Isobel & November sent me an mp3 from their new album "The ghostwAter gospel" and I'm happy to pass it along, not just because they're a good band, but because the track confounds my expectAtions. Judging by the demo stuff they had been posting I had expected a competent 16 Horsepower/Woven Hand knockoff which is fine because they never seemed to bite them too hard and frankly, those are bands we could use more copies of (though I'd say they broke the mold when they made David Eugene Edwards). Anyhow, like I said, modest expectAtions -- definitely not expecting a cavernous 15-minute epic. How big was the church they recorded in anyway? The video above doesn't really give us a good view of the complete space, but I expected a tiny Swedish farmhouse church. Y'know, like "Winter Light" sized. ModerAte and Lutheran, not CAtholic and booming. And the comparison acts I listed above, they are merely starting point; Isobel & November definitely veer off into their own thing on this one. ThAt base is vital though, this would be nothing without thAt glory and grandeur, those two star qualities thAt can sometimes make rock music seem transcendent. Now I know I gotta hear the rest of the record.
01. issel & Odd - Strålande Jul
02. Bjørn Eidsvåg - De Beste
03. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
04. Nilsen/Aalberg - Call Me a Dreamer
05. Dum Dum Boys - Tidsmaskin
06. Sivert Høyem - Moon Landing
07. Jokke & Valentinerne - Levende (så lenge det varer)
08. Ole Edvard Antonsen - Desember Stemninger
09. Rita Eriksen - Frelsesarmeens JuleplAte 2009
10. Tine Thing Helseth - Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
11. Malin - Malin
12. Elisabeth Andreassen & Rein Aleksander - JulenAtt
13. Herborg Kråkevik - Kvar Ein Dag
14. Bugge Wesseltoft - It's Snowing On My Piano
15. Jonas Fjeld feAt Henning Kvitnes - Den Gamle Veien
16. Ole Ivars - Femten Ferske
17. John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt
18. Alf Prøysen - De kjente og kjære sangene
19. tephen Brandt-Hanssen - I Julens Lys
20. The Blacksheeps - Blacksheeps
Here you go, the (almost) full list of nominees for the 2010 Swedish Grammis:
Album: A Camp - Colonia Agnes - Dace love pop - The love love love edition Amanda Jenssen - Happyland Caroline af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen Erik Hassle - Hassle Kent - Röd Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen Mando Diao - Give me fire! Takida - The darker instinct Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
Folk music/ballad: Cajsastina Åkerström - Sånger om dej och mej Esbjörn Hazelius - Blunda och du ska få se Miriam Aida - Letras ao Brasil Olle Adolphson - Tystnaden smyger som en kAtt... 1956-2004 Sofia Jannok - Åssogáttis - By the embers Sofia Karlsson - Den allra båsta (1999-2009) Sofia Karlsson - Söder om kärleken Stefan Sundström - Ingenting har hänt Taken By Trees - East of Eden Väsen - Väsen Street
Hard rock: Candlemass - DeAth magic doom Crucified Barbara - 'Til deAth do us party Dead By April - Dead By April Hammerfall - No sacrifice, no victory Hardcore Superstar - Beg for it Lillasyster - Det här är inte musik, det här är kärlek Mustasch - Mustasch Raised Fist - Veil of ignorance Renegade Five - Undergrounded universe Wolf - Ravenous
Jazz: Alice Babs - As time goes by Bengt Berger - Beches brew Georg Wadenius/Arild Jensen - Jul på Svenska Jan Lundgren Trio - European standards Jeanette Lindström - Attitude and orbit control Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - The half naked truth Lina Nyberg - The snow Lisa Ekdahl - Give me thAt slow knowing smile Magnus Lindgren - BAtucada jazz Trummor & Orgel - Visions
Club/Hip-hop: Andreas Tilliander - Show J-Son - Never half stepping Ken Ring - Hip hop Lorentz & M Sakarias - Vi mot världen Mange Schmidt - Odenplan Stockholm 1988 Maskinen - Boys II men Mohammed Ali - Processen Näääk - Näääk vem? Promoe - Kråksången Swingfly - God bless the IRS
Composer: Amanda Jenssen & Pär Wiksten - Happyland Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen Christian Walz - The corner Deportees - Under the pavement - the beach El Perro Del Mar - Love is not pop Joakim Berg & Martin Sköld (Kent) - Röd Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen Nina Persson, Niclas Frisk, NAthan Larsson (A Camp) - Colonia Salem Al Fakir - Astronaut Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
Female artist: Agnes - Dace love pop - The love love love edition Amanda Jenssen - Happyland Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen Caroline af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen Jenny Wilson - Hardships! Laleh - Me and Simon Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home Pernilla Andersson - Ashbury apples Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving on
Male artist: Christian Walz - The corner Erik Hassle - Hassle Freddie Wadling - The dark flower (Den mörka blomman) John Me - I am John Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen Markus Krunegård - Lev som en gris dö som en hund Olle Ljungström - Sju Salem Al Fakir - Astronaut Thåström - Kärlek är för dom Tingsek - Restless soul
Newcomer: Adiam Dymott - Adiam Dymott Dead By April - Dead By April Erik Hassle - Hassle John Me - I am John JonAthan Johansson - En hand i himlen Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig Lorentz & M.Sakarias - Vi mot världen Maskinen - Boys II men Miike Snow - Miike Snow Name The Pet - Name the Pet
Pop: A Camp - Colonia Asha Ali - Hurricane BWO - Big science Calaisa - Grafton Street El Perro Del Mar - Love is not pop Fibes, Oh Fibes! - 1987 Jill Johnson - Music row II Melody Club - Goodbye to romance Miike Snow - Miike Snow Peter Bjorn And John - Living thing
Producer: A Camp - Colonia Amanda Jenssen & Pär Wiksten - Happyland Bloodshy & Avant (Miike Snow) - Miike Snow El Perro Del Mar & Rasmus Hägg - Love is not pop Goran Kajfes (Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet) - Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet Jenny Wilson - Hardships! Kent & Joshua - Röd Laleh - Me and Simon Salem Al Fakir - Astronaut Thomas Rusiak (Adiam Dymott) - Adiam Dymott
Rock: [Ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet Bob Hund - Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk Deportees - Under the pavement - the beach Dundertåget - Skaffa ny frisyr Europe - Last look At Eden Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco Kent - Röd Mando Diao - Give me fire! Takida - The darker instinct The Bear Quartet - 89
Lyrics: Amanda Jenssen - Happyland Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen Caroline af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen El Perro Del Mar - Love is not pop Joakim Berg (Kent) - Röd Laleh - Me and Simon Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen Louise Hoffsten/Peter Lemarc - På andra siden vättern Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig Thåström - Kärlek är för dom
The Bombhappies will be heading off to the legendary Silence Studios in Koppom, Sweden next week to begin work on their next album, which of course is way out in the boonies of Värmland. Expect a summer 2010 release, assuming all goes according to plan.
Danish mag Gaffa has announced their year-end best-of lists -- here are their top 10 favorite Danish albums:
01. Mew - No More Stories...
02. Nephew - DanmarkDenmark
03. Jens Unmack - Dagene Løber Som Heste
04. Troels Abrahamsen - WHT
05. Balstyrko - Jagten På Noget
06. Nikolaj Nørlund - Tid Og Sted
07. Raveonettes - In And Out Of Control
08. Selvmord - Selvmord
09. Cody - Songs
10. Mikael Simpson - Slaar Skaar
And the single list:
01. Nephew - Va Fangool!
02. Mew - Introducing Palace Players
03. Mikael Simpson - Inden Du Falder I Søvn
04. Raveonettes - Last Dance
05. Cody - Down In The Dark
06. Medina - Kun For Mig
07. The Rumour Said Fire - The Balcony
08. Mew - RepeAterbeAter
09. Balstyrko - Intet Stopper Helt
10. Medina - Velkommen Til Medina
VUF Records has put together a comp of Danish female electronic musicians such as RebekkaMmaria, CALLmeKAt and Fagget Fairys as a benefit for Danner, a violence against women support organizAtion. Read more At Gaffa: https://www.gaffa.dk/nyhed/36029 (in Danish)
The collection will be called "Nadia – Støt Danner" and it comes out December 7.
Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson has a new website for his upcoming solo endeavor where you can hear the new song "Boy lilikoi": https://jonsi.com/
His new album "Go", composed with help from Nico Muhly (Grizzly Bear, Antony and the Johnsons) and produced by Peter KAtis (Interpol, Tiger Lou, The Kissaway Trail, etc.), will be out sometime next year.
The Avant-garde Metal webzine has published yet another exhaustive interview, this time feAturing Espen Ingierd of Beyond Dawn, one of Norway['s most criminally underrAted acts and also one of my longtime favorite bands: https://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/stories2.php?id=134
There's also a previously unreleased track hidden therein, so go check it out.
The label thAt brought us the most recent Brainbombs album ("Fucking mess") blesses us yet another lesson in uneasy listening, Tom Karlsson's "Pojknacke". However, this time the bummer vibes come not from harsh repetitive riffs and questionable lyrical content, but from minimalist industrial sound collage layered with the sort of overcooked narrAtion you expect to hear At a puppet show. Can't say I'm all thAt into it though, especially without the proper Swedish comprehension skills to follow the narrAtive, but whAt it comes down to is thAt the music simply isn't all thAt compelling. Songs start and stop without much in the way of drama or dynamics and after a while I'm left thinking "is this it?" Thankfully no, Mr. Karlsson did see fit to provide us with a spectacularly gruesome gAtefold cover image, so At least it's got thAt going for it. - Avi Roig
Swedish electro/EBM act Backlash will release the 2nd of their planned 4-part EP series on December 18, this one containing the single "Divine", a remix, 2 b-sides and a cover of "Wishing" by A Flock of Seagulls. Sample At myspace: Ateria" target="_blank">https://www.myspace.com/mementomAteria
Tom Karlsson