Blossoming past the confines of traditional songwriting, Fredrik's newest album "Flora" is a melancholy outing carpeted with of horns, bells, and guitars. Sure, it's what we've come to expect from the Swedish experimental trio (two members who also perform as the criminally underrated band, The LK) -- but it's also more than most fringe-folk acts could hope deliver.
A lo-key, densely arranged cacophony, theirs is a brand of hypnotic chanting and melodic repetition that could easily grow stale or downright grating in lesser, or less restrained hands. Instead, we're offered remarkable variance, from the clattering urgency of "Vattenfront" to the haunting, never-quite-peaking crescendo of "Inventress of ill (and everything)". Though perhaps it's the driving, narrative-heavy track "The shape and colour of things gone blind" (a reference to member Ola Lindefelt's reported synesthesia) that offers the best context in which to discuss/dissect the album. Armed with a world-view turned some 180-degrees from current trends, Fredrik doesn't just make music to hear, but to get lost in. - Laura Studarus
Swedish rock act The Movements will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary with a new LP on that will include four new tracks plus two previously unreleased ones with a repress of their OOP EP "Drag me up" on the flip. The official release date is set for March 1 and there will be a release party at Truckstop Alaska in Göteborg on the 12th.
There's a new episode of Off the Record online featuring The Soundtrack of Our Lives performing three acoustic songs at Kafe Moskova in Helsinki, the bar owned by famed director Aki Kaurismäki: https://offtherecord.fi/tsool/
Looks like will be doing a much-needed repress of Obliteration's stellar "Nekropsalms" LP: https://www.tigernet.no/shop/release.php?code=131264
Hopefully all the people who have been emailing me wanting copies of the long sold-out pressing on will be able to grab it.
Lambgoat reports that Swedish viking metal act Amon Amarth will be doing a special US tour in April where they will be doing two sets a night with no support, including one set in which they perform their new album "Surtur rising" in its entirety: https://www.lambgoat.com/news/view.aspx?id=15778
Unsigned Swedish sludgerockers Signo Rojo have a new 6-song promo record that they are streaming on Bandcamp: https://signorojo.bandcamp.com/
Some definitely post/beard-metal vibes, but my first impression is that it tends to stick more with a straight-up heavy/crusty feel than otherwise.
I don't listen to the radio very often so I hadn't heard the new Lady Gaga single "Born this way" until just a few moments ago when I found a YouTube stream that wasn't been pulled (yet). And now it appears that I am further behind the times than I thought because here's Swedish teen-pop sensation Ulrik Munther already performing a cover of said tune. Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIekOkkepTw
A bit of a strange mix, this. First off, the name Nightsatan might give the impression that we're dealing with some sort of extreme metal outfit. Then, the cyberpunk album artwork hints that we might be in for a punk rock affair, quite possibly laced with a good measure of electronica. What the Finnish trio have essentially come up with is an instrumental style that sounds off like Genghis Tron (minus any hint of metal) and Kraftwerk doing cheesy '80s movie soundtracks. It works well for the most part, offering an odd amalgam of the music of "The Terminator" and John Carpenter's "Dark star", and there's a definite atmosphere here makes it an enjoyable listen. It does require a certain frame of mind to be able to sit through the entire album though and, when you've found that headspace, it's quite sublime. That said, the drum sound is atrocious and ruins any segments that require the use of a snare. Bottom line, "Midnight laser warrior" is an average album that could do with a little less self-indulgence -- and a bearable drum sound. - John Norby
Mew frontman Jonas Bjerre will make his debut as a solo artist with the release of the soundtrack to his friend Rune Schjøtt's film "Skyskraber". Both the film and the music will be officially released in May with the first single "Kids don't fight" to be released for paid download on February 14.
Fredrik
Nightsatan