Last Days of April is keeping a blog in the studio while they record a new album: http://ldoastudio.blogspot.com/

Last Days of April report that they have 7-8 new songs finished and are planning to begin recording later this month, assuming everything goes as planned.

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

01. Logh - Saturday nightmares
02. TALK 1
03. Pay TV - Miss Capitalist
04. TST - No teenage future
05. Dmitry Fyodorov - Wolfbrigade
06. TALK 2
07. The Opium Cartel - Flicker girl (ft. Rachel Haden)
08. Bjorn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson - Någonting är pa väg
09. On Volcano - Out of sight
10. TALK 3
11. Lemonator - Heart burns
12. Loudpipes - Downhill blues
13. The Greencoats - Honey
14. TALK 4
15. Christian and Karla-Therese Kjellvander - Two souls
16. Detektivbyrån - Neonland
17. Knife and Ape - Upset blues
18. TALK 5
19. Cut City - Replacement
20. Culkin - Twin Lakes annual
21. Last Days of April - Playerin
22. TALK 6
23. Viking Truckers - Love on the road

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

Last Days of April is now confirmed for the next It's a Trap! Clubnight at Debaser Malmö on July 19.

Here's this week's radio show playlist:

01. Siena Root - Waiting for the sun
02. TALK 1
03. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
04. Svartbag - Black Capricorn
05. Kite - Ways to dance
06. TALK 2
07. Eero Johannes - Finnrexin
08. Looptroop Rockers - The building
09. Holiday for Strings - Touch the tiger
10. TALK 3
11. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
12. Thomas Denver Jonsson - My wardrobe
13. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
14. Wolfbrigade - Feelings you don't want to feel
15. TALK 4
16. Johndoe - Piggtråd og piss
17. Sol Andersson - All is full of love
18. King of All the Animals - The snowflake song (I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper remix)
19. TALK 5
20. Last Days of April - You don't believe me (Monster & Maskiner remix)
21. Pacta Sunt Servanda - To claim your prize
22. The Goner - Spirit round-up
23. TALK 6
24. Tape - Altamira
25. Letum - Tallriksis
26. Zeigeist - Black milk
27. TALK 7
28. Knife and Ape - Semiotic dysfunction
29. Terveet Kädet - Message
30. Giant Boar - Chronic date
31. The Lionheart Brothers - Time river floaty
32. TALK 8
33. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
34. Agent Side Grinder - Lashes of flashes
35. Skitsystem - Solidaritetens sista utpost
36. TALK 9
37. Final Exit - Punk enough

Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center). My show is being preempted this coming weekend (05/24) for a special Memorial Day Block Party special, but I'll be back in full effect on June 7.

Have you been following Last Days of April as they blog about their current US tour? Read here: http://karltommy.blogspot.com/ (in Swedish)

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

01. The Bear Quartet - Put me back together
02. TALK 1
03. Karin Ström - Silent night
04. Camouflage - Syster sol
05. Ulf Ljusberg - Whatever was
06. TALK 2
07. Juvelen - Don't mess
08. Invocator - Breed of sin
09. The Grand Opening - Secrets revealed
10. TALK 3
11. Motorpsycho - For free
12. Coldworker - Flammable
13. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Photo Jenny
14. TALK 4
15. Egil Olsen - Singer/songwriter
16. Last Days of April - Will the violins be playing?
17. Desert Planet - Riot sector 68
18. TALK 5
19. Printer - Satisfaction
20. Psyke Project - Physical romance
21. Promise and the Monster - Light reflecting papers
22. TALK 6
23. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
24. Pan Sonic - Johdin
25. Opération Zéro - Etude no. 1
26. TALK 7
27. Jonas Game - Nothing to lose
28. Mari Boine - Tundra flower
29. Vapnet - Plötsligt händer det inte
30. TALK 8
31. Moto Boy - Ride my wild heart
32. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
33. Gravy - Behind my walls
34. TALK 9
35. Looptroop Rockers - The building
36. Victims - Victims in blood #5
37. Anna Leong - Guillotine
38. Zeigeist - Humanitarianism
39. TALK 10
40. Ef - Appendix

Johnny Superhero
Choices
Around Your Neck

Starting with Downstairs' "Oh father", I rounded off my week of new music with another Finnish act - Johnny Superhero - and successfully reverted back to the 19 year old I was in 2003. A strange, though very coherent mix of the early indie rock sounds of Failure, Mineral, Archers of Loaf, and, to a lesser extent, Pavement, "Choices" could easily have come out anytime between 1995 and the early 2000s, though this 'dated' element only adds to the album's charm. Instead of being enjoyed from a somewhat detached, archaeological standpoint, Johnny Superhero make their recreation of the early steps of indie engaging and unique. "Time" could almost pass as a Bear Quartet song, breaking at its midpoint in a distinctly similar way to how "Parking lot" ruptures in being at the end of Mineral's "The power of failing". "Schiphol" continues along in a similar vein, though also harkens back to Last Days of April's early, slower recordings. If you remember this transitional stage of music, the shift from grunge to art-rock and the avant-garde, from hardcore and punk rock towards music that is far more comparable to the efforts of today's scene, then "Choices" is worth more than just a few minutes' examination.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Swedish act Last Days of April will be playing a few select US dates in March including some gigs supporting The Lemonheads and special showcase shows in LA, SF and NYC. Dates confirmed so far:

03/10 - The Brickhouse, Phoenix, AZ
03/11 - Ned's, Albuquerque, NM
03/13 - Granada Theater, Dallas, TX

Lukestar
Lake Toba
Phone Me Records

Saturated with towering vocals that often exceed the normal male range, hook after marvelous hook, and drumming so fluid, present, and masterful that it is as fascinating to listen to as the vocal and guitar work, Lukestar may have crafted the best Scandinavian rock/pop album since Last Days of April's "Ascend to the stars". Continuing in that vein of music that was so crudely labeled 'emo', a sound mostly abandoned a few years back, Lukestar effortlessly combine aspects of LDoA with the more dynamic fluency of Mew's debut album. "Lake Toba" is a reminder of why bands like Seven Feet Four have been able to maintain their presence and importance, and an indication of the future of this genre (and, more importantly, that this sound actually has a future). While the musicianship is damned proficient, it's the songwriting that brings you back over and over, keeping the album remarkable and engaging after repeated listens, and allowing for the album to be enjoyed as a whole without skipping around the tracklist. Anthemic and vulnerable, hopeful yet cautious, "Lake Toba" is everything that rock record with serious pop sensibility should be. And with that voice, those drums, and a level of musical craftsmanship and consistency that has been lacking on far too many similar records, Lukestar's newest effort is in good position to be one of the best album of 2008.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Monster & Maskiner has produced a 5-track EP of remix tracks from Last Days of April's "Might as well live" that LDOA will be selling on tour. Fans unable to attend any of the band's upcoming shows are encouraged to either write the band directly or wait for digital release early next year.

New European dates for Last Days of April:

12/05 - Rosenkeller, Jena (GER)
12/06 - Vera, Groningen (NL)
12/07 - L'Entrepot, Arlon (BEL)
12/08 - Water Rats, London (UK)
12/10 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
12/11 - Kesselhaus, Berlin (GER)
12/12 - WUK, Vienna (AUS)
12/13 - Salzhaus, Winterthur (CH)
12/14 - Zoom, Schrobenhausen (GER)
12/15 - Projekt 7, Magdeburg (GER)
12/16 - Kulturkeller, Fulda (GER)
12/18 - FZW, Dortmund (GER)

Last Days of April, Sahara Hotnights, Maia Hirasawa and Pernilla Andersson will represent their homeland at Sweden Sounds in Tokyo on November 6. Read more: http://www.swedensounds.net/ (in Japanese)

Column: A Postcard Life #2

Last Days of April (SWE), Kashmir (DK), Wulfgang (ICE), Ida Maria (NOR) and Desert Planet (FIN) will each be repping their various countries at the upcoming Polarzoo Festival tour happening in GAS this December. Dates and details: http://www.polarzoofestival.info/