Laakso's new video for "Västerbron" is now online: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=20574578

Column: A Postcard Life #4

#1 Hits from Another Planet has a track from the new Laakso EP "Vasterbrön & Vampires": http://alienhits.blogspot.com/2007/10/laakso-great-times-underground-we-grow.html

Column: A Postcard Life #3

Timo Räisänen
Love will turn you around
Razzia Records

While not flawless, "Love will turn you around" has already solidified its placement as a record that will receive heavy rotation in my stereo this autumn. There are a few stumbles as Räisänen's more eccentric qualities overpower his usually solid deliveries - "Spill your beans" is far from awful, it just doesn't sit as solidly in the tracklist as the majority of the other compositions do, and makes for a bizarre transition between the heavy, dark delivery of "Sunday" and the softer "Stop rocking the boat" (which, for whatever reason, reminds me of those brilliant early tracks from Ben Folds Five); and "I wash my mouth with soap before I go" could easily be removed from the album without causing much fuss. "Love will turn you around" synthesizes the complicated optimism present in both Swedish indierock and bands like Pavement and, to some extent, Weezer - "Valentine" establishing this talent early on - and yet doesn't shy away from the shadows or more distortion saturated approaches as "Sunday" attests. "Michael" has quickly become my favorite Timo Räisänen song, ousting "Sweet Marie" and "Fear no darkness, promised child" with it's nearly immaculate craftsmanship and delivery, and is almost worth the price alone. The true power of this album is its appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners - as comparable to Shout Out Louds as it is to Laakso or The Bear Quartet - and what could be more important as the days shorten and grow colder than a solid collection of idiosyncratic, yet ultimately hopeful indie anthems?
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

A West Side Fabrication has posted a new track from A Saga on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/westsidefabrication
The song is called "Like water" and was produced by Jari Haapalainen (The Bear Quartet, Laakso, The Concretes, etc.).

Here's the playlist for my radio show on Saturday:

01. Ted Gärdestad - Räcker jag till
02. TALK 1
03. The Setting Son - In a certain way
04. Beyond Dawn - TRNQL
05. Miss Li - Let her go
06. TALK 2
07. Jonna Lee - Dried out eyes
08. Death By Kite - Hiroshima
09. The Motorhomes - I wanna make you sing
10. TALK 3
11. Printer - Minds out
12. Alarma Man - Sweden, Sweden
13. Pistol Disco - Radiation
14. TALK 4
15. Knugen Faller - Lugna favoriter
16. Scraps of Tape - Since all the birds are moving, shouldn't we
17. Carpet People - If I lose my voice
18. TALK 5
19. Asha Ali - A promise broken
20. Ingenting - Punkdrommar
21. Holiday for Strings - I got two hands
22. TALK 6
23. NEI - City of gold
24. FAP - Sjömannen
25. Monoton - Hours
26. TALK 7
27. Deathbed - Everyday heroin
28. Dibaba - Go marching in
29. Johnossi - Execution song
30. Sista Sekunden - Se opp
31. TALK 8
32. Laakso - Worse case scenario
33. Tiger Lou - Sell out
34. Peter Bjorn and John - Matchmaker
35. TALK 9
36. Johndoe - Hardt som faen
37. Espen Jørgensen - Move ahead - quickly
38. Säkert! - Och jag grät mig till sömns efter alla dar
39. TALK 10
40. KVLR - Slow clapping
41. Anna Leong - 61
42. Final Exit - Bent out of shape
43. TALK 11
44. The Bear Quartet - Lights out, sound off

Laakso will be releasing a new EP on October 10 entitled "Västerbron and vampires", naturally featuring the track "Västerbron" from this month's Record Club selection "Mother, am I good looking?" as well as three brand new songs. Look for the band to tour Sweden again starting in mid-October too and note that a purchase said new EP will be included in the ticket price.

MP3: Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki

We're on the cusp of September going into a three-day weekend (Monday is Labor Day in the US), so I'm gonna go ahead and declare that next month's Record Club selection is Laakso's "Mother, am I good looking?". No big surprise there, especially since I've been raving about them quite a bit recently. I had actually considered making it my pick in previous months, but there was always some other record that took precedence. Do I regret it? Nope, not at all - I stand by all my selections. Already have the record? Maybe you want to pick "My gods" as replacement? Or maybe one of the many other new releases I've recently added to webstore? No worries, I'm always happy to work something out. As for today's mp3, well, let's consider the year's best single "Italy vs Helsinki". Is it not a completely over-the-top gay anthem? So how could you make it even more of one? By doing a house remix, naturally. I still prefer the original, but I know that if SoundFactory didn't give it this treatment, someone else sure would. It makes perfect sense and works far better than you could possibly imagine. Enjoy!

Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki (SoundFactory radio edit)

The video for the new Laakso single "Dropout" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMY7DBshZjU

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

Laakso
Mämmilärock
Bale

So, I finally got my hands on the almighty Laakso's other release this year, "Mämmilärock", and although it involved an iTunes purchase (which means no artwork), I'm still rather pleased. The main difference with this album is the obvious language choice, as this is mostly all in Finnish; also, this album was recorded almost two years prior to its release this April (which coincided with the release of "Mother, am I good looking?" in Finland). Needless to say, it does not disappoint. From the balls-out rocker "Stockholm rock city" to mid-tempo, yet very catchy "See you in Huhtikuu" and "Hetkinen juice leskinen" to the heavy Eastern European influence on "Unelmia oli" and "Hurrin hurjaa elämää", Laakso is consistently at the top of their game. Although there is a slight language barrier on my part, Laakso has again produced another stellar album, and continues to cement their place in the upper echelon of Scandinavian music.
- Matt Giordano

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Superfamily - I want my money back
04. The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
05. Ståålfågel - Små gröna män
06. TALK 2
07. Printer - Satisfaction (radio edit)
08. NEI - New morning
09. Paper - Out of it into it
10. Darkthrone - Canadian metal
11. TALK 3
12. Sweatmaster - Animal
13. Bloodbath - Buried by the dead
14. Moneybrother - Guess who's gonna get some tonight
15. TALK 4
16. The Perishers - Victorious
17. The Skull Defekts - Unholy drums are singing
18. Hell On Wheels - Alexander
19. TALK 5
20. Karin Ström - Ordlös
21. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Skulldrummantra
22. Scraps of Tape - How your heart gets thrown
23. TALK 6
24. Brainbombs - Stinking memory
25. M:40 - Brännmärkt
26. Logh - Bring on the ether
27. TALK 7
28. CS Nielsen - Happy
29. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
30. Juvelen - Hanna
31. TALK 8
32. Killerchaps - Equally dumb
33. Dinosau - Derr lady
34. Knugen Faller - Inte som ni
35. TALK 9
36. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
37. Pg.Lost - Yes I am
38. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Marry me
39. TALK 10
40. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home

Column: A Postcard Life #1

Festival report: Way Out West