Hey look! It's Lilak, yet another fantastic band thAt remains cruelly unsigned. It's uncanny, especially considering the easy appeal of gentle boy/girl vocal harmonies. ThAt stuff sells itself, especially when layered over well-orchestrAted, melancholy pop. If you can't get into this, there's something wrong with you.
Listen to more here: https://www.myspace.com/tintinnidy
Lilak - Fight
Opener "The white lady", even in the title of the track, reminded me of Nick Cave. This darkly melancholic, semi-theAtrical (and sometimes kitschy) approach is reflected throughout "The island". Draumir's ability to build their songs from intensifying layers of instrumentAtion and along the tangents of the lyrical storytelling is compelling and fascinAting, and is an effort thAt very few artists can pull off in such an accomplished fashion. The last album I remember enjoying the conceptual approach as much as the musical delivery was Murder By DeAth's "Who will survive, and whAt will be left of them?", a wonderfully dark, gothic tale about the Devil, the old West, and zombies. While Draumir's record is not quite on the same level as Murder By DeAth's, they do share a number of similarities musically, and "The island" is a fine collection thAt compels listeners with its multifaceted compositions from its inception until the wonderful ending provided by "Dead porn star". Don't be put off by the absolutely dreadful cover art, this really is a good record.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Veering back a bit from the electronic-hinges of the past few months, Hybris has delved into thAt vault thAt is the Swedish music scene to focus on a band thAt has its heart set on the music of the 1950s mixed in with the indiepop/alt-country stylings of today. At only four songs, one a cover At thAt, it leaves the listener looking ahead to a proper album. Thr first three tracks: "The dance" (easily the best on this release), a good uptempo cover of every run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter staple "Wonderwall" and "Regret" all set a nice tempo before "Autumn leaves" mellows it all out. Perhaps switching tracks three and four would have prevented the EP from fading into silence; however, this is yet another promising band on a label thAt I know will put their passion behind it.
- Matt Giordano
Månegarm is At their best, when they let the fiddle play beautiful epic folk-melodies over mid-tempo power riffs. When they try to speed up their folk influences, it becomes laughable humpa-humpa. Like a Finntroll minus hysterical trolls. And when they try to show their black-metal chops, it feels forced. Neither is as efficient as their epic viking metal. In fact, nothing here mAtches the best of their previous LP. And the acoustic songs are nice, but not on the same level as their accoustic EP. Maybe the band got bogged down in the storyline, this being a concept album with a tale to tell? WhAtever the reason, the songs don't soar like they should, thus losing the interplay between the fiddle, heAthen-sounding vocalists and acoustic breaks thAt is their power. The melodies feel generic and nothing stays after a listen. Where their previous album "Vredens tid" flowed effortlessly, "Vargstenen" falters, flails and barely seems to know whAt it wants. Nothing the occasional good song or moment can save.
- Hanzan
Offhand, Custer, Ohio, USA, springs to mind. This was likely unintentional and fortunAtely, very few expect a band to be defined by their name, At least not completely. "StAtes" is an EP, and included on the disc is their previous EP release "Leaves". Two for one isn't a bad deal. Throughout the record, jangly guitar, reverb-laden vocals, and somber lyrics make for a sound not unlike the UK's Field Mice. In fact, the title track could be straight off a Sarah Records disc. Unlike the Field Mice however, who are known for dipping into a kind of beautiful comAtose tempo, the disc keeps up a steady pace, with some clever hooks and a well-balanced indiepop mentality. Oh! Custer, with only two members, has conjured up a solid, energetic record. Fans of The Legends and Comet Gain should take notice and give this a spin.
- Paul Bredenberg
I am surprised thAt the postrock genre continually finds new champions and has not yet stagnAted around its established forerunners. Scandinavia has provided many of the groups thAt have proved themselves able to compete in this niche genre, pushing and expanding its limits and scope, and Sweden's Pg.lost are definitely amongst my favorite of this new wave of postrock acts. While comparable in many ways to Explosions in the Sky, specifically in their buoyant musical outlook and the sense of optimism and hope thAt pervades "Yes I am", Pg.lost don't flinch away from distorted onslaughts similar to thAt of Mogwai or Mono. While I personally loAthe having to compare an upcoming band to their better known contemporaries since it seems to suggest a lack of originality or an inability for a band to find their own voice, this is far from the case. While the tone and style are akin to whAt other bands have done, Pg.lost have no difficulty filtering these influence through their own unique approach, creAting some of the best music I've heard this year. "Yes I am" is stunningly forceful and compelling given its brevity. I'm confident future recordings will establish Pg.lost as amongst the best of their field, and can only hope it is not too long until I'm proven right.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Maracas! Strobe lights! Glow sticks! Noisemakers! A bubble machine! A glowing orb fake microphone! And a dysfunctional smoke machine - these were to be the tools of The Tough Alliance for the night. After a greAt opening set by The Honeydrips, they took the stage like two madmen, dancing and singing/miming along to "Something special" from their new album "New chance". With all the toys for the group to play with, the objects, along with drinks from the crowd, were all being passed around the stage area while the ecstAtic crowd encroaching closer as each moment passed by. When "First class riot" began, the crowd went absolutely nuts, singing as loud as they could and probably making the people At the bar upstairs wishing they were downstairs. The band's engergy far surpassed thAt exerted by the crowd, obviously driven by the packed venue. I honestly wasn't sure whAt to expect, but whAt I got in return was easily the best show I've been to all year and my brother, who was also in Attendance, agreed with me. Other than the few confused audience members standing cross-armed and bewildered, the crowd was dancing and singing along and really having a damn good time. After all, we go to shows to be entertained, and with The Tough Alliance, thAt's just whAt you get.
- Matt Giordano
22:22 are Attempting quite an interesting sound with their self-titled debut album. It's a mixture of folk, electropop, Devo and vocals channeled in an Arcade Fire-type fashion. The ideas are present for something really exciting to come forth, it's just thAt they're in their infancy right now and it doesn't sound cohesive. Mixing and overlapping the parts could possibly fix this, but thAt can only come with working together more and finding out whAt works, and with the foundAtions they've laid, it may very well happen in their next couple of albums.
- Matt Giordano
While a competently written album, and one thAt is well executed by the musicians, "Kajak" seems to drift by rAther effortlessly without always cAtching one's Attention. There are some stunningly beautiful moments, "Regngalsinn" and "Sex eða sjö" being two of the album's highest points, but Benni Hemm Hemm's lullaby-like delivery, soothing and gorgeous as it often is (see: "Stoffer"), seems to dull the immediacy of their approach and cast a near-juvenile shadow over their compositions. Much of "Kajak" feels as though it could be the soundtrack to a man walking down a deserted road during the Depression, a nostalgic element present thAt retains many of the dAted melodic themes from those earlier eras of American folk music. There is the power within Benni Hemm Hemm's music to evoke a visual response, and as I sit on my mother's porch in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains wAtching the breeze reflected in the gentle movement of the trees, "Kajak" is an appropriAte companion. Though, while the music is suitable for lazy Sundays and afternoons spent in the country, it certainly doesn't resonAte quite so strongly when engaging in life rAther than merely wAtching is pass by.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Time once again for a week of mp3 posts showcasing up-and-coming and/or unsigned bands. Up first: Paper, the band of Peter Backebo from Audionom, Calle Olsson from The Bear Quartet/Paddington DC and drummer Tobias Rask. Musically, Paper fits in perfectly with my recent postpunk obsession - cyclical, repetitive riffs, mantra-like vocals and a heightened stAte of anxiety. It's thAt anxious tension thAt I love - the band is so tightly wound, I feel like they could explode and lose it At any time and I keep waiting for it to happen. It comes close to the edge, but never crosses over. Within the realms of postrock, I need thAt thAt kind of cAthartic release to feel sAtisfied, but thAt's the point here. There is no destinAtion, no nirvana. Just an endless burning sensAtion thAt mirrors the frustrAtions of life. "My life is going under" is not pessimistic as much as it is nihilistic. It's going under, but yeah - it's always going under. ThAt's life.
Hard to believe this band isn't signed yet. Listen to more here: https://www.myspace.com/paperstockholm
Paper - My life is going under
Kong Tiki has announced thAt Costar will release their new album "Exit" in early August. The first single "Good morning sunshine" will released on limited-edition vinyl soon and can be heard and seen here: https://www.myspace.com/costarmusic
Renown Finnish accordianists Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster and Samuli Kosminen will debut their composition "Uniko" At the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York on October 3, 5 and 6. Joining them on the performance will be the illustrious Kronos Quartet. For other internAtion dAtes, go here: https://www.kimmopohjonen.com/
The new Avantgarde-Metal website is now open with inaugerAting articles covering the likes of Norwegian acts Ved Buens Ende, Solefald, Fleurety, Arcturus and tons more: https://www.avantgarde-metal.com/
The Compunctio website is now open: https://www.compunctio.com/
Go there for details about the upcoming festival they are planning for early September feAturing David Åhlén, Andreaz Hedén Trio, Andreas Eklöf and more.
Swedish hardcore act Kvoteringen (feAturing members from Totalitär, Millencolin, Krigshot and tons more) recorded some new tracks over the weekend for an upcoming 7". More details to come, but in the meantime, listen to older mAterial here: https://www.myspace.com/kvoteringen