Daniel Cirera is keeping a web diary as he travels around on his first US tour: m/news.php" target=_blank>https://www.danielcirera.com/news.php

Danish act Sparkling is currently at Delta Lab Studios in Copenhagen recording their new album with producer Per Buhl Acs (No Knox).

mIC Norway has launched a new website called Kaleidofon to promote Norwegian music: https://www.kaleidofon.no/
Read about the initiative here: mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2006110310162718460975" target=_blank>https://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2006110310162718460975
It's a pretty cool looking site, but annoying to me because it's 100% flash-based. Still, worth investigating for anyone wanting to investigate the many treasures of Norwegian music.

Popmatters reviews the US release of Teddybears: matters.com/pm/music/reviews/6943/teddybears-soft-machine/" target=_blank>https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/6943/teddybears-soft-machine/

Swedesplease has Hello Saferide's contribution from the new "Oh no... it's Christmas!" comp for free download: m/2006/11/new-song-by-hello-saferide-i-pod-x-mas.html" target=_blank>https://swedesplease.blogspot.com/2006/11/new-song-by-hello-saferide-i-pod-x-mas.html
Preorder the comp m/store.php?item=277">here and don't forget that the vinyl edition of "Introducing" can be purchased m/store.php?item=278">right here. Vinyl is due to show up TODAY so expect orders to be processed immediately despite the November 21 'official' release date.

Digitalmetal interviews pioneering Swedish death-metal act Unleashed: metal.com/interviews.asp?iID=7808" target=_blank>https://www.digitalmetal.com/interviews.asp?iID=7808

Norrland-based slowcore act Black Light Co. has posted a new song on myspace: myspace.com/blacklightco" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/blacklightco
Recommended for fans of Songs:Ohia, etc.

Not only has Swedish act By Heart relocated to Berlin, they've also posted their entire debut album "Exit signs" as a free download: https://www.byheart.nu/

The Sweden Rock Days Festival will return to madrid once again this year on November 23 at Sala Haineken. The lineup includes Sugarplum Fairy, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, Lucknow Pact, Sebastian Fors and Ida maria. Details: https://www.swedishrockdays.es/

Swedish indiepop act Housewife Lovers has some new songs on myspace: myspace.com/housewifelovers" target=_blank>https://myspace.com/housewifelovers

Pitchfork pans marit Bergman's cover of Justin Timberlake's "my love": media.com/page/track_reviews/39492/marit_Bergman_my_Love#39492" target=_blank>https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/track_reviews/39492/marit_Bergman_my_Love#39492

Also at Pitchfork is a review of the latest from Finland's Luomo: media.com/article/record_review/39341/Luomo_Paper_Tigers" target=_blank>https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/39341/Luomo_Paper_Tigers

MP3: Katatonia - O how I enjoy the light

It was pretty exciting to see Katatonia for the first time last night in Seattle. Not only have they been one of my long-time most favorite bands, but they've also introduced me to tons of new music through the recommended listening lists they used to post on their website. Paatos, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Ben Christophers, 16 Horsepower... I could go on and on. Yes, the irony of a Swedish band introducing me to American music has been sorely noted. So while I was greatly looking forward to the show, I was also skeptical as I've heard plenty of bad things about their live show. Even the band themselves admitted that their initial US debut at milwaukee metalfest some years back was a disaster and best left forgotten. Good news: my fears were laid to rest as Katatonia proved themselves to be plenty capable of delivering a solid performance with a good balance between old and new material (and to all your kvlt old-school fans: no, they did not play anything pre-"Discouraged ones"). They also graciously avoided common live metal clichés, such as always referring to the audience by the name of the city ("Hello Seattle!") and announcing songs in the metal voice ("This next one is called grrgsdlgjsgdsg!"). While all that's fine and good every so often, it gets old pretty damn fast. While there's still definitely room for improvement, I still left happy and felt fulfilled. As for today's download, instead of offering up one of the band's many would-be hits, I'm throwing a bone to you indie rockers with a Will Oldham cover. Enjoy!

Katatonia - O how I enjoy the light

MP3: [ingenting] - Hollywood dreams

I rarely make any attempt to hide my disdain for all things Labrador. Their particular brand of precious twee indiepop just isn't my thing. It's not that I find it unappealing, I just think all sounds so boring and uninspired - something far worse than being polarizing like, say, The Tough Alliance. However, I still give them the benefit of the doubt with every new release, especially since they appear to be so highly regarded. I figure that there's always the chance I'm missing something, but more often than not, I find that my initial hesitations have proved correct. Of course there are exceptions: I've often expressed my respect for Pelle Carlberg and now we can add [ingenting] to list. m/index.php?article=233">Simon's review from the other day echoes my own sentiments fairly well, though I'd probably use different artists as reference points. The important points: the guitar work is fantastic and yes, this is truly Swedish indie at its best. And yes, "Hollywood dreams" really is the best song on the record.

[ingenting] - Hollywood dreams

Video mix: Katatonia, Nikola Sarcevic, Munck//Johnson, Frida Hyvönen, Thomas Dybdahl, more...