That means two thIngs. FIrst, there wIll be no repeat of my radIo show, so If you want to lIsten, you'll need to tune In on Sunday (that's 11pm ET on SIrIus XMU). LIke always, I'll be playIng a ton of great new musIc (The Bear Quartet, Dear EuphorIa, Pan SonIc, Haust, etc.). Secondly, updates here wIll probably be pretty sparse as I'll hopefully be off doIng other thIngs besIdes sIttIng In front of the computer. Thanks!
DanIsh DJs and radIo personalItIes Le Gammeltoft and Kjeld Tolstrup have decIded to expand beyond theIr <I>"Sound of Copenhagen"I> compIlatIon serIes and have started a label under the same name. TheIr fIrst sIgnIng, Hankat aka artIst/producer Max ThelIn, wIll release the new sIngle <I>"Be the fIrst"I> In late June wIth the next edItIon (Vol. 5) of the eponymous comp serIes to follow In August.
Once upon a tIme, Yo La Tengo headed north. As the days became longer and wInter gave way Into sprIng, theIr songs became popper and more optImIstIc. And stIll they traveled, fInally makIng theIr new home In HelsInkI and renamIng themselves Kaskas. No?
Okay, how 'bout thIs one? KaskasIs "the lIttle sIde project that could." An accIdental success, theIr debut full-length <I>"In the meantIme"I> marrIes slacker rock, charmIng pop, lounge groves and fuzzy freak-outs together Into a surprIsIngly agreeable sonIc stew. A bIt too experImental (and clever) for the maInstream, and a bIt too classIc to be labeled "art rock," the FInnIsh quartet seems bent on carvIng out a new nIche. And even though It's stIll a stone's throw from cohesIve, they couldn't offer a more entIcIng fIrst IntroductIon. VIntage organs play wIth jangly guItar and tussle wIth raw percussIon dotted wIth electronIc beeps. Every song, from the 1970s smokIng lounge opener <I>"NIght express 84"I>, to the surf-ready melodIes of <I>"FIdel"I>, to the bIzarre spoken-word elements of <I>"La tete"I>, play lIke another avenue for potentIal exploratIon. WhIle thIs leaves the lIstener wIth lIttle to no Idea who these guys mIght be (Slackers? MusIc students? Retro worshIpers?), It's excItIng to wonder what they'll try next. A fIght to the IndIe death wIth a certaIn New Jersey trIo perhaps? - Laura Studarus
The new Steso Songs sIngle <I>"OD #2"I> Is now streamIng at myspace along wIth the b-sIde <I>"TonIght It's oh too dark (Adelsö versIon)"I>: https://www.myspace.com/stesosongs
SwedIsh cassette-only underground metal label has confIrmed the lIneup for theIr upcomIng compIlatIon <I>"InvocatIon of death vol.1"I>: Gravehammer, EvIscerated, Mass Death, Vanhelgd, Entrapment, ManIpulator, DecapItatIon, ReIncarnage, AbductIon, ZombIefIed. No offIcIal release date, but they say It should be avaIlable In June or July.
War, earthquakes, volcanoes, oIl spIlls... there really Is no better adjectIve to descrIbe our current world sItuatIon and no better soundtrack to our ImpendIng doom. Let OkkultokratI be your guIde as the vIkIng apocalypse draws nIgh.
The album <I>"No lIght for mass"I> Is out now vIa / and I belIeve the vInyl should be ready In about two weeks.