Top 10s for 2005: Magnus Öberg (Chalksounds/Nomethod)

Top 10s for 2005: It's a trap!

Today's oldie classic comes from Him Kerosene, one of my all-time favorites. Seriously, this is the kind of stuff I live for: huge walls of discordant guitars, dissonant melodies and a heavy rhythm section. What more do you need? This is the post-hardcore/indierock sound that got me hooked on the Norrland scene. From early Fireside, Starmarket and Brick to other bands like KVLR, Breach, Convoj and Seven Feet Four (not from the North, I know), Him Kerosene helped define and establish what I consider to be my favorite sound. And let's not forget HK frontman Niklas Quintana's newest band The End Will Be Kicks, also featuring ex-HK drummer Tomas Turunen. Today's selection comes from the sadly out-of-print magnum opus "Start.Stop", first released back in 1997 on Telegram/Warner, but it must be said that all of their releases are brilliant and worth tracking down even if they aren't quite so readily available. It's worth it, trust me. You want to start a band that I'm enthusiastically endorse, here's your blueprint.

New pics of Jens Lekman, Mattias Alkberg BD, El Perro Del Mar, Convoj and Lo-Fi-Fnk at http://www.photohenrik.com/

Various Artists
Songs we have learned to sing
Klubben Velvet

In case you needed more proof of the depth of talent in Swedish pop and indie rock, here are 19 fine examples assembled by the Velvet Rock Klubb and the student radio station in Uppsala. This one has a bit of everything, from the snappy pop of The Sunshine's "Love" to the darker, Siouxsie Sioux-style sounds on "Pasadena" by Le Muhr to the slow-burning, Swedish-language folk number "Allting ni gör" by [ingenting]. Other standouts include the Joan Jett-on-helium garage of Chick Habit's "Too much is not enough" and yet another track from Convoj, recently given the thumbs-up by my IAT! colleague Navy Keophan. The revelation to me is "Sound of sirens", an insanely catchy slice of indie rock by The Horror, The Horror. I had never heard of them before but will be on the lookout for more of their stuff. I'm not sure you can buy "Songs we have learned to sing" outside of Sweden, but for anyone who can get their hands on it, pick this one up!
- Matthew W. Smith

Top fives: 2005 so far

The video for "My timekeeping heart" from Convoj is now online: http://www.oddity.se/prev_sidor/p_convojQT.htm
The song appears on the band's very excellent self-titled EP which is available for purchase right here.

Convoj
s/t EP
Chalksounds

Göteborg-based quartet Convoj's self-titled EP is a promising mix of atmospheric rock in the vein of Interpol and fellow Swedes Torpedo with bits and pieces of Fugazi. This release contains five songs that draw in the listener with its dueling guitars and the vocals are a perfect match for the music. For a person who is pretty picky about her music, I was very impressed with this release.
- Navy Keophan

New pics of Convoj, Bom Bom and My Darling You! now up at Rockfoto.nu.

Streaming playlist: Spring is in the air

Lupatarkastaja checks in with the second edition of their mixtape series, this time featuring selections from Ted Bergcrona of Convoj: http://lupatarkastaja.samizdat.info/2005/04/27/luuvitosen-vippi-2-ted-bergcrona-convoj/

I finally got around to getting those mailorder updates done. Look down to your right for new titles from Convoj and Kristofer Åström and also note that Tiger Lou has been restocked. Thanks!

I managed to grab a couple new things for the mailorder including the new Convoj EP, restocks of Tiger Lou and the last double-CD special editions of the latest Kristofer Åström record. It might take me awhile to get them into the database, but you can always email me if you don't want to wait.

Convoj's new website is up: http://www.convoj.se/

It's taken me over two months, but I've finally got a new streaming playlist for you. Check it out over in the article section on the right. Come to think of it, that was probably the last time I spent the day brewing beer, too. But I digress - selections this time around include new tracks from David Fridlund, Logh, Kristofer Åström and Convoj as well as demo stuff from Britta Persson and Plain Fade along with a bunch of other choice cuts from stuff I've been listening to. I admit it's not very lovey-dovey, but consider it my Valentine's day gift to you anyway.