"Jona" is the new Familjen-produced single from Edda Magnason. To round out the release, label Adrian Recordings asked fellow Malmö resident Vidderna to do a remix and the result can be seen/heard at PSL right now. Then they had Niva remix the remix without having ever heard the original. And then Justus Köhncke contributed by remixing the remix of the remix. There's also some sort of demo version/remix/mashup from Simian Ghost too, but it all starts to get quite confusing. Anyhow, expect them all to be online shortly?

Terrible Feelings now have a video for the track "Intruders". The Swedish band's debut full-length "Shadows" comes out April 18 here in North America via Deranged Records, April 16 back home via Adrian Recordings imprint Double Sun.

Folk/Ballad: Siri Karlsson - Gran Fuego (Flora & Fauna)
Experimental: Hanna Hartman - H ^ 2 (Komplott)
Punk: Obnoxious Youth - The Eternal Void (Adult Crash)
Dance: Jonsson/Alter - Samlad årsproduktion (Kontra-Musik)
Hardrock: Opeth - Heritage (Roadrunner)
Rhythm: Simone Moreno - Planetas (Soul Dog Records)
Singer/Songwriter/Country/Americana: Ane Brun - It All Start With One (Balloon Ranger Recordings)
Rock: Pascal/Mattias Alkberg - Allt det här (Novoton)
Best Unsigned: Death By Armborst
Jazz: Jonas Holgersson - Snick Snack (Moserobie)
Hip-Hop: Mofeta & Jerre - Briljanter & Smaragder (Pumpa Records)
Synth: Necro Facility - Wintermute (Progress Productions)
Pop: Azure Blue - Rule of thirds (Hybris)
Best live act: This is Head (Adrian Recordings)
SKAP/Manifest Prize for best lyrics: Philip Ekström - Det Vackra Livet (Labrador)
SKAP/Manifest Prize for best composer: Maria Lindén - I Break Horses (Bella Union)
Manifest Prize for best indie: Popkollo

Folk/Ballad:
Marin/Marin – Småfolket (Dimma Sweden)
Merit Hemmingson – EQ (Amigo/Cosmos)
Navarra – Nya fönster (Kakafon Records)
Siri Karlsson – Gran Fuego (Flora & Fauna)

Dance:
Skudge – Samlad årsproduktion (Skudge Records)
Jonsson/Alter – Samlad årsproduktion (Kontra-Musik)
The Field – Looping State of mind (Kompakt)
Pallers – The Sea Of Memories (Labrador)

Punk:
Sju Svåra År – Storma varje hjärta (Not Enough)
Obnoxious Youth – The Eternal Void (Adult Crash)
Vånna Inget – Allvar (Heptown Records)
Black Feet – Black Feet (Dirty Faces)

Hip-Hop:
Mofeta & Jerre – Briljanter & Smaragder (Pumpa Records)
Ison & Fille – För evigt (Hemmalaget)
Mohammed Ali – Vi (Bad Taste Records)
Roffe Ruff – Barrabas (Olofsson Management/Swingkids)

Experimental:
Hans Appelqvist – Sjunga slutet nu (Häpna)
Hanna Hartman – H ^ 2 (Komplott)
Ophir – Opus Operatum (Komplott/Callithrix Records)
Midaircondo feat. Michala Østergaard-Nielsen – Reports on the Horizon (Twin Seed Recordings)

Hardrock:
In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil (Metal Blade)
Opeth – Heritage (Roadrunner)
Terra Tenebrosa – The Tunnels (Trust No One Recordings)
The Haunted – Unseen (Century Media Records)

Rhythm:
Syster Sol – Kichinga! (Swing kids)
Simone Moreno – Planetas (Soul Dog Records)
Kapten Röd – Fläcken Som Aldrig Går Bort (SwingKids)
OK Star Orchestra – The Beat and the Melody (Rootsy.nu)

Pop:
Azure Blue – Rule of thirds (Hybris)
Jonathan Johansson – Klagomuren (Hybris)
Korallreven – An album by Korallreven (Hybris)
Loney Dear – Hall Music (Dear John)

Rock:
Pascal/Mattias Alkberg – Allt det här (Novoton)
Kajsa Grytt – En kvinna under påverkan (Playground Music)
Bob Hund - Det överexponerade gömstället (bob hunds förlag)
Tramp – Indigo (Killer Cobra Records)

Synth:
Henric de la Cour – Henric de la Cour (Progress Productions)
Necro Facility – Wintermute (Progress Productions)
Mr Jones Machine – Monokrom (Progress Productions)
Covenant – Modern Ruin (Progress Productions)

Jazz:
Jonas Holgersson – Snick Snack (Moserobie)
Parti & Minut – Från klart till halvklart (El Dingo Records)
Priming Orchestra – Deep Blue (GAC)
The Splendor – Delphian Palace (HOOB Records)

Best Unsigned:
Death By Armborst
Storskogen
Schizo and the Personalities
Farsta

Singer/Songwriter/Country/Americana:
Brothers of End – Mount Inside (Konjaga)
Ane Brun – It All Start With One (Balloon Ranger Recordings)
Promise & the Monster – Red Tide (Imperial Recordings)
Lars Bygdén – Songs I Wrote (Massproduktion)

Best live act:
Kriget (Kriget)
This is Head (Adrian Recordings)
Graveyard (Nuclear Blast)
Mattias Alkberg (Teg Publishing)

Interesting to see Hybris and Progress Productions dominating their respective niches. Winners will be announced on February 3 at a ceremony at Nalen in Stockholm. Read more: http://manifestgalan.se/manifestgalan-2012/nominerade/

Hare Tracks (Ironville, Tvärvägen) and Double Sun, a new subsidiary of Adrian Recordings, are teaming up to release the debut 7" from Malmö-based indie act Yast. Not sure what the release date is, but the a-side tune is called "Believes" and can be previewed above.

Emil Jensen talks about his new audiobook "Snacka om" (due out October 12 via Adrian Recordings) and does his best to make you sick with dizziness.

A quick preview of the new LP from Den Svenska Tystnaden, due out this week via Adrian Recordings.

"In-between singles and in-between shows Edda sits at home restless. Welcome to Edda's home, she lives in a round and small place." The song "Magpie's nest" comes off of Edda Magnason's debut album "Goods", out now via Adrian Recordings.

Adrian Recordings is giving away the new Den Svenska Tystnaden single "Utnyttjad igen" as a free download: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=318
Said tune isn't a standard album track though, it's actually a cover of "I've been used again" by Billie the Vision & the Dancers and is included on the upcoming best-of collection.

A brand new track from Edda Magnason courtesy of Adrian Recordings, just posted for streaming/free download.

Out today via Adrian Recordings: "Seconds away", the latest single from MF/MB/, available as an EP with 4 extra tracks including a Health cover. More info/download the title cut: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=306
Upcoming European tourdates:

03/12 - Kleine Freiheit, Osnabrück (GER)
03/13 - Studio 672, Köln (GER)
03/14 - Keller Klub, Stuttgart (GER)
03/15 - B72, Vienna (AUS)
03/16 - Hafenkneipe, Zürich (CH)
03/17 - Sinkkasten, Frankfurt (GER)
03/18 - Crystal, Berlin (GER)
03/19 - Grüner Jäger, Hamburg (GER)

Pop:
Anna von Hausswolff - Singing from the grave (Kning Disk/Playground)
jj - jj No 3 (Sincerely Yours)
CEO - White Magic (Sincerely Yours)
Nicolas Makelberge - The Unforgettable Planet (Emotion)

Dance:
Cloud - Hökarängen Space Program (Hökarängen Space Program)
Dmitry Fyodorov - Shapeless (Adrian Recordings)
Jarl & Fotmeijer - Lifesigns (Innertrax)
Skudge - Samlad produktion (Skudge Records)

Synth:
Code 64 - Trialogue (Progress Productions)
Cryo - Hidden Aggression (Progress Productions)
Page - Nu (BAM / Cosmos Music Group)
Social Ambitions - Almost gone (Electric Fantastic Sound)

Hardrock/Metal:
Ghost - Opus Eponymous (Rise Above)
Watain - Lawless Darkness (Season of Mist)
Khoma - A final storm (Selective notes)
Dark Tranquility - We are the void (Century Media)

Rhythm:
Haci Tekbilek - Türlü (Country & Eastern)
Helt Off - Marknadens Soldat (Pope Records)
Million Stylez - Everyday (Adonai Music)
Serengeti - Standing Steady (Illegyal Records)

Jazz:
Elin Larsson Group - Live and Alive (Playing With Music)
Lekverk - Everyday (Parallell)
NEO (Nässjö Extreme Orchestra) - NEO (Johannes Nästejö - LIV Produktion)
The Country - The Country (Found You Recordings)

Punk/Hardcore
Antipati - Frågor som rör det allmänna (Kjell Hell Records)
Hårda Tider - Gatan Kallar (Hårda Skivor)
Old Fashioned Ideas - We're in this shit together (Old Fashioned Ideas)
The Baboon Show - Punk Rock harbour (National)

Hip-Hop:
Academics - Tare Lugnt 4 (Random Bastards)
Carlito - Guldburen (Redline Records)
PH3 - Löser ett fall (Pope Records)
Zacke - Visst är det vackert (BD Pop)

Rock:
Bad Hands - Take The Money And Run (NONS Records/3NO Music AB)
Dundertåget - Dom feta åren är förbi (Razzia)
Pascal - Orkanen närmar sig (Novoton/3NO Music AB)
The Bear Quartet - Monty Python (Adrian Recordings)

Folk/Visa:
Anders Svensson, Magnus Gustafsson, Susanne Gustafsson, Anders Löfberg, Jörgen Svensson - Bålgetingen, Låtar efter August Strömberg (Giga Folkmusik)
Mats Edén, Daniel Sandén-Warg, Leif Stinnerbom, Magnus Stinnerbom - Anno 2010 (Giga Folkmusik)
OK Star Orchestra - Sound Classique (Dreamboat Music)
Ola Magnell - Rolös (National)

Experimental:
Ombudsman - And His Father Was A Great Machine (Substream/Mareld)
Erik Enocksson - Man tänker sitt (Kning Disk)
Leif Jordansson - The Comet / The Doll Maker (Brus & Knaster)
New Tango Orquesta - Vesper (HOOB Records)

Singer/Songwriter:
I'm Kingfisher - Arctic (Playground)
Daniel Norgren - Horrifying Death Eating Blood Spider (Superpuma Records)
The Tarantula Waltz - Did Not Leave To Find But To Forget, To Leave Behind (Brus & Knaster)
The Tallest Man On Earth - Wild Hunt (Gravitation)

Best live act:
Anna Von Hausswolff
The Tallest Man On Earth
Masshysteri
Robyn

Best unsigned act (in collaboration w/P3 Lab):
Alice B
Katakomb
Ascend
Broken Boys

Winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 4 at Nalen in Stockholm. More info: http://www.manifestgalan.se/

Not everything in the picture above is officially a 2010 release, but they are all various things I picked up this past year and would recommend you do the same, should the opportunity present itself. Bonus points to anyone who can name every record pictured! Anyhow, as I was saying, there was quite a lot of really good music released in 2010, but at the same time, very few crossed the line into greatness. This year, only three albums made the cut.

Dear Euphoria - This night will flee (Given Productions/Herbivor Music)

A deep and richly satisfying listening experience that speaks of love and emptiness and the vast space between, with each repitition revealing new insight. Beautifully haunting.

Masshysteri - s/t (Ny Våg/Feral Ward)

The perfect pop-punk album. RIP.

Okkultokrati - No light for mass (Fysisk Format/Lilla Himmel/Odio Sonoro/Ormeyngel Records)

Apocalyptic visions set to a soundtrack of the rawest metal/punk sludge. A zeitgeist-defining album of unmatched ugliness.

Best Song:

Susanne Sundfør - The brothel
I still get goosebumps every time.

Best Demo:

Underachiever - This is where I lost the ability to love
Faster Katt - Demo 2010

The notion of a demo is almost completely lost in this digital age, but there are still those who carry the torch, preferring to test the waters with honest, rough-edged recordings before commiting to any sort of "official" release. In 2010 I listened to way more, way better demo/self-released material this year than any big-name releases, so this list could be a lot longer, but these two stuck with me the longest.

Other Records Worth Mentioning

Like I said at the top, there really were a lot of really good albums this year. Here's a few more that might not rate as high as the three above, but are all well worth your time:

The Bear Quartet - Monty Python (Adrian Recordings)
BQ's endless restlessness and constant desire to innovate remains one of their greatest assets, but it also means that they sometimes miss the mark. Still, the band remains one of Sweden's all-time greats, if not the greatest.

Darkthrone - Circle the wagons (Peaceville)
The opposite of BQ in that the band is continually regressing, but very similar in the approach that they continually churn an almost overwhelming amount of quality material.

Enforcer - Diamonds (Earache/Heavy Artillery)
Too goofy to be truly great, but guaranteed to stay in steady rotation for years to come.

Johan Helte - Sara, (Raffaella)
On the cusp of greatness. Ask me again about this record in six months.

Kimono - Easy music for difficult people (Kimi Records)
My sleeper pick of the year. It's hard to cite exactly what's so gripping about this record, I just know that I keep listening to it regularly.

Monzano - By this time last year everything will seem younger (Spoon Train Audio/How is Annie Records)
Another one on the cusp. Not sure anymore if I permanently burned myself out on these literary indie gents from Norway or if it's one that'll come back to me after some time apart.

Britta Persson - Current affair medium rare (Selective Notes)
More than a few exceptional moments (see "Toast to M" for example), but not enough cohesion.

Robyn - Body talk (Konichiwa Records)
There's a reason this is on everyone's list.

Säkert! - Facit (Razzia Records)
A good album that simply hasn't connected with me as much as I had hoped.

The Tallest Man on Earth - The wild hunt (Dead Oceans)
Another one that made a lot of year-end lists for good reason.

Tiger Tape - I woke up in Hökarängen (Cosy/Lo And Behold)
My favorite indiepop album of 2010.

Plus a few more names: Ikons, Haust, Slöa Knivar, Lapko, Fun, Meleeh, Moto Boy... and let us not forget all of the amazing reissues from The Crypt such as Pan-Thy-Monium, Crypt of Kerberus, Uncanny, Furbowl and so on. So yeah, lots of good music. No complaints!

More new stuff from Adrian Recordings. This is This Is Head's newest single; download the mp3 here and also grab the Dan Lissvik (Studio) remix here.

The new album "Tanum teleport" from Swedish techno act Boeoes Kaelstigen is just released via Adrian Recordings and if you order now, they'll throw in a pair of socks: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=296
Stream the entire record here: http://soundcloud.com/boeoeskaelstigen/sets/tanum-teleport

This is the new single "The grand chase" from recent Adrian Recordings signees MF/MB/ off the group's forthcoming album "Folded", due out October 15. Download the mp3: http://www.adrianfiles.com/01.THE_GRAND_CHASE.mp3
Direct link to the video: http://vimeo.com/15108252

05/27 - Siesta festivalen, Hässleholm (SWE)
06/04 - Strand, Stockholm (SWE)
07/02 - Roskildefestival, Roskilde (DK)
07/31 - Storsjöyran, Östersund (SWE)

Adrian Recordings has announced the signing of Edda Magnason, an artist whose self-titled debut album was released in January via jazz label Caprice Records. She will be recording a new album with producer Christoffer Lundqvist at AGM Studio in November. Read more here: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/artist.asp?artist=20

10. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
A record that is expansive in sound, but still very direct in feeling. [ingenting] aimed for the stars with this one and nailed it.

09. Agent Side Grinder - Irish recording tape/The transatlantic tape project (Enfant Terrible)
Enjoyable as separate entities, though far better when considered as a matched pair. This band has not only mastered the sound of old-school industrial, they can also write great catchy songs (see: "Irish recording tape") and create engrossing abstract soundscapes ("The transatlantic tape project").

08. Pistol Disco - Evergreen (Celebrity Lifestyle)
This group gets better and better with every release and now, with the addition of live drums, they've soared to new heights of brain-roasting awesomeness. Listen LOUD!

07. The Bear Quartet - 89 (Adrian Recordings)
A no-brainer. Still reigning as Sweden's best band.

06. The Fine Arts Showcase - Dolophine smile (Adrian Recordings)
The rawest of breakup records, the grandest of pop. Gustaf Kjellvander's defining moment as an artist (thus far).

05. Wadruna - Runaljod - gap var Ginnunga (Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions)
Pure pagan beauty, performed in the old ways to appease the old gods. If you don't like this, you're no fan of Scandinavian music.

04. Björn Kleinhenz - B.U.R.M.A./Head held high on fearsome pride (DevilDuck Records/SellOut! Music/Tomt Recordings/Eget Bevåg Grammofon)
Another twofer, except this time I've listened to all these songs on shuffle so many times I can't separate them anymore. 2009 was the year that Björn Kleinhenz dedicated himself to his art 100% and it shows. I always have high expectations for his work, but these two records blew me away.

03. Samuraj Cities - Mixed up record collections (Imperial Recordings)
The music reflects the title; a brazen mix of different sounds and ideas, leading the way for the future of Swedish indierock. Sometimes it's a noisy mess, but that's also what makes it so great.

02. David Åhlén - We sprout in thy soil (Compunctio)
Devotional music is incredibly powerful when performed with such fervent conviction and grace as this. There is a new strain of inspirational music coming out of Sweden right now and its artists are creating some of the most exciting music I've heard in years.

01. Elmo - Once (BD Pop)
Far and away my absolute favorite album of 2009. Elmo takes the melodramatic teen-angst pop of Broder Daniel and ups it to near-farcial levels of hysteria, but they never ever falter. When frontman Magnus Ekelund said that this was the "ultimate Elmo album", he was telling the absolute truth. You can't go up from here.

Honorable mentions

2009 was a very good year for music and there are many worthwhile albums that didn't quite make the cut. Here's 5 more in alphabetical order:
Pintandwefall - Hong Kong, baby! (Supersounds Music)
Thåström - Kärlek är för dom (Universal)
C.Aarmé - World music (Spegel)
Turboweekend - Ghost of a chance (Mermaid Records)
Dear Euphoria - Heal my violence (La Paloma)

Heard too late

These records would've made the list if I had properly heard them at their time of release:
The Scrags - s/t (Alleycat Records)
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost in reflection (Fang Bomb/iDEAL Recordings/Release the Bats/When Skies Are Grey)
Tyrant - The rebirth (reclaim the flame) (Listenable Records/Hells Cargo)

Contributor Lists

Simon Tagestam

Albums

01. Samtidigt Som - Flykt, kärlek & broderskap (Luxury)

02. jj - jj n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)

03. Fever Ray – s/t (Rabid)

04. Lorentz & M.Sakarias - Vi mot världen (Epic)

05. Frida Hyvönen – Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)

06. Maskinen – Boys II Men (Pope Records)

07. Taken By Trees – East of Eden (Rough Trade)

08. Körsbärsfettera - Alla ska ha linne (self-released)

09. Sad Day For Puppets - Unknown colors (HaHa Fonogram)

10. Christopher Sander - Hej hå! (Vesper Records)

Songs

01. Montt Mardié – Gloria

02. jj – Are you still in Valda?

03. Anna Järvinen – Äppelöga

04. Samtidigt Som – Tienes mi corazón

06. Maskinen – Pengar

06. Alexis Weak – Disney på is

07. Lorentz & M.Sakarias - Unicorn

08. Christopher Sander - Fattig bonddräng

09. [ingenting] – Halleluja!

10. Makthaverskan - German boy

Arnulf Koehncke

01. Moritz von Oswald Trio - Vertical ascent (Honest Jon's Records)
While technically hardly a Scandinavian album (percussion is handled by Finn Vladislav Delay, electronics and programming by German techno- and dub-mastermind Moritz von Oswald plus modular synths by German Max Loderbauer), I just can't not list this record here. For me, it's this year's equivalent to last year's highlights by Auton or Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble: A demanding record that pulls you in with its hypnotic patterns and movements, makes you smile at its more obvious moments, and makes you miss it when you're without the beautiful gatefold vinyl and a record player.

02. Kings of Convenience - Declaration of dependence (Virgin/EMI)
I was looking forward to this album and the accompanying gig this fall. The gig did not disappoint -- like always, Erlend still wants to own the stage while Erik charmingly stresses his storytelling-skills and seems to divide his time between his baby and the gym nowadays. But the album surprised me at first. Judging from the last record, I had expected more sixties pop and less starkness and quietude. But I like how this album is less easily had, doesn't let the listener in as easily, but will grow on you nonetheless.

03. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
This records sees [ingenting] exchange the more obvious references in their music for more subtle nods to pop music's giants paired with impressively direct lyrics and straight-to-the-point arrangements. If maturity didn't have such negative connotations, one could call the album just that. And "classic" of course, like 80's indiepop is classic, or Sibiria and Vapnet maybe, though in more cynical ways than this record. It seems only fitting that [ingenting] chose to finally drop those "nothing"-puns from their album titles.

04. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)
I've always been unsure about the reference points of year-end lists. Is it calender years or more likely personal years? I'm in favor of personal, so I list this album because to me, despite technically being from 2008, it's really a 2009 record. Somehow, the album's full potential -- its melodies, its power, and most of all, its soul (in the secular, Phil Spector meaning of the word)---had passed me by until I saw Frida and her bandmates play live in Berlin in the spring of 2009. So I'm only making up now for not listing it in 2008.

05. The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules (Bubbles)
A friend of mine once compared TWBA to IKEA. They make highly functional music that's devoid of any ornaments and goes straight to the point. And like IKEA-furniture, TWBA's music works extremely well for its purpose: I've seen them play in a gallery's shopwindow for more than 1000 dancing people gathered in the February-cold street before them, and their songs never fail to fill any indie-dancefloor. I guess I'd rather have IKEA than the "next big thing" from England then.

Singles

01. [ingenting] - Dina händer är fulla av blommor
From the first time I heard this song when [ingenting] performed it on Nyhetsmorgon, I was struck with its directness, the way it seems to speak to every single listener. I really like how non-cynical popmusic can do that sometimes!

02. The Fine Arts Showcase - Friday on my knees
It's great how Gustaf and his bandmates deconstruct this song about two-thirds through, dropping riff and chorus for 120 gloomy seconds of noisy guitar and bass, only to shortly resurrect it all before the end. Who needs radio-oriented hits when we can have this instead?

03. The Radio Dept. - David
Yet another year without an album by The Radio Dept. And still I consider them my favorite Scandinavian band. I'm left hoping the new album will sound more like this single and less like its unfocused b-sides. Still, allowing myself a nostalgic moment, they most probably just won't make another "Lesser matters".

04. The Whitest Boy Alive - 1517
We all need our functional dancefloor-fix from time to time, don't we? Especially when it's this well-done.

05. Kommun - Death of a CEO
I've been looking forward to the Kommun-record ever since the people behind Vapnet and Sibiria announced that, since everyone was making "serious" Swedish records now, they'd make a "non-serious" English record instead. And while I haven't fully connected with the album yet, I can't really escape this deeply political singalong about a businessman's afterlife.

Less obvious non-scandi mentions (besides those Grizzly Bears, Animal Collectives, and Pains of Being Pure at Heart): My friend's sister's project Music for Your Heart, Brooklyn's giddy Uninhabitable Mansions, the new Au Revoir Simone record, that Thom Yorke song on the "New Moon" Soundtrack (less movie, more music), and finally moving to and living in Phnom Penh.

Matt Giordano

01. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
It was always going to be difficult to follow up "Mycket väsen för ingenting", and for a while I thought that this one fell short. The one day it clicked, I could not even compare the two. This is another stellar release for the band.

02. The Bear Quartet - 89 (Adrian Recordings)
A triumph, but honestly I did not even expect less. The Bear Quartet have returned in the only way they could -- a bludgeoning, brooding album that closes their decade of output by making the audience reconsider what The Bear Quartet is once again.

03. Markus Krunegård - Prinsen av Peking / Lev som en gris dö som en hund (V2)
I try to imagine what pop music in English would sound like if we had an artist like Markus Krunegård. But then I realize that the industry here is exponentially more vapid, someone like Markus would be swept into the corners of dimly lit rooms, never to see his due.

04. Asha Ali - Hurricane (3NO)
Three years after her magnificent debut, Asha Ali gave us a devastating album of loss and internal strife. This album is so personal and fragile it must have been difficult to release it.

05. The Fine Arts Showcase - Dolophine smile (Adrian Recordings)
Another album of loss, but with a very different approach. Gustaf Kjellvander gives us an outside view of the degradation of his relationship, which is always quite to difficult to do. However, in typical TFAS fashion, he succeeds greatly.

06. Pistol Disco - Evergreen (Celebrity Lifestyle)
Falling into the category of noise and shoegaze, which I've been listening to a lot lately, Pistol Disco reach amongst the highs. Put this record on and just ease your mind, and it will take your imagination places.

07. Kristofer Åström - Sinkadus (Startracks)
A new Kristofer Åström album always yields quality. This time, he has rotated three backing bands on record, and it adds so much to his already well-honed songwriting craft.

08. Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen (Hyrbis)
What a way to start a career. Jonathan Johansson created one of the better pure-pop albums of the year.

09. jj - jj n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)
Another very good debut, and another very good pop album. jj borderlines on twee, yet mixes soft beats and great vocals.

10. Montt Mardié - Skaizerkite (Hyrbis)
David Pagmar keeps getting more bombastic with each release. Top-notch songwriting and arranging keeps Montt Mardié fans guessing where he'll take his sound next.

Songs:

01. Peter Bjorn and John - Stay this way

02. Elias and the Wizzkids - Mr. Right Guy

03. Montt Mardié - Bang bang (An echo in Warsaw)

04. Asha Ali - The contract

05. The Bear Quartet - Northern

06. Ingenting - Lång våg

07. Markus Krungegård - Prinsessan av Peking

08. The Fine Arts Showcase - London, my town

09. Kristofer Åström - A song for while I'm away

10. Markus Krunegård - Kär i en borderline

It seems to be quite a trend to release solo albums lately in Sweden, but whereas usually these solo outings take on a completely different form than how the artist's band sounds like (e.g. Fireside's Kristofer Åström, International Noise Conspiracy's Dennis Lyxzen's Last Patrol, or Millencolin's Nikola Sarcevic), David's solo album sounds in fact quite a lot like a D&tC's first album (only a bit slower and less energetic). Even though it would have been interesting with an album that sounded completely different from D&tC, "Amaterasu" is so good that one quickly forget the initial disappointment and such before mentioned speculations, because by calling this just "another D&tC album" what that really equals is "another excellent album."

Another expectation on solo albums is of course for the lyrical content to deal with more personal issues, but if you've heard D&tC you know that their lyrics hardly can be any more personal and intimate. It should also be said that David Fridlund writes excellent lyrics and often manages to come up with lines that cunningly drill themselves into your brain, set root, and refuse to leave (such as "Rub your allergic eyes and look at me" from "Satellite", which is one of the best songs on the album). In the beginning of their career numerous people compared D&tC to Bright Eyes, and that comparison is still valid although "Amaterasu" is not as angst-driven as most of Bright Eyes' material. It's also a quite long album, but it's so varied it hardly ever becomes repetitive, but it's not really amazingly accessible either and it took quite a few listenings before I really got into it.]]> Tue, 15 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26647-emil-jensen-kom-hem-som-nan-annan-adrian-recordings http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26647-emil-jensen-kom-hem-som-nan-annan-adrian-recordings http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26647-emil-jensen-kom-hem-som-nan-annan-adrian-recordings#comments Emil Jensen. I want to be able to sit there with a glass of red wine, look out the window, and listen to the lyrics and dream away. I want to like this album so much, because I know my mom would love it and that way we would have something to talk about. This is not a bad album; it's just an album my 50 year old, state employed, divorced mother would like. With that said, Emil is very talented, seriously, look at his website for all the stuff he has done, and at least I know what I am getting my mom for Christmas.]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800 reviews