finnish shoegazers On Volcano have posted a new live track on their myspace page called "The blizzard of 1888": https://www.myspace.com/onvolcano
Also check the blog section for some live video footage as well.

finnish humppa-metal act Finntroll will tour the US with Warbringer in August: https://www.lambgoat.com/news/view.aspx?id=10900

finnish experimental/industrial label Some Place Else has posted details and samples for new releases from Ovro and Metaorganism: https://www.someplaceelse.net/current/2008/06/06/presenting-forthcoming-releases/

finnish indiepop band Captain Cougar has now posted half of their album "Chapters" for streaming on myspace and will follow up with the 2nd half in another week or so: https://www.myspace.com/captaincougar

finnish power-pop act The Sugarrush have posted a couple new demo tracks and remixes to their myspace page: https://www.myspace.com/thesugarrush

Century Media has licensed finnish doom act Kypck's latest album "Cherno" for release across Europe this summer. The band, which sings in Russian, features ex-Sentenced guitarist Sami Lopakka along with renown producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica, etc.) and can be heard here: https://www.myspace.com/kypck

MP3: Lama - Bussi

Terveet Kädet may be the gold standard for finnish hardcore punk (going strong since 1980!), but they're almost a bit too raging for my tastes, believe it or not. Deserving the accolades afforded them? Hell yeah, just not the sort of thing I feel like throwing on the stereo on a regular basis. Instead, I very much prefer the more melodic sounds of bands like Lama. Still raw and totally raging, but with more a streetpunk vibe that you can sing along to, assuming you can understand finnish. The band's single compilation "...ja mikään ei muuttunut" is 100% killer early punkrock and the track "Bussi" off their debut 7" (as posted today) is a definite standout. Love the gang vocals, the hey! shouts, even the weird, blazed-out solo. 100% classic!
Note: Not to be confused with the contemporary electronic artist from Norway. He's okay, but he's not anywhere near as good as this.

Lama - Bussi

MP3: On Volcano - Ride the wolf

I've been getting my finnish shoegaze confused! Murmansk, who I covered on Tuesday, have never been a postrock band. That would be On Volcano, today's featured artists. Gah, so many bios to read I can't keep 'em straight. Anyhow, both are great bands with an awful lot of similarities besides their country of origin as they both employ female vocalists, though I'd say that On Volcano is by far the poppier of the two. Whereas Murmansk piles on heavy layers of sound and tends to bury the vocals into the mix, On Volcano places them front and center. "Ride the wolf", the opening track of their debut EP "My sleep was filled with dreams", even has a bit of early U2 to it, with those martial drum beats and prominent bassline. You also get a bit of new-wave pop, not too far off from what the Swedish band Paris is known for. However, it's on the half-time breakdown on the 2nd half of the song that they really let loose, offering up a barrage of lush guitar textures. So yeah, similar but different but equally awesome.

On Volcano - Ride the wolf

Pink Twins and Kemialliset_Ystävät will perform at MOMA offshoot P.S.1 in NYC on June 1 to open the new finnish art exhibition "Arctic Hysteria" which will run through September 15. Full details: https://www.ps1.org/ps1_site/content/view/324/102/

The Deer Tracks (ft. members from Leiah, Ariel Kill Him and Twiggy Frostbite) have broken free of their contract with finnish label Next Big Thing and are now signed to Despotz Records (Kaka, Hellsongs) in Sweden. Look for their debut album "Aurora" to be released on August 27.

N&B Research Digest has new download-only releases out now from legendary finnish electronic/experimental artist Pekka Airaksinen (The Sperm) and up-and-comer Ponytail (½ of dubstep act Clouds): https://www.nbresearchdigest.com/

Killing the Legacy has the first demo from finnish melodic hardcore act Lighthouse Project posted for download: https://killingthelegacy.blogspot.com/2008/05/existing-like-ghost.html

MP3: 18000018018018401 and Hab - Who we are

When I said I was going to post mostly finnish music this week, I said that fully knowing I would be posting a track to accompany today's interview with Håkan Lidbo on the new "Musik för främmande civilisationer"/"Music for alien civilizations" compilation. "Who we are" by 18000018018018401 and Hab is easily the most Earth-friendly of the tracks in that it's got a steady danceable beat and discernible samples of human voices spelling out some of the more negative aspects of humanity. It is, as the title clearly states, who we are, is it not? As for the rest of the record, Håkan isn't kidding when he says that many of the artists composed for an audience who might have an entirely different idea of what music is, if they even have music at all. While that might not make for an "enjoyable" listen in ways we are usually accustomed, it is, at the very least, interesting. So yeah, please check out the piece below and be sure to read the interview

18000018018018401 and Hab - Who we are

MP3: Murmansk - Nothing but the moon

I don't cover nearly as much finnish music as I probably should. I mostly blame that on the language barrier, but I also know I could do better and that's why I've decided to (mostly) focus on finnish artists the rest of the week. I already covered the hardcore band Abduktio yesterday, so today we turn our attention to Murmansk, a shoegaze/dreampop band from Helsinki with a female vocalist and, as they say themselves, an aggressive edge. "Chinese locks" is the band's debut album and it's out on Around Your Neck, a young new label that, judging from earlier releases, specializes in 90s nostalgia, though I'd say it's the wrong kind (ugh, Pavement - no thanks). Murmansk on the other hand, hearken back to the late-80s heyday of 4AD, evoking the darker, more ethereal qualities of artists like Cocteau Twins or Dead Can Dance, but tempered with the noisy outbursts of The Pixies. Once you find out the band started life as a postrock instrumental trio before adding vocalist/guitarist Laura Soininen, the end result makes even more sense. It's heavy, atmospheric and, all in all, immensely satisfying. And, for a debut album, quite impressive. Very recommended!
NOTE: Please see Thursday's post for a small correction/update.

Murmansk - Nothing but the moon

MP3: Abduktio - Kevään merkkejä

With the release of their new album "Thermidor", the finnish band Abduktio has evolved into an impressive progressive-minded hardcore act. The band still thrashes hard, but they aim much higher and as such, temper their sound with an epic melodic sensibility that's unusual for the genre. Think of Japanese band Envy and their post-rockish tendencies or perhaps consider Canadians Fucked Up and the way they stretch beyond the confines of the typical 2-minute punk track. Abduktio embraces similar tendencies and make it their own. "Kevään merkkejä" ("Signs of spring") is the centerpiece of the album, a song about the environmental consciousness that rises out of watching the world thaw, but also a song about similarly waking up to all the injustice of the world around you. Clearing the frost from your eyes, as it were. I love the way the song twists and turns, the subtle unexpected melodic shifts, the crisp recording that allows every instrument to be equal in focus. Despite the non-standard structure, the piece never loses direction and always returns seamlessly to the various refrains. Thank goodness there's bands like this out there to push boundaries.

Abduktio - Kevään merkkejä