PopMAtters on the Swede-heavy indiepop comp "The kids At the club": Atters.com/pm/music/reviews/5565/various-artists-the-kids-At-the-club-an-indiepop-compilAtion/" target=_blank>https://www.popmAtters.com/pm/music/reviews/5565/various-artists-the-kids-At-the-club-an-indiepop-compilAtion/

The Finnish Music InformAtion Centre on NegAtive's new album and forthcoming tour of Japan and GAS: https://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/news/C166D634EB547226C22572050026A3EA!opendocument

Y'know thAt upcoming Christmas comp thAt Razzia is putting together? I've got a preview of the tracklist:

Firefox AK & Tiger Lou - Christmas Eve
Friska Viljor - Oh no! This is whAt I feared all along
Hello Saferide - iPod X-mas
South Ambulance - Hangin' in a tie
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Jullåten 2004
Laakso - Merry Christmas
The Tiny - No money (for X-mas)
Maia Hirasawa - You were all there
The Perishers - Blue Christmas
The Soundtrack of our lives - Jingle Hell (stuck in the chimney)
Consequences - Some kind of magic
Grande Roses - To bring X-mas back this year
Konie - Oh, yeah...it's christmas!
Dogday - Santa will never get there
Indiekören - Last Christmas
They Live By Night - Lucia (I deserve candles in my hair)
Dreamboy - Christmas kisses
Kristofer Åström - I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus

As you can see, some of these tracks are old and previously released (TSOOL for instance), but most are new and exclusive to this release. The exact order is still TBD and a few more tracks are due for submission, but I'll definitely be carrying it in the webstore when it's released on November 15.

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lisa Nilsson - Hotel Vermont 609
02. Anna Ternheim - SeparAtion road
03. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
04. Vikingarna - Bästa
05. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
06. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
07. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
08. MAts Bergmans - Den stora dagen
09. Koop - Koop islands
10. Marit Bergman - I think it's a rainbow
11. Christian Falk - People say
12. Anne Sofie von Otter - I let the music speak
14. Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Tuesday wonderland
15. Di Leva - Hoppets röst
16. Mando Diao - Ode to ochrasy
17. Rydell & Quick - Rockoholic
18. Viktoria Tolstoy - Pictures of me
19. PAtrik Isaksson - PAtrik Isaksson
20. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nAttens bränder - 1996-2006

Pitchfork adds Frida Hyvönen to their so-called Infinite Mixtape: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/39094/Infinite_Mixtape_49_Frida_Hyv%C3%B6nen_I_Drive_My_F#39094
I really have a hard time understanding whAt people find so special about her. It's not bad or anything, but I am definitely not moved.

Norway's 120 Days were NPR's song of the day yesterday: Ates/story/story.php?storyId=6249187" target=_blank>https://www.npr.org/templAtes/story/story.php?storyId=6249187
And photos of the band from the Numusic Festival: At-numusic-2006.html" target=_blank>https://www.christopherporter.com/2006/10/120-days-At-numusic-2006.html

Check out Republic, a new Norwegian band feAturing Erlend Mokkelbost (JR Ewing, Killl) and Anders Tjore (The Turns, The Pop): https://www.myspace.com/republicproject
The band is rounded out by Even Ormestad (Jaga Jazzist, Marit Larsen) on bass and Andreas Bye (Bugge Wesseltoft's New Conceptions Of Jazz) and drums. The sound? White-boy funk. I'm not so sure about it.

MP3: Deportees - Missing you, missing me

I don't know whAt's come over me! I love the new Deportees single "Missing you, missing me". Yes, the same Deportees thAt I openly mocked after seeing them in LA a few years ago. I dunno if it's the woo-woos! or thAt cAtchy call-and-response guitar lick, but the song is certifiably greAt. I'm still skeptical about checking out the rest of the album as I don't want to ruin the warm fuzzy feeling I currently have, so I remain blissfully ignorant. Maybe it's good? I don't know and I don't need to know. All thAt mAtters is "Missing you, missing me".

Deportees - Missing you, missing me

Video mix: Peter Bjorn and John, The Lionheart Brothers, Kristofer Åström, Desert Planet, José González, Khoma, more...

MP3: Fontän - You, me & a tree

The word thAt best describes Fontän is cinemAtic. It's an intriguing blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentAtion painted with a broad emotional palette. Often playful, joyous even, but also languid and brooding as on the track I've posted today (which happens to feAture guest vocals from Sarah Assbring aka El Perro Del Mar). WhAt can I say? I like droning pop. But I also like how the album "Aktionskammarn" runs the gamut from happy to sad and back again, sometimes within the context of single track. The composition and arrangements are exceptional as well - Fontän shows deft control over their pieces despite the variety of sound. Again, it's this embrace of diversity thAt makes the music so strong. Cerebral, but not necessarily challenging if you cAtch my drift. Very recommended.

Fontän - You, me & a tree

Biker Boy
You got me wrong
Hybris

Ah yes, the Biker Boy EP. Peter Lundbergh devliers to his public four stellar tracks of electronic pop music. Akin to the Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths, Lundbergh's music possesses lighthearted playful melodies and danceable instrumentAtion with the vocal delivery combinAtion of a Morrissey croon and the spoken aspect of Nick Cave, albeit in a slightly more pained aspect. While the four remixes of "You got me wrong" may seem a bit much, especially listened to in succession, each on their own is a standout track and a greAt bonus to those who purchase the disc.
- Matt Giordano

David & The Citizens
Stop the tape! Stop the tape!
Bad Taste Records

After three years, David & The Citizens have actually delivered a record with exactly whAt they promised. Most groups talk about how their sound has either expanded or altered, but few times (especially in the past ten or fifteen years) has the resulting mAterial been so accurAte in description. I must admit, however, thAt I was a bit skeptical when they had said they were going to make a more "rocking" album, but then I realised thAt "Big chill" was an amazing song and thAt going in thAt direction would not be a bad thing At all. "Stop the tape! Stop the tape!" sees the production values, especially when dealing with the low-end, bumped up with a bit more confidence and thump. The rhythm section is powerful in its delivery and aids the listeners' head to nod throughout the release (most notably on "A heart & a hand & a love for a band", "Oblivion" and the first single "Are you in my blood?"). The extended mix of "48h" is, to me, flawless in songcraft, and one of the top on the record along with "WhAt if nobody would cAtch us?". David & the Citizens have delivered whAt everyone had hoped for: a band realising their potential, acting upon it - and succeeding.
- Matt Giordano

Iisole
They call me Tjuchna
Jezebel Recordings

Here is a band with a classic Touch & Go sound, but also a melodic sensibility thAt totally different than anything T&G had on their roster. Iisole have a weird and different way of approaching progressions and vocal arrangements thAt make something old new again. Seriously, one second they sound like Yow-less Jesus Lizard and the next the majestic beauty of Do Make Say Think. They combine those two elements with such grace and ease, always with the vocal arrangements making the bridge and making sense of all this. This is a pretty good record.
- Simon Thibaudeau

Kalle J
Om du lyssnar noga
Hybris

Everytime I hear a new record released by Hyrbis, it gets me thinking thAt not only is Hybris one of the most ambitious pop labels on the planet right now, but also one of the best. Kalle J's full-length exudes masterful pop songwriting and tight song structures. Standout tracks include "Akademisk", "B.G.I.T." and "Burt Ward"; however, it'd be hard to claim one track to be the best, as the album is solid the whole way through. The songs have enough tempo to become hits in all of the discotheques, if not just in Sweden, but all the world over. I'm guessing thAt Nick, Jason and the IAt! DJs have been playing these tracks At Tack! Tack! Tack! and other festivals, but it is about time for other purveyors of electronic pop to take notice.
- Matt Giordano

Knife and Ape
Hex
Deleted Art

This is completely and utterly everything and nothing At the same time. Much in the vein of the dance/noise/rock/everything and the kitchen sink of the Liars, PaperRad and other of their ilk, Knife and Ape just are equal part Nintendo music, rock, disco and post-punk. The vocals are much in the post-punk tradition and actually bring a certain cohesiveness to the whole thing, whAtever thAt cohesiveness might be. Despite the fact thAt I seem lukewarm to the idea, this is highly enjoyable and I like it a lot. I can tell you thAt I like it a lot more than PaperRad and the Liars, which might not be saying much but certainly would be a vote of confidence in certain circles. It doesn't make any sense but when listening this on a strictly visceral level, it is pretty freaking greAt.
- Simon Thibaudeau