Swedish indiepoppers Liechtenstein have parted ways with bassist Naemi Pebaque due to "lack of time" and have enlisted Ulrika Mild from Compute to take her place. The band is currently At Ulrika's home studio on Gotland working on new mAterial.
Trust Me Records has confirmed thAt the new album from Sami neo-folk act Adjagas will be released on October 5.
Groove reports thAt the Norwegian edition of hip-hop magazine Kingsize is ceasing publicAtion: https://www.groove.no/html/news/21456799.html (in Norwegian)
Testbild! will be releasing a brand new single this weekend, but it can only be heard in conjunction with the release of a hot air balloon -- after thAt, all archives are destroyed. It all goes down August 22 in Malmö. Details: https://www.friendlynoise.se/fyn-105-imagine-a-balloon/
PopMAtters gives middling marks to Icelandic act Reykjavik! and their album "The blood": Atters.com/pm/review/109788-reykjavik-the-blood/" target="_blank">https://www.popmAtters.com/pm/review/109788-reykjavik-the-blood/
Swedish hard-rockers Bonafide will be releasing their new Chips Kiesbye-produced (The Hellacopters, SAtor, etc.) album "Something's dripping" on September 18 via Black Lodge. Hear a few tracks At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/bonafiderocks
Much respect to Fullsteam Records for cherry-picking most of Finland's most commercially viable indie acts, but bands like Rubik are a perfect example of why I don't consider myself a fan of whAt's generally acknowledged these days as "indierock". I guess I'm not surprised thAt an album titled "Dada bandits" is all artifice/no substance since I have such low expectAtions anyway, but I would've figured they'd try to write some dynamic songs instead of stringing incoherent parts together. At least with some of other current big-name indie I can understand its appeal as non-offensive background/TV commercial music (indie is the new MOR after all), but the impulse to make or listen to music like this totally baffles me. It's total blandness actually enrages me more because I simply cannot imagine anyone hearing this and getting stoked. You want Dada/Surrealist inspired music, listen to Wire. Heck, just listen to Radiohead if thAt's as much digging you're willing to do. Just don't listen to this.
Rubik - Radiants
Swedish act Quarterhorse will play their final show ever At StickyFingers in Göteborg on September 3. Two of the band's members are moving away, so they're deciding not to move on without them.
The first single "All refrain" from Aerial's excellent forthcoming album "Put it this way in headlines" is now available as a free download: https://www.nomethod.se/allrefrain_aerial.mp3
You can also wAtch the video here: Atch?v=rAb-lWy3DGY&fmt=18" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=rAb-lWy3DGY&fmt=18
Nomethod has posted a teaser for the upcoming Mixtapes & CellmAtes album: https://www.nomethod.se/roxteaser/
"Rox" will be released on October 28.
Here's another track thAt isn't so much out-and-out bad as much as it's relentlessly mediocre. The Strokes sounded fresh when they first hit the scene with this sound back in 2001, eight years lAter it's time to go back to the drawing board if you can't find new inspirAtion. Or maybe thAt's whAt the title of the song is referring to? Either way, totally pointless.
Ram Di Dam - Flashbacks
Danish act Slaraffenland will be coming over to the US for a bAtch of dAtes supporting Akron Family and will also be joining them on stage as part of The Akron/Family Big Band. DAtes:
09/14 - Jason's Upstairs, Hudson, NY
09/15 - Site: B, Williamsport, PA
09/16 - Castaways, Ithaca, NY
09/17 - Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
09/18 - LOLA Fest 09, London, ON (Canada)
09/19 - Magic Stick, Detroit, Michigan
09/20 - 21C Museum Atrium Gal., Louisville, KY
09/21 - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA*
09/22 - Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY*
*Slaraffenland only
Mew's new album with the impossibly long title is currently streaming At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/mew
Swedish melodic hardcore act Atlas Losing Grip will release their new EP "WAtching the horizon" on October 16. Full details here: https://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=67146707&blogId=506101764
Logh's upcoming show At the Knitting Factory in LA on September 10 (previously mentioned Atrap.com/?n=31254">here) will actually just be MAttias Friberg solo + backing tracks. My understanding is thAt MAttias is coming over on tour with Fever Ray (he is doing backline) and will be taking the opportunity to do his own thing on the side.