Artist: Barra Head
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I don't get the chance to enthuse about much Icelandic music because, from my standpoint, most of the stuff that escapes those shores tends to be in the cinematic/ambient/postrock vein ala Sigur Rós or whatever, and while I've got nothing against it, it just doesn't do much for me. There are exceptions (there are always exceptions), but they are rare. Unfortunately for an act like Kimono, the press sheet for the US release of their latest album "Easy music for difficult people" touts them as a mathrock band which is a huge disservice because, in fact, they have far more in common with DC post-hardcore or other like-minded acts such as Barra Head. They certainly have the chops to be a math band if they chose that route, as you will hear in "Vienna"'s solo section, but never do they overwhelm with technicality. The emphasis is always on melodies and mood and while, yes, the rhythm section does take its twists and turns (further spotlighted by the thankfully sparse recording), non-musicians will not care. All in all, a quite nice and understated record that's been getting lots of regular play over here. More like this, please!
Kimono - Vienna
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Bastard Priest - Under the hammer of destruction
02. TALK 1
03. Monty - En till himmel
04. Superfamily - Songs of the weak will die
05. Agent Side Grinder - Black vein
06. TALK 2
07. Murmansk - Silver heel
08. Cleaning Women - Across the void
09. Pintandwefall - Jail
10. TALK 3
11. Tobias Hellkvist - Scars and stripes
12. Truckfighters - Traffic
13. Rockettothesky - Barrie for Billy MacKenzie
14. TALK 4
15. Peter Bjorn and John - I don't know what I want us to do
16. Håkan Hellström - En vån med en bil
17. Barra Head - Common ground
18. TALK 5
19. Makthaverskan - Vi var människor från början
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show sirius XMU:
01. Existensminimum - Mirrors
02. TALK 1
03. Solander - Prayer to God
04. Volcanic Places - Goo
05. Zacke - Spela mig på radion (feat. Movits!)
06. TALK 2
07. Hello Saferide - Arjeplog
08. Kristofer Åström - When her eyes turn blue
09. Superfamily - Let's go dancing
10. Barra Head - Undermine
11. TALK 3
12. Pixie Carnation - Little sister
13. The Bear Quartet - I was a weapon
14. Mangrove - Pieces of our yesterday
15. TALK 4
16. Emmon - Lips on fire
17. Eric Ramsey - Enlightened neurotics
18. Håkan Hellström - För en lång tid
19. TALK 5
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Pascal - Längtar efter dig
02. TALK 1
03. Division of Laura Lee - Central Park
04. New Decade - While tonight still is
05. Abduktio - Uutisia rintamalta
06. TALK 2
07. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
08. Fireside - Silver muscle car
09. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
10. TALK 3
11. NEI - New morning
12. The Bear Quartet - All your life
13. Park Hotell - Dead ringers
14. KVLR - Spit
15. Electric Retard - Skate girl
16. TALK 4
17. Samuraj Cities - Ugly kids are alright
18. Barra Head - Iron to skin
19. Death By Kite - Himmelfahrtskommando
20. TALK 5
21. Blithe - Haven
22. Starmarket - You can't come
23. Lukestar - White shade
24. Monkeystrikes - Tahonga take away
25. TALK 6
26. Voices Break the Silence - This awful friend
Reminder: My show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.
New international live dates for Lack:
08/07 - Himmel, Schwyz (CH)
08/08 - MatscherAu Open Air, Bolzano (ITA)
08/30 - OFFSET Festival, London (UK)
09/19 - Folkets Park, ESF 08, Malmö (SWE)
09/27 - Stengade 30, Kbh (DK) w/Barra Head
10/12 - POPKOMM - Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin (GER) w/31 Knots, Alarma Man
Barra Head will head back to Germany in June:
06/19 - Kleine Freiheit, Osnabrück w/So So Modern
06/20 - Umbaubar, Oldenburg
06/21 - Station 77, Wuppertal
06/23 - Hafenklang, Hamburg
06/24 - Hühnermanhattan, Halle
06/25 - Fabrik, Potsdam
06/26 - Das Lokal, Berlin w/Milemarker
06/27 - Fusion Festival, Lärz
Little Jimmy Reeves is the latest signing of Danish label Play/Rec and "Bring out the dogs" is their debut EP. The group's heavy rock sound doesn't totally jive with the post-hardcore scene I normally think of when I think Play/Rec (Lack, Barra Head, Menfolk), but when I remind myself that they've also put out records from bands like Monoton and Mt. Eerie it starts to make sense. And it's not as if LJR doesn't have an impressive resumé -- frontman Asger Techau plays drums for Kashmir, one of Denmark's biggest bands. Bassist Jan Damage Petersen plays in Gravy, another great Danish band. And drummer Johan Høyer is an accomplished audio engineer who was/is (?) also in Livaventura. Considering that pedigree, the picture gets clearer and the end result less surprising. And what would that result be? In a nutshell, I'd call it mid-tempo melodramatic rock with a rough edge. Melodic enough for curious Kashmir fans, but also imbued with a bluesy heaviness that band lacks. Overall, I'm not blown away by this release, but I do like the title track and this other song that I'm posting today. It's got a bit of those oh so crucial quietLOUDquiet dynamics ala The Pixies and the vocal harmonies in the chorus are a nice touch as well. Wholly unoriginal, but nice enough, y'know? Still, worth keeping an eye on. There's potential.
Little Jimmy Reeves - Romance on drugs
Tonight! Malmö! Debaser! Barra Head! Surrounded, too! Hard to believe this will only be BH's 2nd time ever making the drive across the border from CPH for a show in Malmö, but it's the truth. Hopefully there will be many more opportunities to come, but for now I urge you to go go go! It'll be a good time, f'sure.
As for next month's It's a Trap! Clubnight, details are being worked on now. And guess what? There's a high probability I'll even be attending in-person.
Barra Head - Undermine
Hey! Look to the right and you'll see that the first It's a Trap! Clubnight of the spring has been confirmed for May 9 and will feature Danes Barra Head plus (semi?) local dudes Surrounded. Killer!
IAT.MP3 artists Imagine I Had Hands recently finished recording four new tracks with producer/engineer Jakob Hvitnov (Barra Head). No word on any official release yet, but expect to hear them on myspace soon.
The latest albums from Barra Head and Lack are now in-stock on both CD and vinyl! Even better, the vinyl editions include a coupon for a free mp3 download. You simply can't go wrong! Go shopping!
Check out an extra fast live version of Barra Head playing the song "Common ground" recorded just the other night in Berlin: http://www.myspace.com/rockingrobinsfuckingprojects
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Frivolvol - Out come the knives
02. TALK 1
03. Lapko - Dead disco
04. Gentle Touch - Once you used to
05. Pellarin - Whistle like you're 56
06. TALK 2
07. Björn Kleinhenz - Light of love
08. Pascal - Smärtsillande
09. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Weddings
10. TALK 3
11. Margaret Berger - Samantha
12. Doughnuts - Become one
13. Kusowsky - Jonny
14. NEI - The devil
15. TALK 4
16. Happiness - Loot at that rabbit go!
17. Firefox AK - Pushing
18. Fattaru - Hörde jag skål
19. TALK 5
20. Britta Persson - Cliffhanger
21. Grizzly Twister - Black box
22. The Social Services - Baltic Sea
23. TALK 6
24. Montys Loco - Criminal
25. Fontän - Alla kan se dig
26. Animal Alpha - Pin you all
27. TALK 7
28. Astrid Swan - Spartan picnic
29. Barra Head - Undermine
30. Fun - 2:22men
31. TALK 8
32. Ted Gärdestad - Oh, vilken härlig dag
33. Christian Kjellvander - Poppies and peonies
34. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
35. TALK 9
36. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire
37. Miss Li - I'm sorry, he's mine
38. The Deer Tracks - YesThisIsMyBrokenShield
39. TALK 10
40. Entombed - Damn deal done
Danish indie act Little Jimmy Reeves will release their debut EP "Bring out the dogs" on March 25 via Play/Rec (Lack, Barra Head, etc.). Listen to the title track/lead single at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/littlejimmyreeves