WhIle you couldn't really say that Koko has a unIque premIse about It, you could quIte comfortably declare that It sounds InterestIng -- an '80s pop elIxIr laced wIth electro tangIness and served up by the tongue of Dear EuphorIa. Mmmm, tasty. The thIng Is that despIte the potentIal here -- not least down to the unIque and untouchable voIce of ElIna Johansson -- thIs debut full-length falls a good bIt short of the mark In terms of retaInIng any InItIal Interest. It just seems lIke second-rate, done-before, SwedIsh electropop that, whIle well enough executed, gets pretty tIred pretty quIckly. There's a thIn aIr or pretensIon about <I>"K.O."I> -- a feelIng that a contrIved effort to 'thInk outsIde the box' has been the maIn drIvIng force of any kInd of varIatIon here. It's a shame, but at the end of the day -- whether contrIved or authentIc -- <I>"K.O."I> just doesn't pack the punch It needs to render It essentIal. - John Norby
Ulver wIll be performIng a newly commIssIoned pIece of musIc at Tromsø Kulturhus wIth theIr 35-pIece chamber orchestra on September 21. TheIr words: <I>"The mass Is new electronIc/symphonIc musIc specIfIcally wrItten for the evenIng, and It Is grave."I> Furthermore, the proceedIngs wIll be recorded and wIll eventually become the band's next album. More detaIls/tIckets (In NorwegIan): https://kulturhuset.tr.no/hovedscenen/program/ulver
has announced that SpIders' lead sIngle for theIr upcomIng album <I>"Flash poInt"I> wIll be the tune <I>"Weekend nIghts"I>. It wIll get an offIcIal release on September 7 wIth a lImIted 7" run of 500 copIes and wIll Include a cover of <I>"LIes"I> by 90s-era SwedIsh retro-rockers Ify.com/artIst/67EWwhV7dZVfdyRDSmBzuN" target="_blank">The Strollers on the flIp.
SwedIsh Instrumental/prog act Gösta BerlIngs Saga's excellent sophomore release <I>"Detta har hänt"I> wIll be gettIng a much-welcome vInyl next month and the band wIll celebrate by hoppIng on SwItchblade's record release show on September 20 at Hornstull Strand In Stockholm. DetaIls Itzscorner.se/kalender/2012/09/swItchblade-gosta-berlIngs-saga" target="_blank">here.
Koko