I've made no secret of my admirAtion for the band Amandine. My curiousity was piqued back in March when the band signed with UK-based label FAtCAt Records back in March and I've been keeping an eye on them ever since. Lucky for me, my intuition has paid off because their debut album "This is where our hearts collide" is a fine piece of work. It's the perfect album to usher in the autumn season - subdued and downtrodden, but still full of hope and beauty. The sound is very much country-influenced, but it's not by the books. They definitely take cues from folks like Will Oldham and Songs: Ohia, but Amandine doesn't seem nearly as inconsistent. All of their mAterial is quite strong, which is why I let the band themselves pick a track for posting today. "Blood & marrow," they say is, "just a simple and soulful song with kind of a rough edge to it. One of [our] personal favourites off the album. The best part of the song, and I think we all agree on this, is when the drums and the bass kick in in the beginning of the second verse. Gives me goosebumps every time, especially when we do it live." Listen for yourself and I think you'll agree.

CDs from The Psyke Project are now available in the mailorder: Atrap.com/store.php?id=72">[click here]
If you like heavy music, you better not miss out on this record. Already one of 2005's best releases. I've also added a number of mp3s to the store, should you want to try before you buy.

We're still stuck in the summertime lull, but I've managed to get a couple new reviews posted anyway: Atrap.com/index.php?article=96">[click here]

The NAtional Anthems are currently mixing their new album "Paradoxical" with engineer Rikard Löfgren At Tigra Studios. The record is due out in November.

The Spectacle and Requiem will tour Europe together for the next two months. DAtes here: https://www.the-spectacle.com/

NAtional Records will be releasing a best-of collection from the lAte-70s Swedish pop-punk band Problem in October. More info soon.

Upcoming tourdAtes for Denmark's Lack:

08/26 - Barracke, Münster (GER)
08/27 - AJZ Bahndamm, Heartcore Tage, Wermelskirchen (GER)
08/28 - Rote Flora, Hamburg (GER)
09/11 - Ungdomshuset, Copenhagen (DK) w/Barra Head, Molia Falls
10/07 - AZ Conni, Dresden (GER) w/Monochrome
10/08 - tba, Paris (FRA) w/Tias Carlson
10/09 - tba (UK)
10/10 - tba (UK)
10/11 - tba (UK)
10/12 - tba (UK)
10/13 - tba (UK)
10/14 - tba (UK)
10/15 - tba (UK)
10/16 - Le Brooklyn Cafe, Rouen (FRA)
10/17 - tbc, Caen (FRA) w/Amanda Woodward
10/18 - tba, Poitiers w/Chris Leo (FRA)
10/19 - Le Vauban w/22 Pistepirkko, Brest (FRA)
10/20 - Le Wheely Bar, Clermont Ferrand (FRA)
10/21 - Le Molodoï, Strassbourg (FRA)
10/22 - Ex-Haus, October Blast Fest, Trier (GER)

New internAtional tourdAtes for Norwegian singer/songwriter Magnet:

10/09 - Chinnery's, Southend (UK)
10/10 - Komedia, Brighton (UK)
10/11 - The Fleece, Bristol (UK)
10/13 - The Scala, London (UK)
10/14 - Soundhaus, Northampton (UK)
10/15 - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (UK)
10/16 - Cockpit, Leeds (UK)
10/18 - King Tuts Wah-Wah Hut, Glasgow (UK)
10/19 - Academy 3, Manchester (UK)
10/20 - Barfly, Liverpool (UK)
11/09 - Club QuAttro, Osaka (JAP)
11/10 - Club QuAttro, Tokyo (JAP)

Finnish punks Hero Dishonest on tour in the UK:

09/23 - King's Tavern, Reading w/Whole in the Head, Crash the Pose, Dirtline
09/24 - 1 in 12 Club, Bradford w/See You in Hell, Homo Consumens, Filthpact, more
09/25 - tbc (mAtinee in Manchester and evening show in Liverpool?)

These dudes put on a damn good show, so you should check 'em out if you get a chance.

Uncommon Folk heaps some well-deserved praise on Det Gamla Landet: https://www.uncommonfolk.net/2005/08/15/det-gamla-landet/
Seriously, if there's one band I've been championing this year thAt deserves to break, it's these guys. How long do I have to keep going on about how greAt they are?

Also At Uncommon Folk is a post on the excellent José González: https://www.uncommonfolk.net/2005/08/13/jose-gonzalez/

You can now listen to sound clips of the new Paragon album At the Hemmalaget website: https://www.hemmalaget.nu/

Jens Lekman will be playing the 'B yr own boss' Plan B Magazine-sponsored fest At Mono in Glasgow on August 28. See the flyer: https://www.planbmag.com/glasgow/

Finnish artists Jori Hulkkonen, Cleaning Women, HuorAtron and Ovali Virta will be touring China together as part of the 'Sounds Like Suomi' project put together by Myymälä2 and sponsored by the Finnish Ministry of EducAtion, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, LUSES (The FoundAtion for the Promotion of Finnish Music) and ESEK (The Finnish Performing Music Promotion Centre) along with a number of corporAte donors. DAtes so far:

09/09-11 - Europe Street Festival, Beijing
09/09 - Tango, Beijing
09/10 - Club Yu Gong Yi Shan, Beijing
09/15 - VIP Room, Shanghai
09/16 - Age of Red, Chengdu
09/17 - True Color Club, Shenzhen

More info: https://www.soundslikesuomi.com/

Alf
Kunde vart jag
Dolores

Alf sings in Swedish and makes charming pop songs. His last album "Augustibrev", from 2004, is a little gem thAt deserved more recognition (and sales). "Kunde vart jag" sounds a lot like the best songs from "Augustibrev", which is of course greAt, just greAt. Hopefully Alf will soon be propelled into the lush stardom thAt he so rightly deserves. You can have a look At the annoying video to the song here.
- Simon Tagestam