I'm not one for Christmas cheer, but I do like seeing Attila from Mayhem in a Santa suit: https://www.metal-rules.com/zine/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1139&Itemid=28
Norwegian act Animal Alpha has confirmed that their new album "You pay for the whole seat but you'll only need the edge" will be released on January 28. Said album was recorded live at Propeller Studio in Oslo with producer Mike Hartung (JR Ewing, Skambankt, Marit Larsen, etc.).
Here's the entertaining new video for Miss Li's "Gotta leave my troubles behind": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3WMPJQIDNo
The Peter Jöback and Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide, Säkert!) duet "Han är med mej nu" is streaming on myspace: https://www.myspace.com/peterjoback
MIC Norway reports that legendary Norwegian act Motorpsycho has permanently enlisted Kenneth Kapstad (Monolithic, Dadafon) as their new drummer: https://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2007120514080081082627
A new album is already recorded and due out for release in the spring.
Skatterbrain's favorite albums of the year includes quite a few Scandinavian titles such as The Honeydrips, Cats On Fire, Celestial and Club 8: https://skatterbrain.org/2007/12/skatterbrains-top-15-of-2007-woo-hey.html
Hybris has the brand new Kalle J single "When you see me" posted for free download: https://www.hybrism.com/index2.php
Check out People Press Play's new video for "These days": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FvXZ5bk8MQ
The Open Up and Bleeds have recruited Makkan Johansson (Medecine Show) on guitar and Mattias Värmby (Royal Cream) on drums to round out their live lineup. No word yet on any new permanent members, but at least this means they will be able to gig again.
Pitchfork reviews the latest album "My last day" from Norwegian artist Kim Hiorthø: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47094-my-last-day
Have you been keeping up with our daily top 10s for 2007? Posted today is a list from Mattias Alkberg (The Bear Quartet, Mattias Alkberg BD) and yesterday, my good friend Björn Kleinhenz graced us with a touching letter. Check 'em out and keep coming every day for more.
MP3: Linus Larsson and John Roger Olsson - In the shadow
I've mentioned a few times that John Roger Olsson from IAT.MP3 act The Grand Opening was working on an ambient album with Linus Larsson and now I'm happy to report that said album is done and in my hands (well, on my computer) and it's absolutely fantastic. It fulfills the textbook definition of post-rock: using typical rock instruments to create decidedly non-rock music. Said album "Leve Hogrän" does a lot of things, but I can tell you with all certainty that the one thing it doesn't do is "rock." Face it, the quiet/loud dynamics of most post-rock has been a cliché for a long time now, so it's nice to hear someone embracing one end of the spectrum. The track I've posted today, "In the shadow", is the group's own personal favorite and it's easy to understand why as it's got a little bit of everything: dreamy soundscapes, languid guitar melodies, a cohesive full-band moment in the mid-section and even a bit of wordless vocals towards the end. I think I like this even better than JRO's other post-rockish project Will Gambola Sing and those guys are pretty damn good. Also, please note that this project is currently unsigned, so if you might be interested in putting it out, I suggest you get in touch.
Sweden's Peace & Love Festival is going on the road to Santiago in Chile and sending a handful of Swedish acts along for the ride including Mando Diao, Miss Li, Advance Patrol and Elias & the Wizzkids. The dates are January 4-5 and there should more info online here soon: https://www.peaceandlove.nu/
Ebba Grön
We're only in it for the drugs/Kärlek och uppror/Ebba Grön
Mistlur/MNW
Swedish legendary punk band Ebba Grön only recorded three studio albums, but since their demise in 1983 (after being together for 6 years), three compilations, one live album and a four disc box set have all been released (the last compilation was released in 2005). The reason for this is simple - Ebba Grön still sell records in Sweden, due to the simple fact that they were really good (their singer Joakim Thåström also had a successful career after Ebba Grön, both with Imperiet and currently as a solo artist). Earlier this year all of their studio albums were reissued with a couple of bonus singles and b-sides not featured on the original albums stuck onto each disc. Ebba Grön's first album "We're only in it for the drugs" (don't let the English title fool you, Ebba Grön, on their records, strictly sang in Swedish, and also - the title is ironic) came out 1979 and it's without a doubt their finest work and one of the best Swedish albums of all time. After that they went a bit too soft and acquired too much of that 80s swing that sounds so dated today. If you'd like to check out some classic Swedish punk, I'd recommend you to get "We're only..." or "Ebba Grön samlingen". "We're only..." is raw and energetic whereas with the follow-ups, Ebba Grön became more and more pop and less punk. "Kärlek och uppror" is a bit hit and miss and their third (self-titled) album is more miss than hit, despite having classics such as "Flyktsoda" on it. The Swedish punk scene in the last 70s and early 80s was perhaps vibrant and some great songs were certainly produced, but overall it didn't really make too much of a mark. Ebba Grön are the exception to this, they were in a different league to the rest, a bit like what Refused were to Swedish hardcore in the 90s.
Individual Scores:
We're only in it for the drugs: 10
Kärlek och uppror: 7
Ebba Grön: 5
- Simon Tagestam