MP3: I Are Droid - Blood & ether

Back home safe and (relatively) sound. Huge thanks to Kristofer Kebbon at STIM for making the trip a reality, Craig Bonnell of Swedesplease for being a great festival companion, Jonas and Sofia for putting me up in Malmö, Johan, Ludwig, Stina, Elin and Linda for being great hosts in Umeå, and of course, everyone else I met along the way for being kind and generous and tolerant of my awful Swedish skills. Also: huge congrats once again to Magnus and Karin (and Ossian)! We'll have to do it again sometime, okay?

This week's mp3 posts will cover a small selection of the various records I picked up on my trip, but no, I won't be posting anything from the new Division of Laura Lee yet. The time for that will come soon enough, so be patient! Instead first up I bring you I Am Droid, one of Razzia Records' most recent signing. Their take on the whole dark, urban rock thing ala Interpol isn't the most original thing in the world, but they do it really well, especially on a few songs such as "Blood & ether". I love the droning tap-tap-tap of the piano that persists throughout the entire track, that old rock'n'roll trick that never gets old. It's about creating a mood, something I realized when I heard it playing in a record store in Malmö -- I thought yes, this sounds good right now.

I Are Droid - Blood & ether