IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Masquer - Stark naked

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:39:44 -0800

Swedish duo Masquer (feat. members from Idoru and Lowood) have a couple new tracks up on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/masquerstockholm

MyFriends: Boevell, LionLove, Maggie at the Grand Piano, Masquer, We Work in Cubicles, Ydinaseeton Pohjola

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:45:58 -0700

Ex-members, sideprojects and other people you may have heard of before. And some other artists thrown in for good measure.

Boevell

SOUNDS LIKE: Linus from Idiot Kid with a new nomenclature doing the solo sadcore thing. Quite nice actually.
HIGHLIGHT: Someday my pain will leave
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/boevell

LionLove

SOUNDS LIKE: Charlotte and Daniel are back! After retiring the Vijaya moniker and starting a family, it's great to hear new music from these guys again.
HIGHLIGHTS: El sueno del dias, Long awaited love
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/lionlovesthlm

Maggie at the Grand Piano

SOUNDS LIKE: Lovely slowcore featuring an ex-member of Cobolt!
HIGHLIGHT: I try hard to make you love me
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/maggieatthegrandpiano

Masquer

SOUNDS LIKE: Idoru + Lowood = Masquer, a perfect amalgamation of the band's two sounds. Be sure to check the blog posts for free downloads.
HIGHLIGHTS: I think I'll lose my mind, Keep hanging on to his words
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/masquerstockholm

We Work in Cubicles

SOUNDS LIKE: Is this We Live in Trenches evil twin? They certainly are as mellow as WLIT are hard. One-take acoustic rock for easy listening.
HIGHLIGHTS: You're the reason, Lose cause
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/weworkincubicles

Ydinaseeton Pohjola

SOUNDS LIKE: Honestly, I'm usually not that crazy about this kind of over-the-top noisecore, but I love the tagline: "When man turns to 35 it's time to play hardcore." I'm feeling it, give me a few years and I'll be living it.
HIGHLIGHT: Grynderi
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/ydinaseetonpohjola

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:56:03 -0800

NONS has signed Lowood and will be releasing their debut album "Close to violence" in March. Hear a sample at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lowoodsweden
The band features members from today's featured mp3 act Idoru and will be supporting Tiger Lou on their upcoming Swedish tour (see sidebar for dates). Speaking of Tiger, the band will be performing new album "A partial print" in its entirety at these upcoming shows and speaking of "A partial print", I should be getting copies for mailorder very soon.

MP3: Idoru - Chase

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:49:17 -0800

Like On Volcano, Idoru is a great example of what's possible in modern DIY indierock. I strongly disagree with my colleague's assessment of the former - while so many current, big-label bands are caught up in fey pretension, pointless experimentalism or worse, it's so good to hear new acts like this. And by that, I mean that they actually know how to write good songs, an all too rarefied quality. Idoru's EP isn't as consistent as On Volcano's, but high points like "Chase" show great potential. The sound is contemporary, but it's also strongly informed by the past: classic shoegaze, early postpunk or 90s noiserock, it's all there. Just listen to the way they tease you with bits of a well-known melody on the coda! However, most of all, I appreciate that they know how to rock. Pop music need not be limpwristed, nor does rock demand power over melody. The two can coexist! Imagine that! Strange times indeed...

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:17:56 -0800

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Detektivbyrån - Partyland
02. TALK 1
03. Björn Kleinhenz - At night we die
04. Hjertestop - Illegalt signal
05. Idoru - Chase
06. TALK 2
07. Fever Ray - If I had a heart (instrumental edit)
08. Champagne Riot - Scandinavian warfare
09. Caesars Palace - Only you
10. José González - How low
11. TALK 3
12. Alarma Man - Nightwolf
13. Adolf Filter - 1982
14. Brick - Ha ha ha
15. TALK 4
16. Auton - El Dorado
17. Gutted String - Feeling small
18. The Bombettes - It ain't me babe
19. Tiger Lou - Trust falls
20. I'm from Barcelona - Headphones
21. TALK 5
22. Kite - Ways to dance

Reminder: my show airs on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.