Cursed Danish dark rock act Monoton has decided to throw in the towel once and for all: https://www.monoton.dk/
MIC Norway profiles the excellent noise artist Ryfylke ahead of their US tour: https://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2007032714340426520943
All About Jazz on the new Arve Henriksen album "Strjon": https://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=25121
Recent Imperial Recordings signee Promise and the Monster has now been added to the lineup of Brighton's Great Escape Festival.
Swedish singer/songwriter Johan Bergqvist (also in the band The Genuine Fakes) has joined up with guitarist/frontman Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper, Slash's Snakepit), bassist Magnus Wikström (Chief) and drummer Anton Körberg (son of Tommy) in a new band called Happypill. The band will make their live debut on March 28 at O-baren in Stockholm, but you can also preview two tracks on myspace: https://www.myspace.com/happypill07
In other Johan Bergqvist news, he's also now playing with the band Nutmeg who are currently working on a new album. Listen to samples: https://www.myspace.com/nutmegmusic
Pitchfork on Danish post-rock/electronica artists Slaraffenland: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/41898-slaraffenland-watch-out-mp3
MP3: Konie - My life is shit but I am funky
I'm going to contradict something I said yesterday. Sometimes it is important to read about music before listening and as such, I don't think I would've paid nearly as much attention to Konie's new album "The club is open" if I had not taken a look at the liner notes first. I have an audio engineering background, so I am always curious about the technical process behind the music and Konie lays out many of the details. The thing that caught my eye however is that all of the loops are real, honest-to-goodness tape loops. As in reel-to-reel, sliced with a razor and spliced together - there's even a deck pictured on the cover. Considering how stupid easy it is to replicate digitally (don't forget the saturation plug-in!), I think it's admirable to stick with the imperfect, old-fashioned method. It shows a high level of craftmanship and determination. There's also a certain character to it that's hard to fake.
Of course, it wouldn't make a lick of difference if the finished product wasn't worth listening to. The technical aspects of the recording made me listen in closer detail, but I wouldn't be talking about it if the end result was shit. This is organic dance music, pieced together by hand, not computers. That's the way I like it.
Konie - My life is shit but I am funky
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words
Old ghosts, new ghosts, all ghosts
iDEAL Recordings
As a long-time connoisseur of textural ambient music, my ears are fine-tuned by now to the odd detail, to anything that makes one collection of drones and weird noises sound different from its predecessors. This Swedish outfit have bravely kicked every ambient cliche in the ass and sculpted a wonderland of bracing dark ambient on this amazing platter. Honestly, it takes patience and a singular aesthetic to pull off a record like this. It's divided into two sections (per the sleeve), titled "Circles, fucking circles" and "No ghosts." Hardly matters to the ears though, as what you get is a very steady, self-assured travelogue through alien landscapes or really bizarre dreams. "If you touch me I will disappear" features a sinister low-frequency sound that is genuinely unsettling; other tracks make use of inventive drones, clanging sounds and odd percussion. "Three nineteen a.m." and "Closer, closer still" are just two of the grabbers among many. This isn't friendly music, and if you don't like ambient, much of it will repel you. But in the realm of aurally compelling, mysterious soundscape music to get lost in, this is one truly superb piece of work.
- Kevin Renick
The Defectors
Bruised and satisfied
Bad Afro
Yikes. I'm sure every niche of every genre (in this case 'psychobilly') has its fans, and at least The Defectors can play their instruments, but this is so over-the-top goofy in its schlock horror presentation that it's ghastly. It reminds me of those rote houses of horror people throw together on Halloween, the kind where they put spaghetti in bowls and tell kids it's brains. Oooh. Really creepy. Everything they do has been done so much better by others. I'll grant that they're scary, but not as they intended.
- Nancy Baym
Grande Roses
Arctic heart
New Noise
This 4 song EP is a nice, straight-ahead, high quality, well done blast of fast country infused with punk energy. It's full of dark tones, the vocals growl, and the pace pushes it all forward with compelling momentum. When it's playing, it sounds great. But ultimately it's missing the standout quality that keeps it in mind when its playtime is over.
- Nancy Baym
Kristoffer Jonzon
Ego
Monitor Entertainment Group
These songs (all sung in Swedish) sound like something that could be Sweden's choice to compete in the Eurovision Contest - that's how awful they are. If Jonzon would steal a bit more and come up with better melodies, he could become a Swedish Mika, which is not really a compliment, but I guess Jonzon wouldn't mind commercial success even if it meant selling your soul at a low price. An album to avoid like the Australian Brown Snake at a petting zoo.
- Simon Tagestam
Logh
North
Bad Taste Records
It has gone full circle so to speak. I absolutely adored the debut album "Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings", released in 2001 for the band's introverted indierock mixed with atmospheric soundscapes. Rock suitable for a motion picture soundtrack. On "North", the band reveals qualities not shown since that first full-length. Despite the fact that it took some time to reconcile with the record this time, you've got to hand it to these guys as they've done it again! This time, it's a more focused record with no dead spots. A true masterpiece. Gone are the flirtations with the post-rock scene and Mathias Oldén once again proves himself to be a great songwriter. "The raging sun" and "A sunset panorama" are great albums as well, no doubt about that, but now it has all fallen into place. Considering songs like "Saturday nightmares" (the first single from the record, do check out the amazing video as well), "The black box" and "Thieves in the palace", Logh should be acknowledged by a wider audience.
- Jonas Appelqvist
Sara Lunden
Sweet sweet sweet the beat
Lobotom Records
I'm usually able to decide how I feel about a recording after just one or two plays, but this record by Swedish singer/performance artist Sara Lunden stumped me. It took four full spins to get a handle on it, and I've concluded it's a slightly above-average work that requires just the right level of attention to reveal its strengths. Sara offers melancholy ballads and occasionally quirky pop tunes (utilizing guitar and synth) with love and loneliness as primary topics, and there's no denying that her voice oozes sincerity. But it doesn't really grab you most of the time. The arrangements are underwhelming, often demo-quality, and although her chords are generally nice, she rarely makes a creative splash. "One night" and "You" are decent tunes that show potential; with a good producer or half a dozen more stellar tracks, Ms. Lunden could up her creative ante. But much of this record dissipates too quickly in the memory, covering territory others have mined more successfully.
- Kevin Renick
Trummor & Orgel
s/t
Cosmos Records
Skeptics believe. An organ and a drum played by the Ljunggren brothers combine to form a sound that at times is like a throwback to the electronic craziness of the Mario videogame-induced '80s, but is actually a lesson in basic jazz. It's funny how Ebbot Lundberg from Soundtrack of Our Lives is used to promote this duo's album like crazy on Trummor & Orgel's own website ever since they started touring together. I guess targeting a wider market works nowadays even if it is the wrong market.
The organ's comping effectively creates a smooth jazz feel that wouldn't normally be expected from the instrument, the symbol of church hymns and funeral marches. I only wish there'd be more of these kinds of creative acts out there. It works perfectly: Without needing a full jazz band, one might expect the style to be minimalist but it is anything but.
- Jennifer Ma