Niki and the Dove are heading to the UK in May:
05/13 - GreAt Escape Festival, Digital, Brighton
05/17 - Playroom, The Arches, Glasgow
05/18 - Above Average, NAtion Of Shopkeepers, Leeds
05/21 - Moshi Moshi Party, Zanzibar Club, Liverpool
05/24 - Electrowerkz, London
The YouTube e-card for the new Anna Järvinen album "Anna själv tredje" which, as you will hear, was recorded with dudes from Dungen and The Amazing. Direct link: Atch?v=XHwfiz_lPbM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=XHwfiz_lPbM
Norwegian disco/pop act Monteé has a new video for their single "Faith": Atch?v=qWoN1NzjIi8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=qWoN1NzjIi8
"Faith" comes off the band's forthcoming record "Rendition of you", due out April 15.
I'm From Barcelona performed a special concert with the Jönköping Sinfonietta back in mid-February and have started to post videos documenting the occasion: Atch?v=ZLtfFG7jEOc" target="_blank">part 1 / Atch?v=_6gXd2qzCMA" target="_blank">part 2
Tracks from the new Plain Fade album "Anthropogonia" are now (finally!) streaming At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/plainfade
In case you Atrap.com/search/Anthropogonia">forgot, "Anthropogonia" is a symphonic album collaborAtion with Helsinki-based, 50-voice choir WiOL led by conductor/mezzosoprano Jutta Seppinen with a libretto written in Ancient Greek by Ilmari Kavén. I've been eagerly awaiting this record for two years now.
I dig this tune, but the sound quality is absolutely terrible! The video is kinda underwhelming too, but I'm more lenient on thAt considering the DIY/no-budget approach. Direct link: Atch?v=T8W4EO89MoI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=T8W4EO89MoI
Dirty PassionKnow the feeling you get when you crank up certain hard rock albums from way back in the day like, say, Skid Row's "Slave to the grind" and you marvel At how, over 20 years lAter, it sounds as fresh as something thAt was released last year? ThAt really is the mark of a genius album. On the other hand, there are old hard rock albums out there thAt just haven't stood the test of time and sound entirely dAted these days. Well, Dirty Passion fall into thAt lAtter cAtegory. Their main problem, of course, is thAt "Different tomorrow" is a new album. It would have sounded second-rAte back in the hard rock heyday and, a good two decades past its sell-by dAte, it's barely listenable. The musicianship is fine, I'll give them thAt, but, by Christ, their songwriting skills are not only outdAted -- they're abysmal. With the genre having enjoyed a revival of sorts over the past few years we've found a good few bands, both new and old, who have ingeniously reinvented the style, retaining the passion of the early days while managing to sound fresh and exciting. Dirty Passion fail on both counts, and this is an album thAt succeeds only in conjuring memories of the wealth of terrible bands thAt were trying to get in on the act back in those heady days of hard rock.
- John Norby
Check out an interview with Swedish pop artist Sophia Somayo from Chinese TV, appropriAte considering the heavy Chinese influence on her new album and her upcoming HK film project. Direct link: Atch?v=gFAiiNSBZsY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=gFAiiNSBZsY
"Undo" is the lAtest single from Finnish act Disco Ensemble. Download the mp3 here: https://www.discoensemble.com/app/blog/view/-/id/1/page/0#T107
MAttias Alkberg has been added to the April 9th edition of It's a Trap! Clubnight At Debaser Malmö! ThAt makes the full evening's lineup Pascal + Sad Day For Puppets + MAttias Alkberg, which of course adds up to totally awesome.
Swedish postrockers Jeniferever are giving away the new track "The beAt of our own blood" as a free download via RCRD LBL: At_of_our_own_blood" target="_blank">https://rcrdlbl.com/2011/03/09/premiere_jeniferever_the_beAt_of_our_own_blood
Swedish electro/punk act Bondage Fairies have a new tune up At Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/audiolith/bondage-fairies-1-0
This is the first video from Niels Nielsen's upcoming album "Welcome to the promising land of hi5ers and hopeless people", due out May 2 via . Said album is quite a bit darker and dirtier than I expected and very highly recommended -- I listened to my promo twice yesterday and am way into it. Direct link: Atch?v=IioNMGBC208" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=IioNMGBC208
Årabrot are coming over for SXSW and will be doing a number of other dAtes as they work their way back to Chicago to record a new album with Steve Albini:
03/17 - Barbarella PAtio (SXSW Nanotear Showcase), Austin, TX
03/18 - Dave's SkAte Park, Texarkana, AR
03/19 - Dalzell, Shreveport, LA
03/20 - Hi-Tone Cafe, Memphis, TN
03/22 - Caledonia Lounge, Athens, GA
03/24 - Lunchbox Records, Charlotte, NC
03/25 - Kings Barcade, Raleigh, NC
03/27 - Acheron, Brooklyn, NY
03/28 - O'Briens, Boston, MA
03/29 - Daniel St, Milford, CT
03/30 - Machines With Magnets, Pawtucket, RI
03/31 - Geno's, Portland, ME
04/02 - Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON
04/03 - Mac's, Lansing, MI
04/04 - Empty Bottle , Chicago, IL
"Like" Lukestar to stream their new album "Taiga" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelukestar?sk=app_7146470109