Imperial Recordings reports that Eskju Divine, TLS and Samuraj Cities will all record new albums this summer for release this coming autumn.

Various Artists
Lesson no. 1
Imperial Recordings

For someone like me who's been following the Imperial label for awhile, this comp is fairly pointless. All of the tracks are previously released or will be featured on upcoming stuff, so it's redundant to my collection. However, if you're even the slightest bit curious about what Imperial has to offer beyond José González, there's tons of great contributions here to get acquainted with from acts such as Eskju Divine, Samuraj Cities, Melpo Mene, etc.
- Avi Roig

Eskju Divine
Fears EP
Imperial Recordings

On their new EP, Eskju Divine continue their epic-styled indie rock. At points reminding me of Adom, with parts Radiohead, The Mercury Program and The Cancer Conspiracy. I was unsure what to think about it as first, but after listening multiple times, it's really the instrumentation that shines on this recording. It creates a surreal dreamland for the listener and is the most effective when the vocals are absent. And while the vocals are not bad at all (at points, they are good segues into different song-parts), I particularly find the music to be the strong point.
- Matt Giordano

Imperial Recordings will be releasing a comp on April 26 entitled "Lesson No.1" featuring a selection of "highlights, rarities and previously unreleased tracks" from the label's vaults. Tracklist:

01. Samuraj Cities - Saturday Night
02. Eskju Divine - Struck By The Halo
03. Melpo Mene - Hello Benjamin
04. Martin McFaul - Boogie Dreamin
05. José González - Sensing Owls
06. TLS - Rising
07. Paperplane - Grow Young
08. Samuraj Cities - Hard Rain
09. Eskju Divine - Fears
10. Melpo Mene - Jedi
11. Martin McFaul - Train
12. TLS - A Song Left For You
13. José González - Hints

Tracklist for the upcoming Eskju Divine EP "Fears":

01. Fears
02. Hold on to yourself
03. Stella
04. Fears II

Both tracks #3 and #4 are previously unreleased.

Imperial Recordings (José González, Eskju Divine, etc.) has announced the signing of Göteborg-based act Samuraj Cities. I was quite impressed by their demo, so I'm looking forward to hearing more good stuff from these guys in the future.

Remember the Winter Wonderland festival tour? Well, this March it's coming back as the Spring Wonderland tour. Here's the dates:

03/20 - The Garage, Oslo (NOR)
03/21 - The Garage, Bergen (NOR)
03/22 - Tekniska, Stockholm (SWE)
03/23 - Musikcafeen, Århus (DK)
03/24 - Studenterhuset, Copenhagen (DK)
03/25 - Gimle, Roskilde (DK)
03/26 - Bodoni, Malmö (SWE)

Acts confirmed so far include Alice in Videoland, Eskju Divine, Insert Coin, Rasmus Helner and The Owens. Please note that not all bands play every date, so be sure to check local listings for details.

Head over to Eskju Divine's website to download a 'new' version of the song "Fears" and to check out some of the band's top memories for the year: http://www.eskjudivine.com/news.htm

Eskju Divine will release a new EP entitled "Fears" in January.

The Winter Wonderland Festival is a new travelling festival tour heading through Sweden and Norway later this month. Some of the bands set to appear on dates along the way include Division of Laura Lee, Waver, Eskju Divine, Emmerhoff & The Melancholy Babies and more. Details: http://www.wonderlandfestivals.com/

Eskju Divine is recording new material for an EP to be released in December/January.

Check out the video for "Darkness all around" from Eskju Divine: http://www.zoo.se/darkness.html

Eskju Divine has a new website design: http://www.eskjudivine.com/

Eskju Divine now has videos posted on their website: http://www.eskjudivine.com/ (look under music)

Eskju Divine
Come and join, close your eyes become blind, we're on our way to Eskju Divine
Imperial Recordings

If you liked the EPs then you'll like this. Also, if you already heard the EPs, then you've already heard the album's best material. For those that haven't heard Eskju Divine before, the band is a piano/keyboard-based trio that plays epic melancholy rock. A dash of Coldplay here, a bit of the histrionics of Muse there, you know the drill. It's hard to muster enthusiasm when I'm already familiar with the highlights, but I will still designate this as a recommended release.
- Avi Roig