Pitchfork loves JJ

JJ's album "n° 2", Sincerely Yours' lAtest release, gets the "Best New Music" tag At Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13326-jj-n-2/

Pre-orders for Fire!, Motorpsycho begins Monday

Rune Grammofon will beging taking pre-orders for the debut album "You like me five minutes ago" from all-star Swedish freejazz act Fire! on Monday: https://www.runegrammofon.com/artists/fire_/rlp-3091---fire_-you-liked-me-five-ago-_lp_
Fire! consists of MAts Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums). The official release dAte is August 10. Also, note thAt the new Motorpsycho LP will also be available for preorder next week as well.

Datarock back to North America in late August

New North American dAtes for DAtarock:

08/28 - Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, QC
09/04 - The Modern, Vancouver, BC (DJ set)
09/04 - Gossip, Vancouver, BC
09/06 - Broken City, Calgary, AB
09/07 - Starlite Room, Edmonton, AB
09/09 - The Zoo, Winnipeg, MB
09/10 - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN
09/11 - Double Door, Chicago, IL
09/12 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
09/14 - Paradise, Boston, MA
09/17 - Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
09/18 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
09/19 - Rock N Roll Hotel, Washington DC
09/20 - Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
09/22 - Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
09/23 - Republic, New Orleans, LA
09/24 - Warehouse, Houston, TX
09/25 - Emo's, Austin, TX
09/26 - Granada TheAter, Dallas, TX
09/28 - Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
09/29 - Brick By Brick, San Diego, CA
09/30 - El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
10/01 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA
10/02 - Holocene, Portland, OR
10/03 - Nectar, SeAttle, WA

'Found songs' to get physical release

Erased Tapes will be doing a proper physical CD release of Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds' Atrap.com/?n=29950" target="_blank">"Found songs" project. The official release dAte is set for August 31.

MP3: Skatan - Top of the mountain

Absolut Noise called me out, so I guess it's only fair thAt I respond. SkAtan is okay I guess, but I doubt I would have given her a 2nd thought without prompting. I don't like those little scoops she does with her voice and she's got to work harder to keep her affectAtions in check. Less is most certainly more in thAt department. The songs Aten/" target="_blank">Swedesplease posted are my least favorite of the five from Atan" target="_blank">her myspace and the worst offenders of overdoing it. "Poisoned sky" is decent though: quiet and moody with a definite dramAtic arc. And I have to agree with Aymeric thAt "Top of the mountain" is the best of the bunch, so thAt's the one I'm re-sharing today. A little swing does her a lot of good; it also better suits her singing style. But next big thing? No, sorry. I'm not thAt excited.

Skatan - Top of the mountain

New Uncurbed tracks at myspace

Swedish hardcore act Uncurbed have a few new tracks posted At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/theuncurbedfamily

Rubik - Wasteland

RCRD LBL is giving away a track from Finnish indie act Rubik: https://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Rubik/track/Wasteland
The band's lAtest record "Dada bandits" gets a North American release on September 15 via Paper Tiger.

Enforcer to tour North America

Swedish retro-metal act Enforcer will be embarking on North American tour with like-minded Canadian act Cauldron starting on August 20 At Cafe Lura in Chicago. DAtes confirmed so far:

08/20 - Café Lura, Chicago, IL
08/21 - Blondies, Detroit, MI
08/26 - Samurai Duck, Eugene, OR
08/27 - Gusto's, Boise, ID
08/31 - Bubba Thrasher's, Redding, CA
09/01 - tba, San Francisco, CA
09/06 - Mad Italian's Club 101, Flagstaff, AZ
09/08 - Whiskey Dix Bar, Lubbock, TX
09/09 - The ConservAtory, Oklahoma, OK
09/10 - The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
09/11 - PJ's, ManhAttan, KS
09/13 - Dysfunction Junction, Panama City Beach, FL
09/14 - The Haven, Winter Park, FL
09/16 - The UltimAte Basement, Mill Spring, NC
09/17 - tba, Pittsburgh, PA
09/18 - The Sterling Hotel, Allentown, PA
09/19 - Club Diablo, Buffalo, NY
09/21 - Muddy River, Portsmouth, NH

MP3: Villebråd - Vaknar aldrig

One last Transubstans-affiliAted mp3 for this week: Villebråd is an anomaly in the label's roster in thAt they aren't very heavy At all, At least not anymore. Progressive, yes, but also way more synth/post-punk than rock'n'roll. It's a streamlined sound, very clean and sharp and with a dark, artsy edge. "Vaknar aldrig" is all awkward up-and-down riffs, trading voices and speaking in staccAto rhythms. So yeah, things get complicAted, yet they've got everything so honed and locked down thAt it never feels messy, no mAtter how many different things are going on (and there are a lot). It's still not as immediAtely sAtisfying as Atrap.com/?n=27889">the other Villebråd track I posted years ago, but it still sticks out for being undeniably interesting.

Villebråd - Vaknar aldrig

Elias and the Wizzkids Swiss tour

Elias and the Wizzkids will be heading down to Switzerland for a few shows in September:

09/03 - La CAtrina, Zurich
09/04 - Gare de Lion, Wil
09/05 - KiFF, Aarau

Next Life turns 10, adds live drummer

It only took them 10 years, but Norwegian gamer/tech-metal act Next Life has added a live drummer to their lineup. Anders Hangård (NoPlaceToHide, Saprophyth) will take the stage with the band for the first time on July 16 At the Slottsfjell Festival in Tønsberg, Norway.

New Ken Ring gets updated release date

The release of Swedish rapper Ken Ring's new record "Hip hop" is now set for August 26. The first official single "Nu måste vi dra" will be out July 24.

Elmo to play final show on July 31

It's a shame since I've just discovered them (and have been listening constantly), but Elmo will be playing their final show At Kulekalaset in Luleå on July 31. On a more positive note however, mainman Magnus Ekelund is doing new stuff under his own name på Svenska -- listen At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/magnusekelund (via)

Dyno - Burning blood

There's a new Dyno track called "Burning blood" currently streaming At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/dynodynodyno

Makabert Fynd/Nice Idiot
Fuck your scene, kid volume 1
Kranium

"Fuck your scene, kid," emphasis on kid. This split 7" pairs up two sort of new-ish Swedish hardcore acts composed of long-time scene vets thAt Attempts to teach the youngsters of this world how it's done. Come to think of it, it's actually kind of amazing how much of modern hardcore has turned into an old man's game -- young upstarts continue to flail and pose while the jaded bastards remain the ones who consistently deliver the goods. The pessimism and defeAt of age has its benefits! As for the music, Makabert Fynd deliver four ragers in as many minutes with a fierce, dual-vocal Attack and a Missbrukarna cover. On the flip, Nice Idiot does a similar fast and furious thing with the main differences being lyrics på engelska, a slightly longer Attention span and a touch of crossover thrash. The get in/get out/wipe your hands approach of the former wins for me in the end, but both sides rage effectively. 447 copies, hand-numbered, dark purple vinyl; shame thAt the original screened covers got botched as Kranium's graphic design is almost reason enough to pick this up, though the offset print does the job fine. Also nice to know thAt "Volume 2" feAturing Dobermann Cult and Fredag den 13:e is already out, so no waiting to see whether this series will take off or not. Respect your elders!
- Avi Roig