New act Den Svenska Tystnaden have a new 4-song EP posted for preview at their website: http://www.densvenskatystnaden.se/ "Långsamma repliker all tid i världen" is the 2nd of three thematic EPs to be released this year.
The one track missing from the vinyl release of "89" gets a platter all its own, paired with a cover of the same by Göteborg noiseniks The Skull Defekts and released on the imprint of Malmö-based . Though The Bear Quartet has toned down the antagonistic experimentalism that peaked with 2006's "Eternity now", the lyrical sentiment remains pure contempt, as is most often the case with latter-day BQ tracks featuring words penned by Mr. Mattias Alkberg. Needless to say, I love it, especially when they pair their anger with a refined, stripped-down postpunk approach as is on display here. As for the flip, The Skull Defekts don't remake the track as much as you might expect, though they do amplify the noise and aggression quotient, taking the sublime and turning it darkly sinister. Less subtle, to be sure, but no less effective. Not sure about the pressing numbers, but the glued jacket and heavy black dustsleeve make it a package worth possessing. - Avi Roig
has posted the artwork and preorder details for the new The Bear Quartet album "Monty Python", due out September 15: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=279
It will be released in tandem with the single "Fist or hand".
has been posting new remixes every week all summer long, but this week they've changed things up a bit by offering up This Is Head covering labelmates Familjen and their new single "Det var jag": http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=281
is giving away a plethora of Andreas Tilliander remixes as free downloads: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=274
Contributing artists include labelmates Familjen and Boeoes Kaelstigen as well as Minilogue, Pellarin, Vapnet and many others.
has revealed that The Bear Quartet's next album, due out this fall, will be entitled "Monty Python". Preview four tracks: http://adrianfiles.com/thebearquartet2010/
Also note that the band will be playing a few gigs this summer:
The opening of Familjen's "Mänskligheten" was enough to give me pause. Here is one of my favorite Scandinavian electronic artists and an album I've been looking forward to for a little while now, and the first track sounds like a lazy, bedroom remix of a forgettable '90s techno track. Even with the outstanding "När planeterna stannat" following quickly after the trainwreck of an opener, a bad taste was left in my mouth as the album progressed. What has always attracted to me to Familjen is the songwriting, the indiepop playfulness embedded into the electronic framework. This is lacking from an artist like Kleerup, who is great in his own right, but approaches electronic music with more of an affinity for the mainstream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this tact, it's just not what I've come to expect from Familjen after falling for "Det snurrar i min skalle". "Mänskligheten" -- with the exceptions of "När planeterna stannat", "Man ser det från månen", "Viggo", and "Det var jag", the standouts in my opinion -- could act as the soundtrack to a film set in Ibiza. Is "Mänskligheten" a bad album? By no means. It's just that the clever songwriting that sold me on "Det snurrar i min skalle" is mostly sitting in the passenger seat on this particular journey. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
has announced the signing of electro/rock act MF/MB/ and will be releasing their debut album "Folded" this fall. In meantime, check out the single "The big machine" at the band's website: http://www.thisismfmb.com/
mattg | Wed, Aug 25th, 2010 17:00:26