!

10. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - s/t (album / Flora & Fauna)
Weirdest and most wonderful gig at Emmaboda this year where 'Sir Eric', even though he's Swedish, only talked in English in-between songs. He also released a fine record.

Three amazing songs from albums that I wasn't too keen on:
Fattaru – 100 spänn
Hello Saferide – The quiz
Peter Bjorn and John – Young folks

---------------------------

Jonas Appelqvist is in the works of completing the first fullengthrecord with Blinders On, indierock based in Malmö. The band is, as I write this, finished with the mixing and the mastering of the album entitled "Obsolete music", so we should expect a release in January. The 17th, to be precise. More on that after New Year's Eve.

Nancy Baym can be found happily blogging away at Online Fandom and digging music at Last.fm.

Matt Giordano wishes everyone safe, yet wine-filled holidays and New Year's celebrations, and hopes those who'll be getting his "Best of 2006 mix" enjoy them. He also hopes Arsenal can pick up the pace in the premier league and that Scandinavian bands continue to release the world's best music. Here are the new releases he's looking forward to in 2007: two Laakso records, Kristofer Åström, Shout Out Louds, Via Audio, Christian Kjellvander, Spoon, Tiger Lou (I can hope), My Morning Jacket (I can hope), Nick Cave (I think it's about time for another), Moonbabies, Nicolai Dunger, and all Hyrbis releases.

Kevin Renick is exhausted from trying to pare down the list of favorites from a really great year in music.

Simon Tagestam is a regular contributor to IAT and he doesn't really have any plans for 2007, except some vague ideas concerning a Nintendo Wii, his mother's 60th birthday, more tattoos, and badminton.

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
05. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Uno Svenningsson & Irma Schultz Keller - Sånger för December
10. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
14. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Agnes - Stronger
17. Abba - Number ones
18. Frans - Da man
19. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
20. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues

Moneybrother Pengabrorsan Hacka Skivindustri

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Not really sure why Burning Heart Records didn't want to release Moneybrother's Swedish album. It seems idiotic to me, but who am I to judge, huh? Maybe they didn't think it would sell enough or something. The album consists of ten covers, all interpreted by Anders Wedin (aka Moneybrother) in Swedish, and one original song that features the Swedish rock legend Jerry Williams. It's an interesting premise and Moneybrother manages to keep it exciting most of the way through. Being a fan of Operation Ivy, "Jag skriver inte på nåt", with The Hives' own Howlin' Pelle, appeals to me a lot and so does "Under bordet" which is a cover of My Morning Jacket's "Off the record" (one of my favourite songs of 2005), even though these are not the strongest songs on here per se. Most of the tracks have got that Bruce Springsteen vibe that Wendin has embraced and plugged away at since his first single "Reconsider me". Now, I'd like for Broder Daniel's Henrik, Randy's Stefan, etc, to step up and release their own Swedish cover albums. Preferably within the next 3 weeks. PS: The album's title is a Swedish translation of "the moneybrother".

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Mando Diao - TV & me
02. (Ny) Ison & Fille - Hela dan varje dag
03. (Ny) Albert Hammond Jr - 101
04. (07) Laleh - November
05. (02) Johnossi - Glory days to come
06. (03) Regina Spektor - Better
07. (Ny) Babyshambles - The blinding
08. (09) Muse - Knights of Cydonia
09. (06) Salem Al Fakir - Good song
10. (Ny) M Ward - Chinese translation
11. (10) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (hey oh)
12. (Ny) Panic! At The Disco - But it's better if you do
13. (17) 1990's - You're supposed to be my boyfriend
14. (13) Bodyrox med Luciana - Yeah yeah
15. (05) Koop - Come to me
16. (04) Gnarls Barkley - Who cares?
17. (Ny) Herman Düne - I wish that I could see you soon
18. (Ny) Marit Bergman - Eyes were blue
19. (16) The Streets - Prangin' out
20. (Ny) Emmon - Wake up time

Leaving the chart:
Tingsek - World of it's own
Melody Club - Destiny calling
Asha Ali - Fire fire
Juliette & The Licks - Sticky honey
The Knife - Like a pen
Chingy med Jermaine Dupri - Dem jeans
Moneybrother - De vet ingenting om oss
Jeremy Warmsley - I promise

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 albums of the week:

01. The Knife – Silent Shout
02. The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
03. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
04. The Arcade Fire – Funeral
05. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
06. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
07. Tiger Lou – The Loyal
08. The Radio Dept. – Pet Grief
09. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
10. I'm from Barcelona – Let Me Introduce My Friends

And the top 10 artists of the week:

01. Radiohead
02. The Knife
03. Sufjan Stevens
04. The Shins
05. Moneybrother
06. Death Cab for Cutie
07. David Bowie
08. The Cure
09. The Beatles
10. Belle and Sebastian

Help us improve our chart by becoming a member of our group! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

MP3: Moneybrother - Jag skriver inte på nåt

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

As I'm sure a lot of you know by now, Moneybrother just released a new album called "Pengabrorsan" featuring Swedish versions of all sorts of various cover tunes. I was mighty tempted to post the Operation Ivy cover of "Freeze up" (here titled "Det blir ingen dans") since the band is so near and dear to my heart, especially having grown up around the East Bay punk scene. They were one of the very first punk bands I ever heard and, while I never got to see them myself (I was too young at time for my parents to let me venture off to Gilman St., though I did manage to sneak in one Green Day show at age 13), I regularly saw all the ex-members around town and their bands (Rancid, Schlong, Common Rider, etc.). However, and this is what it all comes down to, the track just isn't that hot and even a guest appearance from Howlin' Pelle does little to redeem it. On the other hand, Moneybrother wisely chose to cover Wire, my second-favorite band of all time just behind the almighty Black Sabbath (yes, two English bands but that's a discussion for another time). Moneybrother's take on "Mannequin" (here billed as "Jag skriver inte på nåt") doesn't stray far from the original besides the translated lyrics, but I'm okay with it since it's such a great selection. You won't need to know Swedish to join in with the la-la refrain at the end.
(note: I've seen some incongruous tracklistings for "Pengabrorsan", so if I got the titles wrong, I apologize)

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The latest Swedish student radio top 20:

01. (01) Mando Diao - TV & me
02. (02) Johnossi - Glory days to come
03. (04) Regina Spektor - Better
04. (03) Gnarls Barkley - Who cares?
05. (07) Koop - Come to me
06. (09) The Salem Al Fakir - Good song
07. (NY) Laleh - November
08. (10) Tingsek - World of it's own
09. (17) Muse - Knights of Cydonia
10. (NY) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (hey oh)
11. (11) Melody Club - Destiny calling
12. (15) Asha Ali - Fire fire
13. (NY) Boxyrox - Yeah yeah
14. (NY) Juliette & The Licks – Stick honey
15. (05) The Knife - Like a pen
16. (08) The Streets - Prangin' out
17. (NY) 1990's - You're supposed to be my boyfriend
18. (19) Chingy w/Jermaine Dupri - Dem jeans
19. (NY) Moneybrother - De vet ingenting om oss
20. (13) Jeremy Warmsley - I promise

Leaving the chart:
The Magic Numbers - Take a chance
Peter, Bjorn & John - Let's call it off
Fat Joe - Make it rain
Lupe Fiasco - I gotcha
David & The Citizens - A heart and a hand and the love for the band
Goose - British mode

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Paper Thin Walls on Bonk: http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=362
Also posted, a review of Moneybrother's "They're building walls around us": http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=366

Moneybrother Dom vet ingenting om oss Hacka Skivindustri

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800

This is a cover of Kirsty MacColl's "They don't know" from 1979 (also recorded by Tracy Ullman in 1983 in a crazy pop version), translated and sung in Swedish. It's the first single from Moneybrother's forthcoming album, consisting of only covers, all translated to Swedish. It's a fun and catchy song, and it very much sounds like Moneybrother. Don't listen to it too many times though, since it'll get inside your head and it's going to be very hard to forget about it. If you want to live dangerously, you can listen to the song on Moneybrother's website or watch the very lo-fi video on youtube.

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Moneybrother will be releasing a new album of cover tunes sung in Swedish next month. The record is called "Pengabrorsan" and the official release date is December 6 via Hacka Skivindustri (what happened to BHR?) with the first single "Dom vet ingenting om oss" being posted for streaming at moneybrother.net tomorrow. Some of the artists covered include Donna Summer, Operation Ivy, My Morning Jackets and Otis Clay and there are duets with both Jerry Williams and Howlin' Pelle (The Hives).

Video mix: Moneybrother, Laakso, Eskobar, Mattias Alkberg BD, Madrugada, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, more...

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Moneybrother - Brännö Serenad
A little something: A brilliant performace by Moneybrother of Håkan Hellström's "Brännö Serenad" with Anders Widmark on Piano, Sweden's greatest jazz performer (ok, I just said that to kiss up to my girlfriend's family - I don't really like jazz). (PA)

Laakso - High drama
Damn, I love this band. (MG)

Eskobar - Someone new
Say what you like about Eskobar - they had a European border breaker with this track, and managed to secure a loyal and solid fanbase - oh and also got stoned at Emmaboda, but even that was an achievment! This is the band's greatest hour - timeless? You decide. (JC)

Mattias Alkberg BD – Politix
From 2005 and Bear Quartet member Mattias Alkberg - a dose of charming melodic Swedish punk. (ST)

Madrugada - Hands up
This is a live television appearance from 2001 or so featuring Madrugada doing one of their best songs, the supersultry "Hands up - I love you" from their second album, "The nightly disease". (NB)

Tiger Lou - Lucky escape (live)
I love this band too, and a single b-side, even better! (MG)

Suburban Kids with Biblical Names- Rent a wreck
A summery and deadpan video from the SKWBN boys. Looks like they had a lot of fun making this. (ST)

Le Sport - Tell no one about tonight
A bit of an arty video from the terrific Le Sport. Not sure what's really going on in it, but it's a fantastic song. (ST)

.:Who's who?

PA: Per Apelqvist
NB: Nancy Baym
JC: Jason Christie
MG: Matt Giordano
ST: Simon Tagestam

Video mix: Alarma Man, At the Gates, The Bear Quartet, Kings of Convenience, Montt Mardié, more...

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Entry #2 in our series highlighting some of Scandinavia's best video art. No theme, just good music with visuals to match.

Alarma Man - Bird
Great indierock from Göteborg! This song is from the "Duets" 12"-split with Knife and Ape. Influences from the TV-show "24" makes the video even more fun to watch! (JA)

Kristofer Åström - All lover's hell (live)
This song is what made me love his solo material, and seeing this stripped down performance is an example of how great this song is. (MG)

At the Gates - Blinded by fear
Not much of a video by one of Sweden's finest. Just the band playing in some sort of a warehouse with lights blinking off and on. But the sound and the aggression! This is music at its best! The girl with the welder is pretty cool in the video though, makes me think of the girl in the "will it float?"-segment on Letterman. (JA)

The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
A charming video starring drummer Jejo Perkovic (also known from bands such as Brick, Infinite Mass and Breach) in every role. In times like these when the European Championships in athletics are held here in Sweden, it's always nice to see that not all of us can be athletes. (JA)

The Cardigans - Lovefool
Nina never looked better than in this video. Why on earth did she decide to ditch her blonde barnet, and go brunette? Like The Cardigans' change in sound, such a move was commercial suicide. (NL)

Kings of Convenience - I'd rather dance with you
I saw this video on M2 a couple of summers ago, and then I was in the record store a week or so later with a friend from Moss, Norway and he was surprised I knew who they were. I bought the album and this band has never ceased to amaze on each listen. (MG)

Logh - The smoke will lead you home
A band that needs more appreciation I think! This, the new video, is directed by Johannes Winkler and was shot in Malmö a few blocks from where I'm sitting right now. You gotta love the atmospheric and epic sound of these fine guys! (JA)

Loveninjas - I'm really sorry (that I killed you)
This video is a piece of lo-fi film at it's finest, and the man in heart suit dancing is priceless. (MG)

Montt Mardié - High school drama
It looks like Moneybrother finally has some solid competition for the most souful Swede of the early twenty-first century, and his name is Montt Mardié. And what's better than a song involving drama, The Beatles and pregnancy? (MG)

Tiger Lou - The loyal
As always, when it comes to Rasmus Kellerman and his craftmanship, the videos are works of completion. Especially this one. A dark and weary one that brings out the gloomy feeling the song is about. And, as a fan of horror movies I really like the "The Evil Dead"/"Blair Witch Project"-references. It kinda creeps me out a bit. In a good way! (JA)

.:Who's who?

JA: Jonas Appelqvist
MG: Matt Giordano
NL: Nick Levine

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Aftonbladet talks to Moneybrother about his new album and more: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,846814,00.html (in Swedish)

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Via Micke Orgel comes word that Moneybrother will have a new album in February.