Finnish artist Jimi Tenor and West-African musicians Kabu Kabu (as heard together on the "Joystone" album) will perform together at Cargo in London on March 20 as part of the "Karen P presents... Broad Casting" series put on by Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
There's a new Pinto single available for free download entitled "The dream is over". Get it here: https://www.pinto.se/
The new Markus Krunegård (Laakso) solo single "Jag är en vampyr" is streaming at myspace along with a few other tracks: https://www.myspace.com/markuskrunegrd
Lords of Metal interview Swedish hardcore act Meleeh: https://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=1980&lang=en
PopMatters reviews Sambassadeur: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/54000/sambassadeur-migration/
Diamond Dogs will be touring Europe as part of the "Homewreckers & Heartbreakers Tour" alongside UK act The Quireboys and Americans Dan Baird & Homemade Sin, each one taking a rotating headline spot. Dates:
05/12 - Moshulu, Aberdeen (UK)
05/13 - Cathouse, Glasgow (SCO)
05/16 - Academy 3, Manchester (UK)
05/17 - Academy, Newcastle (UK)
05/18 - Rios - Leeds (UK)
05/20 - Barfly, Birmingham (UK)
05/21 - Spring And Airbrake, Belfast (IRL)
05/22 - Barfly, Cardiff (UK)
05/23 - Garage, London (UK)
05/27 - Z7, Prattlen (CH)
05/28 - Gaswerk, Winterthur (CH)
05/30 - tbc, Stockholm (SWE)
Bonnier Amigo Music has signed Anna Maria Espinosa (Moder Jords Massiva, Club Killers) and will be sending her into the studio with producer Jari Haapalainen (The Bear Quartet, Laakso, etc.) to record her debut album. As for the actual songs she'll be doing, she's lined up an illustrious cast including Ellekari Larsson (The Tiny), The Concretes, The Plan, Mattias Hellberg, Andreas Mattsson, Moder Jords Massiva, Nicolai Dunger and of course, the aforementioned Jari Haapalainen. Expect a fall release.
Swedish shoegazers Sad Day for Puppets are confirmed to release their debut EP "Just like a ghost" on April 9 via HaHa Fonogram (Radio LXMBRG). Hear samples at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/saddayforpuppets
Reminds me a bit of The Sundays, but with a bit more fuzz layered on top.
Folke, the pop alias of jazz bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg, will release his self-titled debut solo album on April 2 via Finest Quality Recordings. The record was produced by Johan Berthling (Tape, The Tiny) and features guest appearances by Ellekari Larsson and Leo Svensson (The Tiny), John Eriksson (Peter Bjorn and John), Lars Skoglund (Laakso), Ola Hultgren (Loney, Dear), Tomas Hallonsten (Tape) and more. Samples at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/folkemusic
Peter Morén solo dates in Europe:
04/09 - Molotov, Hamburg (GER)
04/10 - Privatclub, Berlin (GER)
04/11 - Paradiso (Small Hall), Amsterdam (NL)
04/12 - Stadtgarten, Cologne (GER)
04/13 - La fleche d'or, Paris (FRA)
04/14 - Belle Vue Club, Brussels (BEL)
04/15 - Water Rats, London (UK)
04/16 - Junction Theatre, Cambridge (UK)
04/17 - Roadhouse, Manchester (UK)
04/18 - The Captain's Rest, Glasgow (UK)
04/19 - Sugar Club, Dublin (IRL)
Rabid Records, the label run by The Knife, will be releasing the debut EP "Drunken trees" from Stockholm-based sister duo First Aid Kit on April 9. Listen at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit
MP3: Animal Alpha - Breed again
I have conflicted feelings about Animal Alpha. They are guilty of committing many grievous nü-metal clichés, but on the other hand, they usually manage to pull it off somewhat tastefully. "Somewhat" being relative to your tolerance level, I suppose. Personally, I still enjoy "Roots"-era Sepultura and will even own up to enjoying a few Soulfly tunes (I even saw them on their first tour), so it's not as if I never dipped my toes in this stuff, but I'm also not completely comfortable with it. Let us not forget all the horrible crap that this scene begat, though such bands will remain nameless here. Animal Alpha walks the line and as long as I don't think too hard about it, I can enjoy it. The new album "You pay for the whole seat, but you'll only need to edge" is mercifully short and to-the-point and when they're not competently recycling "Roots"-esque drop-d style riffage, vocalist Agnete Kjølsrud carries the band with her intense screams and surprisingly strong melodic singing. "Breed again" offers a good balance between the two sides, so even if you can't take the heaviness, you can at least try to appreciate their arena rock aspirations. Like it or not, they are good at what they do.
Animal Alpha - Breed again
Lack
Saturate every atom
PlayRec
Lack is easily one of the more interesting indie rock acts out there right now. Going from clarity to clarity, I thought that "Be there pulse" (2005) was an excellent display of Fugazi-sounding hard-hitting rock, they now release a breathtaking album of furious and melodic punk-/indie rock. In fact, the Danes have found what I've been looking for in their previous albums; a delicate mix of hardcore and hooks. Not many bands accomplish that, At the Drive-In, Refused, Drive Like Jehu and Shellac did it, and here are the Danish heirs. Clocking in under an exemplary 30 minutes "Saturate every atom" offer its listeners a concise journey where Denmark's asylum policy, male domination, among others are matters of discussion and as an old hardcore dude, my eyes are filled with tears. It's been a long time since something this compassionate sounded this good. Produced by Per Cnöeldh (Menfolk), mixed by Lack in true DIY-style and mastered by none other than Bob Weston from Shellac, the simple, yet powerful sound gives the band justice. And speaking of justice, nothing would be more unfair if this doesn't lead to further recognition. It is that good. Try it, you'll like it!
- Jonas Appelqvist
Hey, look! A new site. I'm sure there's a few things that are out of whack, but please bear with me - I'm working on it. However, if you do happen to come across anything you think I should be aware of, please let me know. Be sure to include a screenshot too, if possible.
For details on many of the various updates, please see this post's comment section.