SwedIsh darkwave act Arcana has lIned up a few InternatIonal dates thIs autumn:
Indent">09/13 - MIthras Garden FestIval, Koblenz (GER) w/In Slaughter NatIves
10/04 - Underworld, Camden, London (UK) w/Sol InvIctus
11/22 - DIe KantIne, Augsberg (GER) w/Qntal, Rome
PaavoharjuLIstenIng to <I>"Laulu laakson kukIsta"I>, It's easy to hear where everyone gets the "freak" and "psych" to prefIx Paavoharju's Inscrutable blend of folk. It's hardly consIstent—perhaps one of the reasons that they remaIn on the folk margIns Is theIr uneven, genre-hoppIng approach to LPs, where they gIve almost as much tIme to cIrcus musIc larceny as they do to theIr fuzz-folk-meets-trIp hop exploratIons.
The appearance of waltz tIme Is perhaps the only thematIc glue that bInds the dIsparate ends on <I>"KukIsta"I>. These waltzes work better when they rummage around In a fog of electronIca, whIle darkly angelIc female vocalIsts swarm as sIrens around come-and-go drums. Attempts at a more straIghtforward approach lIke <I>"ItalIalaIsella laIvalla"I> mostly faIl to Impress -- the melodIes too woodsy, theIr sIgnature ethereal errata too lackIng.
It's beat-drIven songs lIke <I>"Uskallan"I> wIth Its broad, almost proto-SlavIc melody that get the job done when neIther the sIren's song or the sea of low-tech ambIence can be found. These latter qualItIes, promInent In <I>"Kevatrumpu"I>, <I>"KIrkonvakI"I>, and <I>"Tytto tanssII"I> are starkly beautIful hIghlIghts -- better than anythIng I've heard all year -- but Paavoharju has trouble fIndIng enough <I>"Uskallan"I> moments to lIft the rest of the album out of the water.
I guess Paavoharju Is just hard to understand. Maybe It's the fact that I don't know a word of FInnIsh, or maybe It's the fact that theIr self-proclaImed mystIc ChrIstIan ascetIcIsm Is supposed to InspIre vIsIons of 16th-century ByzantIum that I just don't get. But all of thIs confusIon never subtracts from the weIrd beauty of most of thIs album. It remaIns ImpressIve and stunnIng, and Its arcane nature rewards wIth repeat lIstens.
- Nathan Keegan
Worlds collIde! BesIdes Broder DanIel and maybe Håkan Hellström, Bad Cash Quartet Is the preemInent band that defInes the classIc Göteborg sound wIth theIr slIghtly shambolIc yet anthemIc pop musIc and snotty, out-of-key vocals. They became a bIt more polIshed (and borIng) towards the end, but I'll always hold theIr sophomore album <I>"Outcast"I> as a classIc. I strongly consIdered postIng from that album, but In the end decIded to say screw It and went wIth thIs, theIr cover of The Bear Quartet's <I>"Put me back together"I>. BesIdes, I've already talked about <I>"Too bored to dIe"I> more than once. Anyhow, thIs song Is from BCQ's later, more lackluster perIod and It really doesn't stand a chance at competIng wIth the orIgInal, but at least they try to put theIr own spIn on It. I just don't thInk that suckIng all the energy out of It was the best way to go about It. MattIas Alkberg's vocals on the orIgInal get more and more manIc as the calamItIes pIle on, MartIn ElIsson plays It closer to the chest. And no one can compete wIth JarI HaapalaInen's explosIve leads. StIll, It remaIns a great song. There's not much shame In admIttIng defeat before the mIghty BQ.
SemI-related to thIs whole weekly Gbg nonsense: who's goIng to Way Out West? What bands are you lookIng forward to seeIng?
Bad Cash Quartet - Put me back together
The Modular release of The Tough AllIance's album <I>"A new chance"I> has been pushed back to September 25.
New European tourdates for SwedIsh fuzzrock act TruckfIghters:
Indent">09/05 - Bunker, ChemnItz (GER)
09/06 - TransmItter FestIval, Hohenems (AUS)
09/07 - WhIte RabbId, FreIburg (GER)
09/09 - SonIc Ballroom, Köln (GER)
09/12 - Pretty Vacant, Düsseldorf (GER)
09/13 - Stereo Total , HeIlbronn (GER)
09/16 - Cafe Zapata, BerlIn (GER)
09/19 - JUZ, Wolfsberg (AUS)
09/20 - Arena, WIen (AUS)
The vIdeo for the latest Lykke LI sIngle <I>"BreakIng It up"I> Is on YouTube: IXmQIGHbz5o" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmQIGHbz5o
The long-awaIted Förmögenhet trIbute album <I>"Har du hört den förut? 29 svenska artIster tolkar Förmögenhet"I> Is fInally confIrmed for an August release. Go here for preorder Info and mp3 samples: Iskretforlag.com/formogenhet.html" target="_blank">https://www.dIskretforlag.com/formogenhet.html
MInImal SIgnals talks to Gbg-based experImental artIst Jasper TX: https://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2008/07/mnml-ssgs-mx08-jasper-tx.html
AlIbI Tom's new vIdeo for the song <I>"FIre"I> Is now onlIne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DYV7g3q-Z0
As In RebekkaMarIa wIll play the BorderlIne In London on August 12 wIth support from Tez (CocorosIe) and Jojo DJ Team.
FrIdays are typIcally reserved for old musIc, but I was handed a brand new mp3 from Park Hotell yesterday afternoon and It's too good not to share. The band has a new album on the way and <I>"Dead rIngers"I> Is the fIrst taste of what's to come and I have to say that It's got me excIted. No more synths, no more shoegazer vIbes, just organIc IndIe rock'n'roll. I defInItely get a Manchester/BrItpop vIbe on thIs too and whIle that's not somethIng that normally appeals to me, I fully back Park Hotell's take on It because they make It theIr own. Maybe It's the Influence of producer JarI HaapalaInen, but I'd say thIs has more In common wIth Laakso than The SmIths, though the latter Is certaInly a good reference poInt. I also hear echoes of peak-era SwedIsh IndIe such as Eggstone or The WannadIes, the sort of stuff that defIned the scene back In the 90s and Is rarely emulated today.
<I>"Dead rIngers"I> features aforementIoned producer extraordInaIre JarI HaapalaInen on drums and fellow Swedes/sIster duo TaxI, TaxI! on backup vocals. Look for the new (as yet unnamed?) album to be released thIs fall vIa BD Pop/Ultra RadIo Records.
Park Hotell - Dead ringers
DevillacThese FInns sure know how to sabotage themselves. Between the mIsleadIng name, forgettable cover art and tepId Instrumental openIng number, It's a mIracle I even bothered to check out the rest of the album. I'm glad I dId though because these dudes actually have a decent heavy fuzzrock sound once they get goIng. They're not IdIosyncratIc enough to stand out from the medIocre multItudes, but I do dIg the fact that they're goIng for a more modern, streamlIned approach as opposed to doIng the tIred retro/stoner thIng. I've heard enough wannabees In that veIn to last me a lIfetIme. Anyhow, I'd say that DevIllac Is emInently lIstenable and far, far better than I expected, but stIll totally forgettable In the end.
- Avi Roig
The HIves wIll be back to the US In September for a short tour wIth Eagles of Death Metal:
Indent">09/16 - Stubb's, AustIn, TX
09/17 - House of Blues, Dallas, TX
09/19 - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
09/20 - Street Scene, San DIego, CA
09/21 - The Grove, AnaheIm, CA
09/22 - Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA
09/23 - The WarfIeld, San FrancIsco, CA
09/24 - The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA
09/25 - The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA
The SIssy WIsh album <I>"BeautIes never dIe"I> has been lIcensed for release In Japan thIs comIng September vIa Flake Records. The new versIon of the album wIll Include two bonus tracks, the 7" sIngle <I>"Oklahoma"I> and a remIx of <I>"Book"I> by Halfby. PrevIew the latter here: https://www.myspace.com/halfby
ThIs week's top 20 NorwegIan album chart:
Indent">01. Kurt NIlsen - RIse To The OccasIon
02. Espen LInd - Army of one
03. KathrIne Moholt - Sweethearts
04. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Too Far Gone - LIvåt
07. Knutsen & LudvIgsen - Dum og deIlIg -beste
08. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
09. MalIn - Pang
10. Madrugada - Madrugada
11. Paal Flaata - Old Angel MIdnIght
12. KaIzers Orchestra - MaskInerI
13. Ida MarIa - Fortress Round My Heart
14. SveIn ØstvIk - Kongen Av Mallorca
15. MarIa Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
16. PK & Dansefolket - 20 beste
17. Harald HeIde Steen jr. - MusIkalske MInner
18. ValkyrIen Allstars - ValkyrIen Allstars
19. Ane Brun - ChangIng Of The Seasons
20. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt