To celebrate the 1-year anniversary of their album "On feel trips", Denmark's The Alpine has posted an entire remix album for free download: http://thealpine.mymusic.dk/diskografi/album.asp?id=761
Contributing artists include Lo-Fi-Fnk, Choreo and more.

The Alpine has a new roadmovie/music video posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqg1zAlebjQ

MP3: Samuraj Cities - Saturday night is never fair to everyone

I wasn't the only one impressed with the Samuraj Cities demo (see my original post here). Imperial Recordings (José González, Eskju Divine) wasted no time and quickly swept them up for their roster. The music is still quirky and lofi and imbued with that fantastic, dark sense of melody that made me appreciate the band in the first place. "Saturday night is never fair to everyone" doesn't quite reach the same level of despair as say, Broder Daniel, but it comes close. The vocals are more weary than anguished - just like as with yesterday's song from The Alpine, the song's protagonist is sick and tired of the same old shit. The approach is completely different, but the sentiment is the same.

Samuraj Cities - Saturday night is never fair to everyone

MP3: The Alpine - Mondays look the same

Had I not been so rudely preempted by a blackout, I would've continued my week of great songs with a track from The Alpine on Friday. Just like Sir Eric's "Democracy", I first heard "Monday's look the same" as a single and totally divorced from the rest of the album. Not that it really matters much though, it's an obvious standout track: a simple, universally accepted lyrical sentiment anchored by a call-and-response vocals, an insistent piano line, pounding drums and hand-claps. This is pop music big enough to fill an arena. I would not be the least bit surprised to see The Alpine swept up for international success in 2007. I know of at least three people who I played them for who now consider them as one of their 2006 favorites. The only reason it didn't make my own list is because I mistakenly overplayed the damn thing and burnt myself out. Take my advice: The Alpine may prove addictive, but keep your doses small. The high will last longer that way.

The Alpine - Mondays look the same

The video for The Alpine's latest oh-so-catchy single "No I in team" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJGfroRF0uQ

Danish arenapop act The Alpine are looking for people to remix them: http://www.thealpine.de/ver2/text/index.php

Check out The Alpine's low-budget DIY video for their new single "Sham on": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOTMq3fQni0

It's barely been a day since the announcement that guitarist Mikkel was leaving The Alpine, but a replacement has already been found. His name: Jesper Hoff-Clausen, ex-frontman for the band Polar.

Guitarist Mikkel Brynildsen has left The Alpine. The band says the split is amicable and you can read the full (short) statement here: http://www.thealpine.dk/

Check out a remix of "Two steps" by The Alpine, as done by fellow Danes Yesteryear: http://yesteryear.mymusic.dk/diskografi/sang.asp?id=72077

Check out a remix of The Alpine's latest single "Trigger", as done by NYC-based DJ duo A Touch of Class: http://www.thealpine.dk/ver2/music/soundFiles/05.mp3

Denmark's The Alpine, the band that released what I consider to be 2006's best pop record (that is, until the new I'm From Barcelona record comes out), has posed a link to their EPK (electronic press kit) video: [click here]

Podcast: Q1 highlights

New reviews today: [click here]
I happen to think that The Alpine put out the best pop album I've heard so far this year, but hey - I can deal with dissent. To each their own, right?

The Alpine
On feel trips
Supersonic Records/Sony/BMG

The Alpine sort of remind me of a sub-par version of Blur circa "The Great Escape" in that they play this sort of tongue-in-cheek pop with slick, harmonized vocals – the lead singer's bratty sneer is featured prominently all over the album and is at times, a little grating. Unfortunately, the singer's voice is not the only thing that's grating: the songs themselves are just sort of generic and uninspired which makes for a pretty shaky foundation for the band's somewhat overbearing delivery (I'm mostly referring to the dueling boy/girl vocals and liberal use of silly keyboard settings). My aversion to this album probably has much to do with the cringe-worthy lyrics (for example: "Life is so ironic/it's never what it seems" and "Mom and Dad/got pissed real bad/the day I joined the band"). If you're the kind of person that is easily turned off by bad lyrical content, avoid this album altogether. It's not to say there aren't any high points at all: "Trigger" stands out as one of the few gems in the sense that I could imagine it penetrating Top 40 radio, but I cannot conclusively say that I enjoyed this album.
- Jessica Numsuwankijkul