Masshysteri cancel US tour

masshysteri have cancelled their upcoming US tour plans in may, but say they will be back later this year. Wait and see...

Okkultokrati album details

Okkultokrati have revealed the cover art and full tracklist for their forthcoming album "No light for mass", due out may 17: m/2010/03/no-light-for-mass-artwork-finished.html" target="_blank">https://okkultokrati.blogspot.com/2010/03/no-light-for-mass-artwork-finished.html
The always-reliable Fysisk Format will handle the CD version while details are still being worked out for the LP.

Gerilja unveil new EP

Norwegian act Gerilja, the winners of the 2007 Zoom Urørt unsigned band competition, are back with a new 6-song EP called "Pink slush twilight" produced by John Fryer, the same dude who worked on Nine Inch Nail's debut "Pretty hate machine". Vinyl and digital only, samples and ordering info at myspace: myspace.com/gerilja" target="_blank">https://www.myspace.com/gerilja

Silver Gleaming Sound Machine
All tomorrow's gardens
self-released

I live in micronesia, a land of pay-per-KB dial-up internet and no myspace or Youtube. Imagine, then, I'm running down Silver Gleaming Sound machine's impressive array of e-accolades, barely able to control my excitement as I wait for "All tomorrow's gardens" to arrive by media mail. SGSm it seems, could be the knighted future of Copenhagen, the heir to the last great Danes of pop (I'll admit it), Alphabeat. A Krautrock bent and 60s psychedelia, in my mind, could prove a darker, more rewarding palette than "This is Alphabeat"'s overtly sugary appeal.

In theory. Imagine when I get the album and it plays more as a spiritual sister to Asteroids Galaxy Tour (one more band and it's officially a movement), a faulty electro-motown update that I can't even dignify with the term pastiche, as the internet connotation of that word is moving ever so slightly towards "encomium" in our nostalgia-driven society. The sprightly percussion and electro-punk lean of album opener "Hawk" -- maybe the only redeemable song on this mini-album -- can't save SGSm from an overall lack of catchy choruses or cohesive arrangements. Typical of a crop of rising pop outfits in Scandinavia, SGSm tries to look in too many directions at once. Here's a nod to Pink Floyd, here's Le Tigre, and let's steep that all in the tinny pulse of turn-of-the-80s Krautrock! Overly smitten critics use buzzwords like "ELO" and "Kraftwerk", and in the process they forgive them for a dearth of palatable songs.

I don't know. maybe the iPod commercialistas who find these bands great in 15 second snippets will continue to force feed us downmarket ethereals like SGSm in order to heighten the pop-futuristic appeal of tablet-based products. maybe it's what we deserve. Whatever the case, I'm not nearly satisfied with Denmark's recent pop output. The country of Roskilde and indie greats The Raveonettes, Efterklang and Under Byen, to me, is of late lagging behind its Northern cousins in the pop arena. Whatever. maybe we'll get lucky and the new Alphabeat album will become the Danish pop savior of 2010. Hah.
- Nathan Keegan

Magyar Posse to France in May

Finnish postrock act magyar Posse will be supporting my Own Private Alaska on tour in France this coming may:

05/12 - Le Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)
05/13 - L'Ephémère, Vannes (FRA)
05/14 - La Grange à musique, Creil (FRA)
05/15 - L'EmB, Sannois (FRA)
05/16 - Le Nouveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
05/17 - Le Ferrailleur, Nantes (FRA)
05/19 - Les Trinitaires, metz (FRA)
05/20 - Le Clacson, Lyon (FRA)
05/21 - La Cartonnerie, Reims (FRA)
05/22 - L'Aéronef, Lille (FRA)

MP3: Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace

Direct link: meo.com/9760261" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/9760261

I've long considered Disco Ensemble to be a bit too mainstream/polished for my tastes as far as punkrock goes, but I do dig this new single, especially the stuff with the octave pedal hammer-ons. And the rhythm section sounds remarkably burly too, a trait I can always appreciate. So yeah, no disrespect intended, but consider me pleasantly surprised. Even better to see it paired with an interesting video as directed by Fonal Records boss Sami Sänpäkkilä. Lots of great, awkward closeups and good movement. Not so sure I get the "plot" with the architect as played by Tero Jartti, but whatever -- it's still 1000x better than most of the schlock I see on a daily basis and it never overwhelms the performance shots. Also, if you want to know more, you can misanpakkila.com/2010/03/disco-ensemble-white-flag/" target="_blank">soak up the full technical details over at Sami's blog; yet another welcome attribute to said single/song/video.

Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace

The Silent Ballet reviews Bjørn Svin

The Silent Ballet reviews Danish electronic artist Bjørn Svin: m/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/3189/Default.aspx" target="_blank">https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/3189/Default.aspx

This week's Last.fm chart

Here is the m/group/itsatrap" target="_blank">It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Beach House
02. The Radio Dept.
03. Loney, Dear
04. Shout Out Louds
05. jj
06. moto Boy
07. Håkan Hellström
08. Yeasayer
09. David & the Citizens
10. Efterklang

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: m/help/" target="_blank">https://www.last.fm/help/

Svensk Punkgala details

Remember m/n/33119-punk-nostalgia-not-dead">this? The Swedish old-school punk gala set for April 1-3? more details are now confirmed, including a schedule for who's playing what days: myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&eventID=525296.18196" target="_blank">https://event.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&eventID=525296.18196

New Murder album coming in October

Danish duo murder have announced that their forthcoming album "Gospel of man", their third overall, will be out in October.

CMI to release new IRM album in late March

Cold meat Industry will release the new IRm album "Order4" on march 31. Says the label: "Comprised by four tracks, each exactly 15 minutes in length we are thrown into a vortex of feedback, cymbaldrones, heavy bass-strumming, nightmarish pianotinkles and irreproachable synthwork." Sample at myspace: myspace.com/thesoulcleaner" target="_blank">https://www.myspace.com/thesoulcleaner

Agent Side Grinder to tour in May

The excellent Swedish industrial act Agent Side Grinder will be playing a few European dates in may:

05/01 - OCCII, Amsterdam (NL)
05/03 - LiWi, Leipzig (GER)
05/06 - Pipeline Bar, London (UK)
05/07 - Le Klub, Paris (FRA)
05/08 - La Peniche, Lille (FRA)
05/18 - Debaser, Slussen (SWE)

more dates TBA.

Early Ane Brun albums to get American release, more

Ane Brun's albums "Spending time with morgan", "Duets" and "Live in Scandinavia" will be released digitally in North America on April 27 via Amazon and elsewhere on may 4. She's also lined up a couple solo dates to promote them:

05/08 - Largo, Los Angeles, CA
05/10 - Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY

He is the working class

Darkthrone, black metal and class war as discussed by 138 aka Christoffer Jonsson in Aftonbladet: https://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/article6704030.ab (in Swedish)

Daytripping: Peter Bjorn and John

Check out Peter Bjorn and John performing for Pitchfork.tv's "Daytripping" program: m/tv/#/episode/1821-peter-bjorn-and-john/1" target="_blank">https://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/1821-peter-bjorn-and-john/1