A new label, a revamped lineup, but is it the same David & the Citizens? I say yes, most definitely. If anything, the jump to Bad Taste has probably strengthened the band as it allows Magnus to concentrate on just the music and not the business side of things. Band leader David Fridlund's songwriting is just as invigorating as ever, too. I've always been a fan of D&tC EPs as I feel the band is at their best on the short format, so it's no surprise that "Are you in my blood?" is a fantastic release. I was strongly considering a post about the ballad "Sometimes forever", but I've changed my mind this morning and decided that "Absent mind" would make a better selection as it's an upbeat number more in the classic power-pop vein that D&tC is known for. I love the chanting backing vocals in combination with the horns. It's the kind of thing that drills into your head and won't let go. "Sometimes forever" may be more emotionally powerful, but I need driving pop to get my day started off right.
David & The Citizens - Absent mind
Gustaf Kjellvander of The Fine Arts Showcase reports that he has recorded a Rough Bunnies tribute album entitled, appropriately enough, "TFAS sings the Rough Bunnies". No word yet on how/when it'll be released, but I'll keep you posted.
Norwegian troubadour Saint Thomas is back from rehab with a new album entitled "There's only one of me". He'll be releasing it on his own Cornerman Records in Norway on August 28 and has licensed it for release in GAS via Make My Days Records in late September and also in the UK via YesBoyIceCream Records come October.
Danish garage-rockers The Blue Van will support Electric Six on tour in the US starting in September:
09/15 - Austin City Limits, Austin, TX
09/17 - Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY
09/18 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
09/19 - Middle East, Boston, MA
09/22 - Sonar, Baltimore, MD
09/23 - Black Cat, Washington, DC
09/25 - Cat's Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC
09/26 - Earthlink Live, Atlanta, GA
09/27 - State Theatre, St. Petersburg, FL
09/28 - Studio A, Miami, FL
09/29 - The Social, Orlando, FL
09/30 - Beta Bar, Tallahassee, FL
10/02 - Exit Inn, Nashville, TN
10/03 - Bottle Tree Café, Birmingham, AL
10/04 - The Parish, New Orleans, LA
10/05 - Walter's, Houston, TX
10/06 - Hailey's, Denton, TX
10/07 - Emo's, Austin, TX
10/09 - Plush, Tucson, AZ
10/11 - Casbah, San Diego, CA
10/12 - Galaxy, Santa Ana, CA
10/13 - Key Club, West Hollywood, CA
10/14 - Independent, San Francisco, CA
10/16 - Dog Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
10/17 - Richard's, Vancouver, BC
10/18 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA
10/20 - Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
10/21 - Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
10/23 - Sokol Underground, Omaha, NE
10/24 - Mojo's Columbia, MO
10/25 - Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
10/26 - The Annex, Madison, WI
10/27 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
10/28 - Mad Planet, Milwaukee, WI
10/29 - Headliner's, Louisville, KY
10/31 - Double Door, Chicago, IL
11/01 - Southgate House, Newport, KY
11/02 - Little Brother's, Columbus, OH
11/03 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
11/04 - St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
The Animal Five has a new website: https://www.theanimalfive.com/
The new LA Priest remix of Envelopes is streaming on myspace: https://www.myspace.com/envelopes
Finnish act Disco Ensemble is spreading their tentacles into Europe and has signed a worldwide deal (excluding Finland where they remain on Fullsteam) with Universal Records. They recently re-recorded four songs from the "First aid kit album with Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Fireside, The Hives, etc.) and Michael Ilbert (The Hellacopters, Cardigans, etc.) in Sweden for a special European rerelease in August. The single "Black euro" comes out first on August 4 and the full-length follows on August 18. And that's not all - the band will also release "We might fall apart" as a 7" single in the UK on July 3 simultaneously with a release in their home country of Finland. For the record, "We might..." is probably my favorite DE song that I've heard, but that's not necessarily saying that much.
Swedish hard rockers Crucified Barbara will doing quite a few international dates this fall:
10/13 - The Gaelic Club, Sydney (AU)
10/14 - The Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne (AU)
10/19 - Ruby's Lounge, Belgrave (AU)
10/20 - Fowlers Live, Adelaide S.A (AU)
10/21 - The Greenroom Melbourne (AU)
11/02 - City Hall, Newcastle (UK)
11/04 - Scotland Academy, Glasgow (UK)
11/05 - Apollo, Manchester (UK)
11/07 - St Georges, Bradford (UK)
11/08 - City Hall, Sheffield (UK)
11/09 - Academy, Birmingham (UK)
11/11 - University, Cardiff (UK)
11/12 - New Theatre, Oxford (UK)
11/13 - De Montfort Hall, Leicester (UK)
11/15 - UEA, Norwich (UK)
11/17 - Corn Exchange, Campbridge (UK)
11/19 - Regent, Ipswitch (UK)
11/19 - Rock City, Notthingham (UK)
11/20 - Colston Hall, Bristol (UK)
11/21 - Pavilion, Plymouth (UK)
11/23 - Guildhall, Portsmouth (UK)
11/24 - Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone (UK)
11/25 - Brixton Academy, London (UK)
All UK dates are supporting the legendary Motörhead.
Check out the video for "Storstadsidyll Kyaal Remix" (feat. Desmond Foster) from Swedish hip-hop artist Petter: https://www.dach.se/remix.mov
The latest Music Export Finland newsletter is now online: https://musex.fi/mxf/news?articleId=104
Check a few songs from The New Brand, an up-and-coming Danish rock act: https://www.myspace.com/tnbdk
Sounds pretty darn good IMO.
Katatonia will finally be doing a full US tour this fall with Moonspell and Daylight Dies. Dates so far:
10/20 - The Loft, Poughkeepsie, NY
10/21 - Mark's Place, Manchester, NH
10/22 - BB Kings Blues Club, New York, NY
10/23 - Medley, Montreal, QUE
10/24 - L'Imperial, Quebec City, QUE
10/25 - Opera House, Toronto, ONT
10/26 - Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
10/27 - IRock, Detroit, MI
10/28 - Pearl Room, Mokena, IL
10/29 - Star Central, Columbia Heights, MN
10/31 - Lliff Park Saloon, Aurora, CO
11/02 - Studio Seven, Seattle, WA
11/03 - Rock N Roll Pizza, Portland, OR
11/04 - The Pound, San Francisco, CA
11/06 - House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
11/11 - White Rabbit, San Antonio, TX