Artist: Closer

Viewing posts 16-30 out of 48

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Boys of Scandinavia - Beautiful as a person
02. TALK 1
03. Don't Be A Stranger - Perfect problem
04. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
05. Promise and the Monster - Sheets
06. TALK 2
07. Deathbed - When hope leaves a body
08. Closer - Sensing the wake
09. TALK 3
10. The Tarantula Waltz - Two arrows
11. Sambassadeur - Subtle changes
12. Anna Järvinen - Götgatan
13. TALK 4
14. Eric Malmberg - Slutet på en epok
15. Mustasch - Bring me everyone
16. September - Until I die
17. TALK 5
18. Leütenhaven - Still life (trompe l'oeil)
19. Frode Haltli - The latter
20. Lykke Li - Little bit
21. TALK 6
22. Downstairs - Peephole city
23. The Cardigans - Don't blame your daughter (Diamonds)
24. Paris - When I laid my eyes on you
25. TST - We are the kids
26. TALK 7
27. Ghost Brigade - Based on you
28. Mikko Singh - Palmun juurella
29. Audionom - Dc2
30. TALK 8
31. Ulver - Solitude
32. The Psyke Project - I get paralyzed
33. Silverbullit - Winter coat
34. TALK 9
35. Bodies Without Organs (BWO) - Let it rain
36. Icos - On my own
37. Torpedo - Hang me high
38. TALK 10
39. Graveyard - Satan's finest

FYI, in case you missed my announcement: next week will be a spooky Halloween-themed program.

MP3: Closer - Sensing the wake

Tuesdays are new release days here in the US, so it's quite appropriate that I just added a vast quantity of new items to the webstore. Yep, new fall releases are on the way in, but not only that - I've also picked up a whole load of reissue/remasters such as the Ebba Grön discography and the rest of the MNW "Klassiker" series. "Svensk postpunk" has been restocked as well and its price reduced. I also am finally getting restocks of Hello Saferide's excellent "Would you let me..." EP (about time!). Oh, and I also got copies of Laakso's superb 2005 album "My gods" for a good price. However, the one new addition that I know a lot of people have been waiting for is the release of Closer's new EP "The 39". Maybe you remember when I posted about it in early June, but if not, I've reposted opening track "Sensing the wake" again for your listening pleasure. Simply put, this is some of the best heavy rock music you'll hear this year. Hard to believe, but this new EP is even darker and more epic than the debut "Tokpela". The only question is where do they go from here? What path do you take when you're already at the summit?

Closer - Sensing the wake

The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. At the Gates - Suicide nation
02. TALK 1
03. Moving Oos - Stronger
04. Eskju Divine - Hold on
05. Mechanical Bird - Sunday
06. TALK 2
07. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
08. DS13 - Thrash lifestyle
09. Montt Mardié - Metropolis
10. Junior Senior - Can I get get get
11. TALK 3
12. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
13. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
14. Death Breath - His protoplasmic worship
15. TALK 4
16. Mob - Ghost track
17. MZ412 - Unhealing wounds
18. Ugress - Manhattan sapphire
19. TALK 5
20. Shining - Låt oss ta allt från darandra
21. No Hope for the Kids - Rainy day
22. Moneybrother - Det blir ingen dans
23. Amandine - For all the marbles
24. TALK 6
25. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle
26. Last Days of April - Aspirins and alcohol
27. M:40 - När bomberna faller
28. TALK 7
29. Espen Jørgensen - The immaculate conception
30. Motorpsycho - For free
31. The Carny - Man under the sun
32. TALK 8
33. Karin Ström - Klaustrofobi
34. Badun - Pulsen
35. Meshuggah - Future breed machine
36. Värttinä - Mero
37. TALK 9
38. Randy - Better than art
39. Closer - Open casket
40. Alog - Buffalo demon
41. TALK 10
42. On Trial - Speaking of witch

The video for "Open casket" from IAT favorites Closer is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmCsEbJ35w
Recommended!

If you dug the Closer mp3 from yesterday, be sure to check out the other two tracks from "The 39" on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/closersounds

MP3: Closer - Sensing the wake

We're six months into 2007 and our halftime reports are now posted. There's been a good number of strong releases so far this year, Säkert! being a collective favorite and others such as Laakso, Shout Out Louds, Isolation Years, Aerial and Familjen making multiple lists. Whittling our individual picks to three each can be difficult, but I think it forces us to be more decisive and discerning.
One act that didn't make by list, but surely deserves a place is Closer. Problem is, their new EP "The 39" isn't officially released yet and I didn't want to be all, "this is the year's best record and no, you can't hear it." Actually, I did play the track "Sensing the wake" on my radio show a couple times, but I really have no idea how many people heard it. Well, those problems are now a thing of the past as the kind dudes of Closer have decided to let me offer up "Sensing the wake" as a free download. Still no word on an official release, but it'll come - just wait.
For those that have missed my description of the band in the past, Closer plays what I can only describe as intelligent rock music. It's heavy and dark, but not exactl metal and it has the intensity of hardcore without being, y'know, hardcore. The musicianship is stellar as well, but never too showy. Fellow musicians will pick up on it, but there's no conspicuous solos or anything else to draw attention to it. Thematically, the EP is a concept piece along the same lines of "Tokpela", their debut. This time, it's based on a linear story centered around a single person and a series of events. Various similar motifs are repeated throughout the record, tying it together as a whole. Vocalist Joachim Dahlberg describes "Sensing the wake" as part one, "where the sensing part is actually just the saxophone intro, the calm before the storm." Beyond that, you're on your own. Closer loves to be mysterious and is happy to let you draw your own conclusions.

Closer - Sensing the wake

The playlist for my radio show on Sirius this week:

01. Beyond Dawn - Far from showbiz
02. TALK 1
03. Superfamily - The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night
04. The Fine Arts Showcase - Dance with your shadow
05. Pan Sonic - Hinaaja / Tugboat
06. TALK 2
07. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Hold
08. The Bear Quartet - I don't wanna
09. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - When she's GONE
10. TALK 3
11. Laakso - High drama
12. Park Hotell - The guest who stayed forever
13. Fun - Hold it close
14. TALK 4
15. The Book of Daniel - Rabbit boy
16. Watain - Storm of the Antichrist
17. Viktor Sjöberg - w/Nothing
18. Kristofer Åström - Fallen
19. TALK 5
20. Mainliners - Olivia
21. Oddjob - Kings are walking out
22. Lemonator - Heart burns
23. TALK 6
24. Tobias Hellkvist - Slowly but surely
25. Attrap - Just a word away
26. Sahara Hotnights - Visit to Vienna
27. TALK 7
28. The Leather Nun - No rule
29. Alog - Son of king
30. Thunder Express - Vegas
31. TALK 8
32. Closer - Sensing the wake

IAT faves Closer have enlisted Kim Wennerström of God Damn Trio as an additional live guitarist. The enhanced lineup will make their live debut at the Sweden Rock Festival on June 9 (12pm, Gibson stage).

Last night's Sirius Blog Radio playlist:

01. Superfamily - The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night
02. TALK 1
03. Asha Ali - These months
04. Boys of Scandinavia - Why do you love me? (radio edit)
05. Promoe - Headache
06. TALK 2
07. Closer - Sensing the wake
08. The Bear Quartet - Mom and dad
09. TALK 3
10. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
11. Familjen - Kom säger dom
12. Pavan - The bird
13. TALK 4
14. Kazakstan - Song to the past
15. Universal Poplab - Vampire in you
16. TALK 5
17. Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be
18. ARM - Drving by accident
19. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
20. TALK 6
21. Tsukimono - Gathering heavy breathing
22. Pimentola - Wish upon a fallen star
23. Plain Fade - Uliaan leski
24. TALK 7
25. The Skull Defekts - Six six for eyes
26. Logh - Into the night
27. TALK 8
28. Aerial - You will all die, all things will
29. Tobias Hellkvist - Moment at ven
30. Audrey - Views
31. TALK 9
32. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Ashen like the sky

Last night's playlist for my show on Sirius Blog Radio:

01. Isolation Years - Yellow cross on blue
02. TALK 1
03. Johndoe - Nattskift
04. Montys Loco - Wasteland
05. Once We Were - Cut corners
06. TALK 2
07. [ingenting] - Mycket vasen for ingenting
08. Margaret Berger - Robot song
09. Namur - Marching
10. Lampshade - New legs
11. TALK 3
12. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
13. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
14. Fattaru - 100:-
15. Juvelen - Hanna
16. TALK 4
17. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
18. Sonores - 16th of June
19. Detektivbyrån - E18
20. TALK 5
21. At the Gates - The swarm
22. Barra Head - Kill the lights
23. TALK 6
24. The Tough Alliance - Leg 7
25. Torpedo - My evil twin
26. Alog - Catch that totem!
27. TALK 7
28. Valley Days - 10k angels
29. A-ha - Celice
30. Victims - Who the fuck are we?
31. TALK 8
32. The Vicious - Alienated
33. Viola - Unreal life
34. Zweizz - Nowadays the only boring everything is so frustrating
35. Viktor Sjöberg - Winter guitars
36. TALK 9
37. Closer - The talker
38. Aerial - My god, it's full of stars!
39. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
40. Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki
41. The Psyke Project - Panic
42. TALK 10
43. C.Aarmé - We are the world

Next week: expect lots more killer jams including totally a brand new track from Closer and maybe even a spotlight set on post-rock/ambient music. Good times!

The Nucleus webzine interviews IAT faves Closer: http://www.nucleusprog.com.ar/ingles/r-closer.htm

Check out a new recently published review of Closer's "Tokpela EP": http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200708.php#closer
One of my favorite releases of 2006.

Closer went into Helter Skelter Studio in Stockholm today to start recording a new EP. Seeing as they were one of my favorite new acts from 2006, I've got high hopes for 2007.

Top 10s for 2006: It's a trap!

Top 10s for 2006: Closer