Vendlus to release Syven album

The label Vendlus is apparently back in effect and will be releasing the new album "Aikaintaite" from Finnish dark Folk/metal act Syven on December 6. For more info and another preview track, go here: http://www.vendlus.com/

Hexvessel - I am the ritual (video)

An excellent new video from Finnish neoFolk act Hexvessel.

Markus Hulthén - Visa från Svedmyra

More Swedish instrumental psych/Folk, this time from Markus Hulthén who is branching out from his other act Mackaper along with friends Gustav Nygren (New Rose) and Christoffer Narin (Chicken el Diablo).

Vyn - Evighetsminuten

Another tune from the upcoming Vyn album, due out December 7 via Fashionpolice/Border Music. If you dig pastoral rock like Björn Olsson or The Amazing, you'll dig this and hey -- Christoffer Gunrup from the latter band will be playing some acoustic songs at the release party on December 3 at Folkoperan in Stockholm.

The Boombox Hearts - Crank it up (video)

Here's a new video from Danish melancholy Folk act The Boombox Hearts.

Sexpistolstanten och Mockfjärdsvapnet
Det ärliga CV:t
Skrammel Records

This is is the sound of Stockholm punkrock scene vets having a good time, free from any sort of high-minded aspirations. Maybe I'm projecting too much of my own psyche on this, but I strongly suspect that these folks are more than content to get together semi-regularly to play music and drink beer (not necessarily in that order) and maybe then play a few shows for their friends. The fact that they got it together enough to record a long sets worth of material and press it to wax is purely incidental. Eventually you get to a point where that's just what you do, the next logical step in any band's evolution. As for the quality, a record like this is essentially critic-proof -- hence no grade -- and whether or not me or my cronies are impressed is beside the point; if you're not a member of Sexpistoltanten's social circle, this record wasn't made for you anyway. I see it as an audio postcard, a document of a very specific time and place. Local rock for local rockers. And that's totally okay.
- Avi Roig

Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O
s/t
EMI

This isn't really my thing; it's an Oslo thing. And it's my first time reviewing a band where I gotta tiptoe and use my indoor voice. Forthright impudence almost seems like it'd offend an entire national consciousness or institution, as revered as they are. But let's not forget- Oslo's music scene is the most comfortable place in the world. No political suffering, no industrial labor strikes, and no real equivalent to the dole. Hence, dozens of well-dressed boys running bars amuck and feeding off cultural-grant breast milk, or the titties of the finest groupies you'll ever see. No matter how disparate your black metal band A is from shoegaze band B to Top 40 act band C, "we're social equals" so hey, let's all hold hands, and let's be sure to do it on TV. Norgs often blur this crucial distinction between "style" and "fashion". It's like the difference between having Hepatitis B or C. Some ailments you can be born with like a genetic inclination. Style is one's raw talent, however bizarre or mutant, possessed and created only by you. Whereas fashion, like Hepatitis C, you can catch from any motherfucker.

The obvious nods by Madrugada cohorts onwards to Blixa Bargeld and Nick Cave fits extremely well into rich, dark and brooding Scandinavian territory, and has had the self-perpetuated effect of mounting them in a tiny, yet hierarchical scene as gods. But if The Bad Seeds have done it already, is the simulacrum just another fashion? The blues noir motif encompasses everything aspired in an artist's life -- glorified isolation, mystery, sexual energy, freedom. I remember my monumental realisation when Nick Cave's "God is in the house" DVD first came out. It was a signal of the times; the inexorable musicianship of this group of MEN turning something deeply of themselves into an awe-inspiring and transcendentalizing performance. The essence of "soul".

Soul is definitely not something you can just copy, it's not like you can hire a bunch of gospel-singers and assume you'll get that effect. My impression of this album is in fact, soul-searching, which is not to say it ain't solid. It's more like wandering and jamming in the key of retro-blues. At times, it does feel so grown-up and sterile I begin imagining Folks in V-necked sweaters listening to the album in their living rooms on designer couches, hi-fi stereo systems and tons of high-end drugs.

But by solid, I really mean perfect. You gotta hand it to them, a total self-awareness shines through; they know who's gonna try to get a piece of 'em, so they're armed with deadly ammunition. Pristine production, fantastic percussive elements building gigantic drones, and the excellent saxophone-playing is a goodnight cherry on top. My favourite tracks, "I've been watching you (night and day)" has an infectious boogie, like Ethiopian music from the Sixties, Tilahoun Gèssèssè, Mulatu Astatqé, etc. and "After party killer" has a Bowie-air to it that's epic, classic and hit-worthy. In fact, most of these songs are.

But back to what I was sayin', KKKMEO's not exactly my thing. So why the 9? This is not a revolutionary 9. This is not a 9 for alienated subterraneans. This is a 9 for the masses. As a reviewer I tend to detect the moment in which my pure unadulterated love for music is betrayed. In this case, the flow of the album runs like butter, the tracks are easily digestible and honed to the Nordic ear. After being frustrated by many new albums of late, hearing a record that's so un-objectionable and on a higher level of musical professionalism makes me daresay I'm not allowed to object. So I do as any humble reviewer would. Give it a 9, quietly put it back on the shelf, blast "Transilvanian hunger" and make myself a cup of tea.
- Ann Sung-an Lee

The true map of Sweden

OT: the true map of Sweden, as presented by some Folks at the Swedish Institute: http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/swedense/status/134263562779623424/photo/1/large

Tvärvägen to Hare Tracks

Hare Tracks, the label run by the fine Folks in Ironville, have signed Tvärvägen and will be releasing their new album "Staring directly into the sun" in early 2012 on both digital and vinyl.

Live at the Office: Ragnhild Hemsing and Hallgrim Hansegård

Folk/dance artists Ragnhild Hemsing and Hallgrim Hansegård are the latest performers to appear on Listen to Norway's excellent "Live at the Office" video series. More: http://www.listento.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2011110213304888173037

Turist i tillvaron vol. 2 sent to press

The lineup for volume 2 of Swedish punk/hardcore comp "Turist i tillvaron" has now been 100% solidified and the record sent to press: http://sirling.blogspot.com/2011/11/vol-2-pa-press-alldeles-strax.html
Also, it looks like Folks still have til January should they want to get in on volume 3.

The Dead and Living - Mayday, Mayday

Can't say that I'm all that into The Dead and Living's gothed-up Folk-rock, but it is appropriate for today. Look for "Mayday, Mayday" to be released as a 7" single on November 5 via Lightning Records.

Johan G Winther to release lathe-cut EP via Brian Records

My friend Johan G Winther (Tsukimono, Scraps of Tape) will be releasing a super-limited 8" lathe-cut EP via Brian Records with unique artwork for each and every copy supplied by the small circle of Folks who manage to purchase a copy (of which I hope to be a part of). Read more about the project here: http://timecanvas.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/upcoming-releases/

NORCD to release Akku5 album

NORCD will be releasing a new album from Akku5 this winter, the Folk trio of Akku (two vocalists plus tuba? no really) plus the addition of Knut Aalefjær on percussion and Polish sax player Grzech Piotrowski. Samples at the aforementioned link and really, it's worth hearing.

Nat Geo goes to Folkelarm

National Geographic covers Norway's big international Folk fest Folkelarm: http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/article/content.article/Folkelarm_2011/en_US