Music with Mai at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2008/05/30/musik-med-mai/

Mai
Still need a kiss
Nacopajaz

Johanna Wedin is at her best when the landscape she creates is comprised of haunting, dreamy tones, with her voice slipping through this artic scenery like fog given motion by a soft breeze. Luckily, this is majority of her debut album "Still need a kiss", which often feels like a warm mix of Decibully, Trespasser William, and Taken By Trees. Compositions like "You should come" and opener "Snowing downtown" encapsulate the beauty of being isolated with one's thoughts, a theme that I often find myself exploring in these autumn months (especially now that the American East Coast is no longer plagued by 90 degree [32 Celsius] days in October). While there is really nothing to forcefully complain about on Mai's first effort, there is a slight unevenness in tone and delivery that keeps this record from becoming a wintry classic. That said, Wedin's sophomore effort may easily correct these missteps, and that would truly be something.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. Mattias Bärjed - 99 pounds
02. TALK 1
03. Piroth - Waltz for prima ballerina
04. Hyacinth House - Swedish signs on Monkey Island
05. Aerial - Secret goddess
06. Icos - Fly away
07. TALK 2
08. Robyn - Konichiwa bitches (Trentemøller remix)
09. Folke Rabe - Argh!
10. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
11. TALK 3
12. Audionom - In the streets
13. The Alpine - Trigger
14. Immanu El - Astral days
15. TALK 4
16. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Jag har en vän
17. Logh - Thieves in the palace
18. Galento - Gunnar Hardings paraply
19. TALK 5
20. Promise and the Monster - Antarkis
21. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Heroica
22. Anchor - In the throes of passion
23. TALK 6
24. Repoman - Valley of snakes
25. Ulver - Shadows of the sun
26. Bobby Baby - Do not twist
27. TALK 7
28. Superfamily - Warszawa
29. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
30. Sinikka Langeland - Sus i myrull
31. TALK 8
32. Graveyard - Thin line
33. Mai - Snowing downtown
34. KVLR - Abomination
35. TALK 9
36. Säkert! - Sanningsdan

MP3: Mai - You should come

At first glance, you might mistake Mai (aka Johanna Wedin) for a plainjane singer/songwriter, but truthfully, I think she'd be much more at home clothed in black and on a label like Projekt. The few songs where she strums a guitar and indulges in stereotypes are the anomaly, not the norm. They're also the weakest moments of her record. It's the atmospheric tracks where she lets the electronics take charge that are its brightest moments. Actually, scratch that - there's nothing bright about them. This music is dark and gloomy in all the best possible ways. Save this track for the dead of winter.

Mai - You should come