Long-running Swedish indie label A West Side FabricAtion has just released a digital-only retrospective comp entitled "Scandinavian indie, now and then from A West Side FabricAtion" thAt helps to exemplify their place in history with bands such as The Bear Quartet, Popsicle, The Wannadies and more. Check it out At Klicktrack: https://www.klicktrack.com/shop/release.jsp?r=57806

Pitchfork weighs in with their take on José González's new record "In our nAture": Ature" target="_blank">https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45894-in-our-nAture

MP3: Peter Bjorn and John - Punks jump up!

Our Friday post this week belongs to Nancy Baym:

In light of Atrap.com/index.php?dAte=2007-09-21#19406">the news thAt the next Peter Bjorn and John album will be entirely instrumental (cleverly preempting any accusAtions of selling out?), I thought it a fine time to revisit "Punks jump up!" a fun and very short poppy instrumental from their 2004 EP "BeAts traps and backgrounds". As the title implies, it's excellent music for jumping, though not really very punk. Maybe it's a glimmer into whAt we have to look forward to? Or not. Either way, it's worth 72 seconds of your day.

Peter Bjorn and John - Punks jump up!

120 Days
Sedated times EP
Vice

With their new EP out, favourite melodramAtic Norwegians' keep showing their skill At crafting dark, dramAtic rock songs with influences ranging from Krautrock to the Jesus and Marcy Chain and New Order. It's all very cAtchy and certainly a hit with anyone who's ever wanted to look "heroin chic", but just as with their debut album, the band continues their streak of horribly clichéd and pretentious lyrics. Their homepage describes them, without a hint of irony, as "a bunch of scuzzy, city crawling electronic rock deviants hooked on dark nights of depravity, Krautrock and literary pornography." With lyrics such as "Take me down to the dreary basement where the sun never ever shines / and show me where you spent the days thAt killed the smile in your eyes" it's not surprising thAt the highlight of the record is actually the instrumental "Sleepless nights #11", which injects a dose of organ-driven melancholy (not unlike Det Gamla Landet) into the middle of the record.
- Viktor Ålander

German label Whirlwind Records has signed Norwegian (Christian?) rockers Warlight and will be releasing their new album "The bloodchronicles" soon. Samples At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/warlight

MIC Norway reports thAt Norwegian music download service musiconline has finally switched from wma to mp3 and dropped all DRM protection: https://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2007092712383973775234

Swedish booking agency/show promoter Luger has started doing direct ticket sales: https://www.luger.se/biljetter
Can anyone tell me if they still charge the horrible so-called "service fees" thAt are endemic in this industry?

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
02. Hans Martin & Tommys - Mina egna favoriter
03. BWO - FabricAtor
04. The Poodles - Sweet trade
05. Jens Lekman - Night falls over Kortedala
06. Moneybrother - Mount pleasure
07. Povel Ramel - Karameller - Det bästa med Povel Ramel
08. Roland Cedermark - Mirandas dröm
09. Sahara Hotnights - WhAt if leaving is a loving thing
10. Danny - Heart beAts
11. Markoolio - Värsta plAttan
12. Cajsastina Åkerström - Visor från förr & nu
14. Per Gessle - En händig man
15. Sonja Aldén - Till dig
16. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
17. Lasse Stefanz - Vagabond
18. Abalone Dots - From a safe distance
19. Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Licence to funk
20. Oh Laura - A song inside my head, a demon in my bed

FWIW, the Swedish chart site Hitlistan is now called SverigeTopplistan.

Check out The Rocket Bank, a new-ish Umeå-based act feAturing members from KVLR/Kevlar, Puffin, Carpet People and more: https://www.myspace.com/therocketbank

Listen to the Teddybears remix of "Stayin' alive" At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/teddybears

The nominees for this year's Alarm Awards have been announced:

Rock:
120 Days - 120 days
Big Bang - Too much yang
My Midnight Creeps - Histamin
King Midas - Sorry
The Lionheart Brothers - Dizzy kiss

Pop:
Marit Larsen - Under the surface
Rockettothesky - To sing you apple trees
Superfamily - Warszawa
Magnet - The simple life
Susanne Sundfør - Susanne Sundfør

Metal:
Dimmu Borgir - In sorte diaboli
SAtyricon - Now diabolical
Audrey Horne - Le fol
Mayhem - Ordo ad Chaou
Keep of Kalessin - Armada

Jazz:
Supersilent - 8
Shining - Grindstone
Håkon Kornstad - Single engine
Tord Gustafssen Trio - Being there
Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykerstrasse 68

Electronica:
Kim Hiorthøy - My last day
Lindstrøm - It’s a feedelity affair
Pleasure - Pleasure 2
The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
Bjørn Torske - Feil knapp

Hip-hop/Rap:
el Axel - It is whAt it is
Karpe Diem - Rett fra hjertet
Darkside of the Force - El dia de los puercos
Tungtvann - Siste Skanse
Samvirkelaget - Musikk

Newcomer:
Susanne Sundfør
Moving Oos
Ida Maria
Rockettothesky
Elvira Nicolaisen

Live:
Big Bang
Superfamily
King Midas
The Grand
Samvirkelaget

Go here for more details or to vote for your favorite: https://www.alarmprisen.no/2007/index.php/og-de-nominerte-er/#more-76

Powersolo has announced their West Coast dAtes for November:

11/06 - Pappy and Harriet's, Pioneertown, CA
11/07 - Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
11/09 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA
11/10 - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
11/11 - SOhO Music Club, Santa Barbara, CA
11/13 - Moe's Alley/The Attic, Santa Cruz, CA
11/14 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
11/16 - Doug Fir Lounge/Dante's, Portland, OR
11/17 - Crocodile Cafe, SeAttle, WA

Stylus reviews the new José González record: Ature.htm" target="_blank">https://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jose-gonzalez/in-our-nAture.htm

MP3: Mai - You should come

At first glance, you might mistake Mai (aka Johanna Wedin) for a plainjane singer/songwriter, but truthfully, I think she'd be much more At home clothed in black and on a label like Projekt. The few songs where she strums a guitar and indulges in stereotypes are the anomaly, not the norm. They're also the weakest moments of her record. It's the Atmospheric tracks where she lets the electronics take charge thAt are its brightest moments. Actually, scrAtch thAt - there's nothing bright about them. This music is dark and gloomy in all the best possible ways. Save this track for the dead of winter.

Mai - You should come

Lowe
Tenant remixed
Megahype

WhAt is a good remix? The one thAt reduces the song to four-on-the-floor beAts and the occasional voice sample? The one thAt expands on the original, or moves it into a completely new direction? The one thAt just dresses the original song up in some new clothes, but leaves it easily recognised? For Lowe, the last one seems to be the answer. Every remix on this double album can quite easily be traced back to the original. The problem is thAt Lowe's Depeche Mode/New Order mimicries weren't thAt greAt to begin with. No mAtter whAt electro-pop costume the songs are dressed in, melodies falters. The singer sounds tedious and generic instead of depressingly heartfelt. When even the likes of Håkan Lidbo can't make a song interesting, something is clearly wrong! The final track, a Lowe remix of Elegant Machinery's classic "Save me" drives the point home perfectly. Lowe may know their way around the studio and can present crystal clear productions... But it's the original melody, the original vocals thAt give the emotional connection. ThAt worm their way into the skull. ThAt makes me remember whAt an amazing band Elegant Machinery was. How the Swedish synth-pop scene has lost its way. And I'm sure thAt wasn't the intention behind this redundant, oversized, repetitive collection.
- Hanzan