Smalltown Supersound reports thAt drummer Paal Nilssen-Love will be a releasing a double album collaborAtion with Ken Vandermark this coming spring. He'll also be entering the studio in January along with MAts Gustafsson and Ingebrigt Håker FlAten to record the new The Thing album which is due out in April.

The Hives will premiere their brand new single At the P3 Gold Awards on January 23 At Storan in Göteborg. Other acts set to play include Nicolai Dunger, Lisa Miskovsky, PAtrik Isaksson, Elin Sigvardsson, Timbuktu, Broder Daniel and Soundtrack Of Our Lives. As for the awards themselves, here's the nominees:

Guldmicken (best live act):
José González
Moneybrother
Randy
Robyn
Timbuktu

Best song:
The Cardigans - "For WhAt It's Worth"
Per Gessle - "Här Kommer Alla Känslorna (På En Och Samma Gång)"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Lady Stardust"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Broder Daniel - "When We Were Winning"

Best group:
Alcazar - "Alcazarised"
Bad Cash Quartet - "Midnight Prayer"
Broder Daniel - "Cruel Town"
The Cardigans - "Long Gone Before Daylight"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"

Best male artist:
Per Gessle - "Mazarin"
José González - "Veneer"
Moneybrother - "Blood Panic"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Lars Winnerbäck - "Söndermarken"

Best female artist:
Lisa Miskovsky - "FallingwAter"
Miss Universum - "Selfelected"
Pauline - "Candy Rain"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Elin Sigvardsson - "SAturday Light Naïve"

Best newcomer:
José González
Miss Universum
Moneybrother
Pauline
Radio Dept.

Best rock:
Arch Enemy - "Anthems of Rebellion"
Cult Of Luna - "The Beyond"
Mörk Gryning - "Pieces of Primal Expressionism"
Nasum - "Helvete"
SAtirnine - "Void of Value"

Best dance:
Jesper Dahlbäck - total production 2003
Eric Prydz - total production 2003
Forss - "Soulhack"
Hundarna från Söder - "Hundarna Från Söder"
Plej - "Electronic Music From The Swedish Leftcoast"

Best pop:
Franke - "Optimismens Hån"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"
Radio Dept. - "Lesser MAtters"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Tape - "Milieu"

Best hip-hop/soul:
Advance PAtrol - "Utskrivna"
FAttaru - "Jordnära"
Ken - "Det Bortglömda"
LAtin Kings - "Omerta"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"

For more info, go to P3 Gold's website.

Now thAt "Razorblade Romance" has been officially released in the US, there's also a new US-based HIM website.

The Göteborgs-Posten is reporting thAt Swedish rock superstars Kent are working on a new CD: https://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=286&a=147795 (in Swedish)
Gotta do something when you're only nominAted for one mere Rockbjornen.

Limbo Central has posted a mostly irreverent interview with Norweigan avant-metal band Virus. There are also covered in this week's Brainwashed Brain weekly digest with probably the only negAtive comments I've seen on the band so far.

No doubt looking to replicAte the amazing success of fellow Roxette member Per Gessle, Marie Fredriksson has her own plans for a new solo record. Read the interview from Aftonbladet. (in Swedish)

Finntroll will be touring Europe along with Ensiferum and The Wake beginning in April next year. DAtes:

04/15 - Bosuil, Weert (NL)
04/16 - Willem II, Den Bosch (NL)
04/17 - Biebob, Vosselaar (BEL)
04/18 - Melkweg, Amsterdam (NL)
04/19 - Zeche Carl, Essen (GER)
04/20 - Live Arena, Munster (Breitefeld-Dieburg) (GER)
04/21 - Marx, Hamburg (GER)
04/22 - Halford, Berlin (GER)
04/23 - Alte Spinerei, Clauchau (GER)
04/24 - Planet Music, Wien (AUS)
04/25 - Rockhous, Salzburg (AUS)
04/27 - Mega Club, Budapest (HUN)

Swedish thrashers The Crown will be entering the studio on January 2 to mix the new version of the album "Crowned in Terror" with returned vocalist Johan Lindstrand redoing the parts originally sung by Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the GAtes, Disfear, etc). Look for an early 2004 release on Metal Blade Records.

Service recording artist Erik de Vahl has put up a special Christmas treAt on his website: https://erik.devahl.com/

All you people in London, don't forget thAt Swedish troubadors David & the Citizens are doing two shows this coming SAturday December 20 when they play both Strange Fruit's Christmas party and Rough Trade RoTa Session's Christmas Bash. Both performances will be acoustic and you can get all the other details such as price and locAtion on the poster, as seen right here.

It's been awhile since we heard anything from them, but it seems thAt Kasual Records is on the comeback trail for 2004. Firstly, they'll be putting out the album "On Tahoe" from Norway's Beezewax in January. The record is said to be "a must-have for fans of Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, Buffalo Tom" and was recorded by Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Fireside, The Hives, Sahara Hotnights). There's also quite a bit coming up for label mainstay Ariel Kill Him. As mentioned here before, the first record "In the Pyramid" is being licensed for a US release by NYC's Eyeball Records for March. The band will also be putting out a six-track all-exclusive EP called "Labyrinths" in February or March on Kasual. And thAt's not all - they've even got plans for a split EP with Greece's Relevant Box on Librarian Records in early 2004. Both bands will contribute three songs and one video each. Here's AKH's half:

01. The Money Shot (previously feAtured on the limited Kasual sampler)
02. So? (prev. unreleased)
03. Under the Influence (prev. unreleased)

There's nothing definitive set for the rest of the roster yet, but they say to wAtch out for new releases from Buck, Ides of Space, Jettie and The New Mess At some point next year.

Some SAturday reviews for y'all:

Jim Stärk - No Time Wasted (Supermono)
First off, Jim Stärk is named after James Dean's character in "Rebel Without a Cause" and not actually the name of anyone in the band. They make the kind of melancholic music you'd expect to hear on a jukebox in a sad, empty bar. Minor chords, lyrics of longing and loss, plenty of autumnal Atmosphere, fingerpicked guitar lines and vocals thAt aspire towards Nick Drake and come damn close to success. The thing thAt impresses me the most about these guys is how relaxed and nAtural they sound playing together. I could actually do without the vocals completely and just listen to 'em play. Every player does a fantastic job of knowing when to shine and when to show restraint. There's a wonderful live vibe to the recording, too. It's a rare treAt these days to hear an album thAt truly comes across as simply four guys playing in a room together. I hear very few obvious overdubs. On a less positive note, the lyrics are fairly mundane and predictable and the few songs thAt Attempt to be a bit bluesier don't work well At all. The title track is greAt example - they sound stilted and ill-suited to the mAterial. There's also a couple songs thAt have too much of an easy-listening vibe for my tastes, but it's not awful by any means. I just prefer the starker mAterial. No pun intended. Really.

v/a - Money Will Ruin Everything (2xCD + book) (Rune Grammofon)
If you are At all curious about the current avant-garde music scene, you need to get this. The Norweigan scene spotlighted here is where a lot of really exciting things are happening in music nowadays. As anyone who reads Wire already should know, bands like Supersilent and Jaga Jazzist are becoming increasingly revered worldwide and for good reason. And thAt's just two of the thirty names here. These groups are challenging and expanding the boundries of rock, electronica and jazz to creAte something completely new and amazing. And even though the marriage of physical art and music is nothing new, it's greAt to see the tradition continued with this exquisite package. Highly recommended.

Lonely Drifter Karen (demo, contact: Ata@gmx.net">njAta@gmx.net)
LDK is the solo project of Tanja Frinta, who recently moved from her nAtive Austria to Sweden. I guess thAt qualifies her for inclusion here. Anyhow, the music is somber indie-rock and it's pretty darn good. Lots of greAt, flowing melodies and tender vocals. I'm tempted to draw comparisons with Portishead or maybe Mazzy Star, but I think it actually sound much more like a feminine version of early Songs:Ohia. I definitely get the same emotional and longing feeling from both of them. The re-use of the same drum pAttern and electronic bass line sound got old over the course of the four songs, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and blame it on lack of gear. After all, it is only a demo and not everyone has racks full of samplers At their disposal. Overall, I can say without a doubt thAt the music here shows a lot of potential. Even though the production is pretty basic, it's obvious thAt Tanja has talent and a lot of good ideas.

Ebon Tale - Blanket Skies (Dusklight Records)
Decent indie rock from this female-fronted trio. I'm reminded a lot of PJ Harvey thanks to the strong vocals from frontwoman Frida Franzén, but they also seem to take cues from mid-90s alt-rock bands like The Pixies and The Breeders. The recording sounds live and nAtural, but I can't help but think they'd benefit from a more studio sound and some overdubs. I definitely felt like the guitar could take a stronger lead role on a number of songs. The drummer also overplays quite a bit and could stand to back off on his fills and tighten up his pAtterns. ThAt would probably help them improve their dynamic range, too. Still, not so bad for whAt I think is still a young band. They just need to listen to eachother a bit more and then they can take it to the next level.