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8
monto Water Rats is pretty packed tonight. There are four bands on the bill, but I only watched the last two. First out is maia Hirasawa who started out as (and still is, I think) a member of Hello Saferide's touring band, but who has now started conquering the Swedish airwaves by herself with her sunshine pop. It's melodic and pleasant. Hello Saferide are equally melodic, but somewhat less pleasant. Annika Norlin (aka Hello Saferide) is not feeling very well, and she tells us that she's kept quiet all day just so she can sing for us. God bless her! She has also been drinking olive oil throughout the day, and even does so onstage (this is the cause of the the unpleasantness). Sometimes the rock'n'roll life can be truly odd, and tough. I'd rather bite the head of a bat than drink olive oil. Oily drinks or vocal problems doesn't stop Annika from putting on a great show though, and she's got the audience transfixed from the start. As an encore she plays "The quiz" which I haven't heard live before - it was a thoroughly enjoyable first experience. Expect to hear more from Hello Saferide and maia Hirasawa in the future, they're both charming and write very infectious songs.
- Simon Tagestam
5
Girlish vocals, youthful enthusiasm and straightforward indie-pop arrangements: that's what you find on this 3-song EP. Although this is largely a demo (and it sounds like it), these girls show promise, especially in the second song, "Cravings". I like the energetic drumming and background "la la la's." Elsewhere, the sound is missing an edge and starts to sound meandering. With a producer, I think this young Swedish band could do something pretty decent. They do sing in key, generally altogether, and I like the idea of a band named after one of the world's smallest countries. But think bigger, ladies. Think bigger.
- Kevin Renick
4
It's a great thing that these days everyone can make a record, but it doesn't mean that everyone should. Löfström writes sweet poppy minimalist songs with pleasant melodies, and there are plenty of moments where it almost gets close to being something special, but it never rises above sounding like a record a guy threw together in his house with his friends.
- Nancy Baym
9
One always hopes that the sophomore album is an improvement, a realisation, and when it is just that, the results can be glorious. Such is the case with the second proper full-length effort from montt mardié (and it's a double-disc nonetheless). With the two CDs clocking in at a hour combined, there is no filler attached, yet one can choose just thirty minutes of listening enjoyment at once should they desire. The first disc, "Clocks", is where David Pagmar's vision of everything swinging is pulled off properly, with the instrumentation and vocals working so well. Take note of the pitch-perfect harmonies on "Birthday Boy (drama)", the sad spoken word of "Set sail tomorrow (strings)", and the stellar minimal instrumentation of "Travellers". Disc two, conversely, is comprised of collaborations, and harkens more to the 80s in its sound. montt mardié not only delivers ballads ("Surprised" with Andreas mattsson and "Pretenders" with Hello Saferide), dance numbers ("metropolis" with Fredrik Hellström of Le Sport and "my girlfriend is in the Grand Prix finals" with mr. Suitcase) and even one in his native Swedish with the always-stellar Vapnet ("När ni gett dom våld ska vi ge er kärlek"). "Clocks/Pretender" is the sound of a matured montt mardié, and this album floored me with how much every single thing has been improved. Lastly, I'd recommend picking up a physical copy of this, as the packaging amazing.
- Matt Giordano
8
my midnight Creeps are fronted by the dynamic duo of Robert Burås from madrugada (here going by the name Bobby Cagehill) and Alex Kloster-Jensen from the Ricochets. That's a great deal of guitar power, and they put it to good use on their second record, which is a considerable improvement on their strong debut. They make no pretenses to originality. To the contrary, they offer a familiar take on swampy, bluesy, dark and heavy rock'n'roll. The old blues singers of the Deep South meet the British 60s, wind their way through 1970s Detroit and 1980s LA, and land in Norway, bringing some touches of Scandi guitar psychedelia with them. They swagger through songs about women, having the blues, and being wronged. It's big, it's bombastic, it's meant to be played loud, and it covers no new territory. But it's so very well done. The musicianship is stellar, and the band seems to be having such fun playing that it's hard not to feel good listening. Then there are passages in these songs - mostly instrumental - where they achieve that rare wall of surging atmosphere that transcends everything else and makes you stop whatever you're doing just to revel in it. Big bombastic rock'n'roll fun interspersed with moments of rock'n'roll perfection? Play it loud.
- Nancy Baym
9
The Cocteau Twins are back! And now they're called... Rumskib! I don't mean for that to sound condescending; actually this luminous Danish duo recreates the sound of the ultimate shoegazer band better than anyone I've heard (even more than the previous nominee, Autumn's Grey Solace). There's no denying that multi-talented guitarist/songwriter Keith Canisius has Robin Guthrie's churning, atmospheric guitar sound down pat, and vocalist Tine Louise Kortermand has a sweet, pure tone that evokes Elizabeth Fraser without being an obvious imitation. "Where are the flowers" and "Crucial love games" are just two of the stunningly beautiful songs here, showcasing everything good about the dreampop genre in concise sonic settings. There's a couple of alluring instrumentals, too - the best of which is the bracingly moody "Ferris wheel blackout". This record is consistent and well-produced (Canisius and programmer/synthmeister Jonas munk shared the honors in that department), and the spirit of the genre positively gleams throughout. So weep no more for the premature cessation of Cocteaus-style transcendence... this is easily the next best thing.
- Kevin Renick
8
Before every gig on Thåström's latest tour, he and his band listened to Italian dark-wave legends Kirilian Camera to get into the right claustrophobic, dark mindset. With that in mind, it's no surprise that his new band Sällskapet (with Pelle Ossler's amazing guitarwork and old PLP-cohort Niklas Hellberg) conjures dark atmospheres, pulsing hypnotic beats and images of worn-down streets in concrete jungles. While it's easy to draw comparisons to both Kirilian Camera and later-day Einstürzende Neubauten, Sällskapet mostly resembles the third album of Thåström's 90s industrial outfit Peace Love and Pitbulls; only slowed down, stripped of metal-riffs and explosions, and turned into infernal electro-blues. The worn down approach makes the songs stronger, setting atmosphere in the front room with half the album being an instrumental soundtrack to feverish city-nightmares. But the best songs are the ones where Thåström (or in one instance, Nina Ramsby) sings, cutting right to the bone of the listener. When the accompanying DVD sets their songs to images of worn down subway trains, cranes in harbours, dark tunnels and rainfilled streets, it almost makes Sällskapet border on parody. But the rusted beauty of the music makes sure they land on the right side of greatness, both on disc and video.
- Hanzan
8
What is there to say about Shout Out Louds that hasn't already been said? most of you people already know that their career skyrocketed shortly after the release of the "Howl howl gaff gaff" album in 2003. The record did well in Sweden and parts of Europe, but it was in the States that things started to happen. A record deal with Capitol opened a lot of doors (followed by appearances on both Letterman and Jay Leno). But that was then and this is now. Armed with new popish material, Shout Out Louds are once again back on the quest to rule the world. A quest they just might succeed with, Herrgårn in Linköping is totally packed this evening. People really want to see one of Sweden's hottest bands at this moment, that's for sure. If anyone in the band feels nervous or any kind of pressure of once again playing in front of a Swedish audience, they certainly don't show it. Shout Out Louds perform with all the experience and professionalism they could ever muster. Every song is delivered with such confidence and honesty that I lose all defences. This is the band to see this year. The songs on the new album, "Our ill wills" differ quite a lot from the previous album, but in a good way. Call it development if you want. Where "Howl howl gaff gaff" was all about simplicity, the songs from "Our ill wills" show off a band with a fascination the late 80's, especially the British new wave music (The Cure, Joy Division, etc.). "Impossible" will be the song that brings back sunshine into your heart.
- Christian Stenbacke
6
One thing I cannot fault They Live By Night with is that the production value here is superb, with the right amounts of distortion and reverb added into the mix to create a dynamic sound. However, they play the blend of dance-indie-pop mix that's been done so much before (especially in the past few years) that I'm just not really intersted in hearing anymore; even when they mix in the post-rock elements. I can think of bands that are doing it better at this time. "Coast to coast", my favourite on the album, is a nice, somewhat meandering organ-heavy track. "Ode to band" is another song that really stuck out to me, and again, it's a slower one. I feel that's where the band's strength lies, as the vocals inflections tend to relate better than on the energetic numbers, where everything feels too rushed.
- Matt Giordano
New CDs from Finnish acts Fun and Viola just showed up on my doorstep - look for 'em in the webstore shortly m/store">Go on and get 'em!
Denmark's The Alpine have posted a nice long blog entry concerning their recent activities and upcoming album plans: https://www.thealpine.dk/ver2/alpine.php?sub=webdiary
Swedish indiepop act Don Agbai has a brand new track up on myspace: myspace.com/donagbai" targe=t_blank>https://www.myspace.com/donagbai
Montt Mardié
They Live By Night