The Grizzly Twister on tour in the UK supporting The Plague Sermon:
06/14 - Drum and Monkey, Ipswich
06/15 - Freebutt, Brighton
06/16 - Bardens (tbc), London
06/17 - tba
06/18 - tba, Liverpool
06/19 - Bar Bloc, Glasgow
06/20 - East Neuk, Aberdeen
06/21 - First Floor Club, Derby
Crowpath was at Berno Studios with Andy Andersson this past weekend working on some new songs, one of which will end up on a split 7" with Japanese act Swarrrm. It will be released by the German label Crucificados and should be out in time for Crowpath's tour in June.
Blackstarfoundation will release Lasse Fabel's new album "Idioten" on May 31. Check out the press release: https://www.voidfaith.net/blackstar/pressreleaser/lassefabel.doc (in Swedish)
50 Hertz has posted their album "Gemenskap och mänsklig värdighet (fuck you)" as a free download: https://www.50hertz.se/
PopMatters reviews Finnish act Shogun Kunitoki: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/shogun_kunitoki_tasankokaiku/
Danish indie label Play/Rec has signed Hell On Wheels and will be releasing their latest album "The odd church" in Denmark on May 15 and throughout Europe later this summer. They'll be playing a record release show in Copenhagen alongside fellow Play/Rec licensee Greg MacPherson (from Canada, G7 Welcoming Comittee) on May 13.
Danish disco-punk librarian Sukkersjokk has posted three new tracks for download: https://www.sukkersjokk.dk/
*Rico (yes, with the asterix) is the name of a new Swedish label, home to electro artists Nicolas Makelberge and Mr. Pedro. Could it be more indie Europop? Sure, why not. Makelberge's single "Dying in Africa" will be the label's first release in May, followed by an album of the same name in June.
Silverbullit bassist Jukka will be collaborating with Gustav Nygren and Niklas Korssell (The Plan) on the music for a dance performance project called Apart happening at Kulturhuset in Stockholm on May 3-7. The choreography is by Helena Franzén and you can preview three tracks at Silverbullit's website: https://www.silverbullit.se/ (see 'Lyssna här' under the pic)
Kristofer ÅströmHis somewhat delayed new EP starts off very strong, with the vocal energy in "So much for staying alive" carrying the listener through the fingerpicked guitar and beautiful organ lines. However, the energy of that track is lost with the second track ("Black Valley theme") on the record being an instrumental, and it's kind of out-of-place on a four song EP (thus making it only three tracks with vocals). While the final two tracks ("Finally home" and "The blackest pond") are great songs, I feel as if they'd flow better on a complete album. Overall, the songs on this record are good, but it's lacking as a cohesive unit and I feel as if this is only a teaser for a new album.
- Matt Giordano
This record has taken me a long time for me to compose a review for, mainly because I really am unsure how to describe Deltahead's sound to anyone who is unfamiliar with them, but I'll try: Deltahead are a band that plays a drunken combination of blues, punk, rockabilly and garage rock, so fans of The Black Keys, take note. I believe this works best for the on the tracks "Don't move to Finland", "My mama was too lazy to pray" and "I smile at you". These three songs make the first half of the album fly through, but the second half drags a little as the tempo is taken down. Although it's only thirty minutes total, it makes it seem as if the album is a little too long. However, I can see this band's sound working best in the live setting and, as they progress in songwriting together, putting out one rocker of an album.
- Matt Giordano
On their new EP, Eskju Divine continue their epic-styled indie rock. At points reminding me of Adom, with parts Radiohead, The Mercury Program and The Cancer Conspiracy. I was unsure what to think about it as first, but after listening multiple times, it's really the instrumentation that shines on this recording. It creates a surreal dreamland for the listener and is the most effective when the vocals are absent. And while the vocals are not bad at all (at points, they are good segues into different song-parts), I particularly find the music to be the strong point.
- Matt Giordano
Hets are something of a Swedish indie "supergroup", with members from Laakso, Doktor Kosmos, Fireside and Moneybrother. With those bands in mind, you don't really expect Hets to play Swedish punk sung in Swedish, but that's exactly what they do. Everyone seems to mention Mattias Alkberg BD when they talk about Hets and I can see why, since Hets do sound like MABD (although I don't think MABD should be the only people allowed to make punk music sung in their native language). Living in London, it's not every day I get to witness a concert like this, so perhaps I'm overreacting slightly, but I really enjoyed this show and I think I will now look into getting my hands on Hets' album (I assume and hope that the punk ethos is reflected in the price of their CD).
- Simon Tagestam
This Danish quartet is led by a talented female vocalist who is somewhere between Melissa Etheridge and PJ Harvey on the "gritty pipes" spectrum. She also reminds a bit of Sofia Hardig, a Swedish vocalist who mines similar brooding, guitar-based indie rock territory. There's an emotional edge to the 13 tunes here that's really gripping. "Turn around" is a particularly great song, with its artfully muted background ambience and intimate upfront vocals; when strings enter the mix subtly, the effect is spine-tingling. The single "Seldom lost" is a sharply arranged guitar rocker, and if you're the type that digs brooding mid-tempo indierock, you'll reach nirvana in tunes like "Frosty fingers", the kick-ass "Pressure" ("I put pressure on you to leave me be/I put presuure on anybody who'd prefer a smile"...lines that sum up Kira's aesthetic nicely), the bluesy jangler "Let it out", and the achingly lovely acoustic tunes "Sullen girl" and "I won a while". Serious attention seems to have been paid to the overall pacing of this album and the very potent rendering of both the vocals and the often fiery, '60s-influenced guitar work. It has paid off nicely; this is probably one of the sturdiest and most consistent Scandi-rock platters of the year.
- Kevin Renick
I have to be honest, I wasn't that keen on Lo-Fi-Fnk's debut EP "...and the JFG?" that came out last year. Amid brilliant releases from other Swedish "electro duos", such as The Tough Alliance, Three is a crowd, Cat5, and Le Sport (then known as Eurosport), Lo-Fi-Fnk just didn't cut it. Now, with no new TTA material around, a dissapointing album from TIAC, Cat5's album yet to be released, and an album from Le Sport that's got a lot of great songs although I've heard most of them before - "Boylife" comes as a true saviour. The first half of the album is superior to the second, but that's mainly due to starting off with the two magnificent tracks "City" and "Adore". If you're into any of the bands I mentioned above, you should check this one out as well; it's one of my favourites of the year so far.
- Simon Tagestam