Swedish slowcore act Talking to Drake have a new demo track posted on myspace: https://www.myspace.com/talkingtodrake
Danish act Carpark North has confirmed that their new album "Grateful" will be released on September 1. Hear the first single "Shall we be grateful" at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/carparknorth
MP3: The Amazing - Dragon
Here's some good-time summer vibes for you courtesy of The Amazing, a new-ish Swedish act featuring members from Dungen, Granada and The Guild. It's all about that lazy acoustic strum, that languid melody line in the two lead guitars (best appreciated with headphones) and the soft, understated vocals. So mellow, so sweet, perfectly paired with a cold beverage and a few bites of ripe summer fruit (your pick). I imagine these dudes probably even look as retro as they sound, but I'm not sweating it. I'd rather just lay back in the shade of the elm in my backyard, forget my troubles and turn up the music. Keep an eye on these guys, there's an album on the way soon.
The Amazing - Dragon
Detektivbyrån's long-awaited and much-anticipated full-length album "Wermland" is now complete and available for preorder, so the band is giving away two tracks as free downloads: "Om du möter varg" / "Neonland"
Very highly recommended! Preorder the album here: https://www.detektivbyran.net/
Signature Tune is giving away a free mp3 single from Kenneth Ishak (Beezewax) in exchange for signing up for his mailing list: https://kennethishak.fanbridge.com/
Said single includes the song "New rising sun" along with two exclusive b-sides.
Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Sigur Rós
02. Radiohead
03. Death Cab for Cutie
04. Coldplay
05. Fleet Foxes
06. Interpol
07. Bloc Party
08. Belle and Sebastian
09. MGMT
10. Jens Lekman
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/
King of All the Animals
Paper beats rock
Pyramid
I've always held a soft spot in my heart for Tigerbombs, mostly as a damned fun summer band, though Pepe Trouble's solo act took me by surprise: not only in solidifying his songwriting amongst the strongest summer-pop work out there, but also by branching out his pop craftsmanship along more serious avenues. With a truly all-star Scandinavian cast, including Astrid Swan, Samae Koskinen (of Sister Flo), and Sweden's The Mopeds, amongst many, many others, King of All the Animals is a talented collection of tried and tested musicians, and "Paper beats rocks" is even further testament to this statement. Instead of the Caesars (Palace)-like tact that Tigerbombs adopt -- chock full of rock organ hooks and fills -- King of All the Animals is a much more typically Scandinavian pop group. "1000-mile-heartache" feels like it fell straight out of a 80s coming-of-age film, a Modern English vibe wrapped around an almost Shout Out Louds-type delivery. "Everything burns red" bristles with perfect guitar hooks and the layered, saturated approach that Moonbabies have perfected. There are a few stumbles on the record, all of which are easily forgiven (and almost more easily forgotten as one become more familiar with the album), and none of which even mildly threaten to derail this proficient and entertaining work. Listen to "The Cologne beat" and you'll know exactly where all my excitement for "Paper beats rock" comes from.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
MP3: We Live In Trenches - Autonomy clinic
If it's Saturday you know that means we're due for another entry in our ongoing Göteborg Spotlight Series. This week's guest: Robert Samsonowitz, esteemed web developer, graphic designer and musician. Chances are high you've seen his work before as he's done artwork and/or websites for a number of high profile Swedish artists -- just check out his portfolio at rbrt.org for examples. As for his own music, he did time with Satanic Surfers back in the day and has just recently resurfaced with We Live in Trenches, a band that takes the sound of "Damaged"-era Black Flag and runs with it. In other words, old-man hardcore. You know I'm all about it. Anyhow, Robert was kind enough to answer a few questions for us and here's what he had to say:
First off, the standard: How long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you there?
I've lived in Gothenburg for nine years and five months (since January 1999). I moved here to study web design. I got a job and a new band, so that pretty much kept me here. Nowadays I have a new job and a new band and that pretty much still keeps me here. And also Gothenburg is a pretty rad city to be in at the moment with a lot of nice people and some great things happening, music and otherwise.
You're involved in a lot of different artistic endeavors - which one currently takes precedence? like if someone asks "what do you do?", how do you respond?
Right now I'd probably say "play music", because that's where my heart is at the moment. I think I'm currently in some kind of work-denial state. Like acting really busy on work hours while making plans and stuff for the band, which probably isn't that good in the long run as I'm self employed.
I know there's a lot of other Swedish musicians who double as visual artists, but are there any in particular that you admire? Or what about visual artists who dabble in music?
One of the artists I admire is my old friend Johannes Heldén (www.johanneshelden.com). He's a visual artist (MFA, Valand Academy of Fine Arts, Gothenburg) a writer and a musician. His work is truly awesome. I give him credit for bringing Sci-Fi and mysticism into art and music. Well done, my friend!
How does the city of Gbg influence you and your art? Could you ever see yourself living somewhere else? What benefits does Gbg offer and on the flipside of that, what are the city's detriments?
Hard to tell how this city influences me. I don't even know if influences me at all. Or maybe it does more than I'll ever know. I can't really see myself living in another Swedish city. I've spent a lot of time in Malmö, I have a lot of friends there. There is one specific area there ("Möllan") which consists of... I don't know... maybe 8 blocks of houses and a square, and that area is fantastic. But the rest of Malmö is a terrible, aggressive, cold, cold place to be. They can keep it. If I'd move I'd probably go abroad, maybe Berlin or Barcelona (all my friends reading this are going "yeah, that'll probably happen..." haha), or Montreal, one of my favorite cities. One of the benefits with Gbg I guess is the size, both in people and area. It's not too big and it's not too small either. It's big enough for great things to happen, and it's small enough to actually notice them.
Tell me about the new band - how did you guys get together and what are your plans? Did you form with any particular goals in mind?
My new band is We Live in Trenches and here are all the boring details. Me and David Augustsson (drums, ex-C.Aarmé) formed the band in February 2007 after having played together in the brief punk adventure Haveri, which had broken up due to too hot weather and the fact that the other guys needed more time with their other endeavors (Cut City and Alarma Man). I was also on drum duties in Satanic Surfers, but we had a break at the moment (a break from which we never recovered, we broke up in March 2007). We initially formed as Trenches and I guess it sort of was the second coming of Haveri at first, only I'd switched from bass to guitar. As only two wrongs don't make a right, we needed some more humans to help sink the ship. I met my old friend Ulf Stöckel on a tram and convinced him to jump aboard as I knew of his screaming skills from previous bands (Comatose, Blå Ångest, The Virgins). We later got Oskar Karlsson on bass in May (also in Icos, ex-Last Security) and the Trenches line-up was finally complete. We recorded one song for a hardcore comp on Deleted Art (still not released) during the summer. Oskar turned out to be too busy with Icos as well as being a busy live sound tech for bands on tour (Burst, Red Sparrowes etc.) and he decided to quit the band a couple of months later. During the time without a bass player we started to record all of our songs in our rehearsal space. Anna Knutsson joined our merry bunch in November, halfway through the recording session, and we changed our name to We Live in Trenches shortly after. Now we finally have a booking agent and some upcoming shows, and we will promote ourselves in search for a record label to work with. Our plan is to rock as hard and often as possible, and our goal is to avoid a normal way of life as much as possible.
Lastly, got a song you'd like to share? Either from one of your own band(s) or otherwise? Something that's reflective of Gbg perhaps?
Yes. "Autonomy clinic" by We Live In Trenches. Because self promotion rocks!
We Live In Trenches - Autonomy clinic
The international rerelease of The Tough Alliance's most recent album "A new chance" will happen on August 25 in the UK, September 9 in North America via Modular Records. I also hear that the label will be doing the same with Familjen in the near future, but I don't have details on that yet.
Swedish postrockers Aerial will enter the studio on September 15 to begin recording their third full-length album.
Everyone's favorite Swedish indiepop bigband I'm From Barcelona will release the new album "Who Killed Harry Houdini?" on September 24 with the first single "Paper planes" preceding it on August 18. Look for a video from director Jonas Odell soon, but in the meantime, watch them perform the song live from Coachella: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUhANLpqtYI
Swedish noiserock act Traktor report that their album "Sequence the sequence" will get a vinyl release via Apocaplexy Records in the near future. The new edition will feature slightly revised artwork and will be pressed on green and red transparent vinyl.
Look for Christian Kjellvander to do some intimate living room-style gigs in the US this fall. Dates soon!
Sally Shaprio and Johan Agebjörn talk up their favorite local Stockholm artists for Paper Thin Walls: https://www.paperthinwalls.com/featuredarticle/index?id=217
This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:
01. Espen Lind - Army of one
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
04. Vassendgutane - Xo
05. Too Far Gone - Livåt
06. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
07. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
08. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
09. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
10. Sogns - Det koster å vara kar
11. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
12. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
13. Madrugada - Madrugada
14. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
15. Malin - Pang
16. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
17. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
18. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
19. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
20. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega