Aversionline is impressed by She Said Destroy: m/blahg/2007/01/26/she-said-destroy-time-like-vines-cd/" target=_blank>https://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2007/01/26/she-said-destroy-time-like-vines-cd/

Do You Dream of Noise? and Burnt Toast Vinyl will be teaming up to release a new one-sided LP from Isolation Years later this year. Five songs plus an etching on the b-side.

MP3: Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die

I go through varying cycles of frustration when it comes to maintaining this website. The hours are long and the pay sucks, so if I don't have music that I'm excited to talk about, I don't have anything. So when I'm feeling down, I often find it helps to go back and revisit a record I know I like, something to help pick me up. That's one of the reasons I started doing Friday posts dedicated to tracks at least 2-3 years old. When all new music is making me long for better days, the past beckons. It's not that I don't have a lot of great new stuff to talk about - I most certainly do. It's just that sometimes the only thing I want to hear is familiar and comforting.
Bad Cash Quartet came up in conversation earlier this week and it made me realize that it's been way too long since I've listened to their high-water mark album "Outcast". I don't think there's any other record that so perfectly captures the sound of turn-of-the-century-era Swedish indiepop. It's bratty and obnoxious like much of the Britpop it draws influence from, but also so incredibly melodic and huge sounding. Broder Daniel might be the superior band of this style, but BCQ wins out today by virtue of being more uplifting. I've got enough angst, thank you very much.

Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die

Aortaorta
Bloodrush
Sonitus Insulto

These Finns return with a new six-song batch of sludgy, dirge-heavy punk and this review is long, long overdue. I like it best when they settle into a comfortable groove and are content to bludgeon you relentlessly and repetively with a simple, crushing riff. Closing number "No pulse" is a brutally effective example, sounding like some unholy hybrid of late-era Black Flag meets Darkthrone by way of early Neurosis. It's heavy and hypnotic. Unfortunately, the more they try to change it up, the more they stumble. Keep it simple, keep it strong.
- Avi Roig

Attrap
House of dreams
Warfare Records

The smallest detail can set a group apart. In the case of this compelling art-pop group from Denmark, the harmonies on the opening track "Just a word away" exploit a minor third interval so precariously, with close male-female vocals walking an absolute tightrope together. They pull it off, and it's a thing of delicate beauty. Another daring move: no drums. Yet you hardly notice, so powerful are the vocals and the melodies. This band is patient enough to let the waves of emotion in their songs build slowly, and the songs contain plenty of space. An ideal soundtrack for ruminating, or watching scenery pass by gradually as you drive, perhaps. But this is skin-prickle music, the kind of sound that works on you subconsciously and underscores whatever you are longing for in life. I'd like to hear a full-length to really get a grip on what Attrap is capable of, but this EP truly makes a stirring first impression.
- Kevin Renick

Detektivbyrån
Hemvägen EP
Denarkia

It's always thrilling hearing something that doesn't quite sound like anything else. Detektivbyrån are influenced by the folksier side of Sweden's musical heritage, but there's a sweet purity at work here that seems to have sprung right from nature. Indeed, in m/index.php?a=232">Avi's profile of the band awhile back, they said they were inspired by wildlife (wolves in particular) and the ocean. Although a couple of tracks offer soft, glowing keyboard work, the ones you'll most remember are like whirling, rustic little dances. The third track in particular is one of the most gorgeous, infectious instrumentals I've ever heard, taking everything Björk had in mind on "Vespertine" and consolidating it in three minutes. Warm, lovely and life-affirming, this disc is one of the nicest surprises to come out of Sweden in ages.
- Kevin Renick

Don't Be A Stranger
Ho ho
ia!/Headstomp

Don't Be A Stranger claim in an interview that the title of this 4-song EP is not a "Santa 'ho ho'" but the fact that "every song we make has an "ho ho" lyrics-part in it." Indeed, there is no holiday jolliness on here, but there is a charming sense of humor ("I know I'll be your perfect problem" she sings to the man she wants in one song, and in another she offers the come on line "We could be lonely together!"), and you gotta love a band that describes itself on their mySpace page as "Christian Rap/Hawaiian/Screamo." The sound is more accurately described as somewhere between Labrador-like twee, mellow rhythms and smooth singing, and indiepop's clever edges. The arrangements are often sparse, highlighting the singer's lovely voice. It's a tightly crafted fine listen, but easy to forget once it's over.
- Nancy Baym

Emmon
Wake up time
Wonderland Records

"Wake up time" is certainly catchy, but a bit too much of a cliché. Sticking to a formula that works like this isn't necessarily a bad thing, however. It's reminiscent of Shiny Toy Guns and their new-retro style that electro-kids and posers alike will happily latch on to. As an electro-kid myself, I appreciate this for what it's worth – but it's the second track on the release, "Discoperkele", that I really get into. Dirty beats are what electro is all about and Emmon carries this track off with dirty nonchalance. Simplistic lyrics and a constant hammering of 'disco' is, again, a cliché, but the quality of the track makes it one I would want to hear in a club. The first remix of "Wake up time" is a faster version and although Thermostatic have added a couple of interesting sounds, the arpeggio/gating effect is annoying after a couple of listens. The "Helm downbeat mix" is mellow and trippy, which is particularly welcome after the driving beats of the previous tracks. Overall, worth a listen, but not built to withstand the test of time.
- Jude Ainsworth

Pluxus
Solid state
Pluxemberg

"Solid State" has taken Pluxus five years and because of its complexity, you can understand why. It also took me a long time to find my opinion on this record because, although the good songs are perfect, this means the not-so-good songs are a real disappointment. Having said that, it's an album I want to listen to over and over again. Pluxus are unlike anything I've heard in a long time. This album is atmospheric, they say it's their darkest album yet – but in each song there is something inviting and optimistic, which makes it fascinating. "Kinoton" and "Perm", like I say, are perfect. Some of the others, however, need a little perseverance – which is why it isn't a 10 on the scale.
- Jude Ainsworth

Samuraj Cities
Cheap deluxe
Imperial Recordings

As its title and cover (with one of the two band members holding flowers and the other a gun) imply, this is an album of immaculately synthesized contradictions. The feel is slow and moody, but it's got an electrobeat you can dance to (heck, it's hard not to dance to it). It's heavily distorted, dark and fuzzy, but full of crystal clear, bright, new-wave synth riffs. It's warm and emotional, cold and calculated. It's like looking out the dirty window of a train at night, encased in metal, moving quickly through scenes of human experience, empathic and removed. But most of all, it's a really cool record with subversively catchy melodies that demand repeated listening. Shoulda been on my 2006 Top 10.
- Nancy Baym

Want more great Scandinavian music? m/store/product.php?productid=383&cat=1">Join the It's A Trap! Record Club! Not only do you get a new hand-picked album of choice every month for a ridiculously cheap price, you also get a free mp3 comp, discounts on other items and more! Seriously, it's a no-lose situation. m/store/product.php?productid=383&cat=1">Join now!

Tingsek has posted the new video for "Proud to be part of these days" up on myspace: myspace.com/tingsek" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/tingsek

Swedish hardcore act The Kind that Kills will tour Europe in march and have posted some preliminary dates: m/" target=_blank>https://www.thekindthatkills.com/

Superfamily's new single with the fantastic title "The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night" just went into rotation on NRK P3 and can be heard on myspace: myspace.com/superfamilynorway" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/superfamilynorway
If the video is m/profile?user=ruunis" target=_blank>anything like what they've done before, I can't wait to see it.

Subspace Communications has signed EBm/industrial duo menticide and will be releasing their album "N.m.E." later this year. Listen to their debut single here: m/shop/release.jsp?cp=3&r=16025&tn=1" target=_blank>https://www.klicktrack.com/shop/release.jsp?cp=3&r=16025&tn=1