IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Bad Hands guest vocalists revealed

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:37:35 -0400

Via Rogerts Blogg, here's the tracklist and guest vocalists that will be appearing on the upcoming Bad Hands (aka Per Nordmark) album:

Black and white - Linnea J�nsson (Those Dancing Days)
Bad hands - Nina Kinert
Northern lights - Britta Persson & Karl Larsson (Last Days of April)
Kick you out - Nicke Andersson (The Hellacopters) & Howlin' Pelle (The Hives)
Andra relationen - Subbah
Close enough - Choir of Kiemi
We love blood - Henric de la Cour (Strip Music)
Cartoon wolf - David Sandstr�m
I can do it - Therese Johansson (Lowood)
Sillodill - Britta Persson

Column: A Postcard Life #2

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

My descent into the world of Scandinavian music was initiated and ultimately sealed by Kent's seminal "Hagnesta hill". I was 17 and living in Abingdon, a small village outside of Oxford, England, and my girlfriend at the time, a wonderful girl named Ella Torkelsson (who would eventually steal me away to Stockholm), leant me the record, claiming it had been dulled by overexposure - a claim I still can't quite fathom. At the time I had no experience with Swedish, but the language barrier did little to lessen Kent's impact on me. I'd never heard anything quite like it. Abingdon School, the secondary school I attended for nearly six years of my life, had been frequented by four of Radiohead's members in the recent past, and so their records were near-required listening for those of us still studying for our A-Levels. The astounding "OK computer", one of the best amalgamations of sheer beauty and the bizarre on record, a masterpiece in its own right, was the closest I could find to Kent's delivery, but it's far from a sufficient association. Over six years have passed since I first heard Kent, and I've still not found another band truly comparable to them.

I'd fallen in love with Karl Larsson's (of Last Days of April) vocals on "Angel youth" earlier that year, and "Ascend to the stars" would later assist in my eventual and complete surrender to Scandinavian musical creativity, but it was the distinctly arctic sound captured by Kent that would truly overwhelm me. I still get chills on certain nights upon hearing those opening notes from "Kungen �r d�d"; shards of memory cut just deep enough to momentarily negate the present, and it becomes instantly clear to me why I fell so deeply in love with this band, Scandinavian music, and music in general. Learning Swedish during my stay in Stockholm only enhanced my appreciation of Kent and their albums, though my roommate here in the United States assures me that the English language versions of "Hagnesta hill" and "Isola" are more than sufficient. I have to admit, I don't despise the English lyrics to the level that some of my Swedish friends do. I prefer the Swedish deliveries, but am more than well aware this has much to do with how influential Joakim Berg's lyrics were in the early desire to develop my Swedish language skills, and therefore a very personal relationship with these records was established.

There are periods in life when music is especially important. My final year of British boarding school was one of those times; that culmination of two years of post-GCSE study in forty odd hours of A-Level exams, and my exodus from the United Kingdom to Sweden. "Hagnesta hill" existed very much in parallel to those defining moments. I was still transitioning between my love of hardcore and punk towards bands like Interpol and the Chameleons, and Stockholm exposed me to so many new forms of music - not only through my new closeness to one of Scandinavia's most prolific scenes, but through the friends I made across the region over the next few years - but I am staggered by how much more of my own historical weight is laden in Kent's songs than those of other bands I was listening to at the same time. "Beskyddaren" brings up so many memories: satisfaction at finally understanding the line "Kan du beskydda mig?", though that line became a far more personal and frequently dismal question in later years. The triumphant, anthemic cry of "Som om Jag bryr mig" from "Revolt III" colors more late nights that blurred into early mornings than I'd care to remember, but hope I never forget.

There's far more that can be said about "Hagnesta hill" than a single column could ever hope to cover, so many corners that deserve to be illuminated, explored, and have life breathed into them. My own hubristic ramblings have directed much of the attention on myself and why this record means so much to me - not only in relation to fostering my infatuation with Swedish and Scandinavian music, but as a nearly essential fragment of my final teenage years, and one that has survived adolescence and early adulthood - that a proper evaluation and analysis of the record has been rendered impossible. I'm sure many are shocked that I haven't made reference to "Musik non stop", "Kevlarsj�l" or the phenomenal closing track "Visslaren" before now, though somehow found time to discuss my high school level education and a few of my early successes in understanding the Swedish language. But what is music if it doesn't become an essential, delicately private facet of our lives and histories?

There are few albums I've ever written this much about, let alone more than half a decade since my first exposure to them. Much of Kent's album's vitality has instilled itself in my own meandering paths through life since leaving that little village in the English midlands, so I hope you can forgive this rather personal account. "Hagnesta hill" has survived every bandwagon I jumped on, every trend that I followed until it came crashing to a whimpering end, and has provided comfort and safety through some of the most important turning points of my life... it is an essential album as all the other lives it has touched can attest.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Last Days of April - Might as well live (Bad Taste Records)

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Peeling off the layers of music has always been an interesting way to evolve for a band. And it certainly feels as if Karl Larsson finally found his home musically. This, the 5th album, is simply packed with rawk that has an astounding appeal. The man knows how to write catchy songs, but this collection are his masterpiece. And speaking of catchy, "Who's on the phone?" can possibly be the catchiest song to be released this year. Other favourites are the somewhat epic "Melbourne" and the sensitive and driven "Two ply glass". LDOA is a one-man project nowadays, but never is it a dull project. On the contrary, it is very much alive and kicking, something that the album title refers to. With Fredrik Granberg from Randy behind the drums and Mathias Old�n from Logh on bass, it's a combo that really tightens the sound together. And once and for all; I think we can finally erase that "emo rock"-mark LDOA have been labelled with for so long now.
- Jonas Appelqvist
Rating: 8

Last Days of April - Do for two

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0400

This week's Friday mp3 pick belongs to Matt Giordano:

Last Days of April has always been one of those groups that, whilst I like a handful of tracks, the rest of the lot has never really been able to grab my attention. Maybe it's because (to me anyway) the slower numbers tend to all sound rather similar, no matter when they have been recorded. The progression of the band since heading the pop route has been very slight, however it's with the uptempo pop songs where the band succeeds. Maybe it's because that's where Karl Larsson's pseudo-teen angst succeeds best - in capturing the energy of his moment of frustration. Anyway, the band's new album is out now, and although I've yet to hear it, here is one of the two songs I consider to be the band's best (and the only ones I subsequently listen to). Enjoy.

Matt's pick: "Do for two" from 2004's "If you lose it". The runner-up? My all-time favorite LDOA song "Playerin", off the 2002 album "Ascend to the stars". Seeing as how I've posted that one at least twice now over the years (once when it was new and once to revisit), I figure it's good to diversify.

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Last Days of April mainman Karl Larsson will be doing a number of acoustic showcase shows around Europe to promote his new album "Might as well live":

01/22 - The Monto, London (UK)
01/23 - Winston Kingdom, Amsterdam (NL)
01/25 - Stereo Wonderland, K�ln (GER)
01/26 - Privatclub, Berlin (GER)
01/30 - Sala Castell�, Barcelona (ESP)
01/31 - Atomic Bar, Milan (ITA)

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

This week's top 20 Swedish student album chart:

01. (01) Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet U Look Good on the Dancefloor"
02. (03) Franz Ferdinand - "Walk Away"
03. (NY) The White Stripes - "The Denial Twist"
04. (09) David Sandstr�m Overdrive - "The Crotch of a Saturday"
05. (NY) El Perro Del Mar - "God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get)"
06. (07) R�is�n Murphy - "Sow Into You"
07. (20) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Is This Love?"
08. (08)�ObnoXiuz - "L�gg benen p� ryggen och dra"
09. (NY) Lethal Bizzie - "Fire"
10. (NY) Baby Shambles - "Albion"
11. (05) The Embassy - "It Pays to Belong"
12. (05) Test Icicles - "Circle Square Triangle"
13. (17) Gorillaz - "Dirty Harry"
14. (11) Goldfrapp - "Number 1"
15. (NY) Ella Rouge - "Jekyll N Hyde"
16. (04) Christian Kjellvander - "Drunken Hands"
17. (06) Sa�an Supa Crew - "La Patte"
18. (�T) Architecture in Helsinki - "Do the Whirlwind"
19. (NY) Stereophonics - "Devil"
20. (13) R�yksopp - "What Else Is There?"

Leaving the chart:�Karl Larsson,�Kristian Anttila,�Le Sport,�Rihanna,�Sophie Zelmani,�Tiger Lou and�The Sunshine.

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

This week's Swedish student radio chart:

01. (02) Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet U Look Good on the Dancefloor"
02. (02) Tiger Lou - "The Loyal"
03. (03) Franz Ferdinand - "Walk Away"
04. (04) Christian Kjellvander - "Drunken Hands"
05. (11) The Embassy - "It Pays to Belong"
06. (06) Sa�an Supa Crew - "La Patte"
07. (NY) R�is�n Murphy - "Sow Into You"
08. (NY) ObnoXiuz - "L�gg benen p� ryggen och dra"
09. (07) David Sandstr�m Overdrive - "The Crotch of a Saturday"
10. (10) The Sunshine - "Simon Le Bon"
11. (NY) Goldfrapp - "Number 1"
12. (05) Test Icicles - "Circle Square Triangle"
13. (12) R�yksopp - "What Else Is There?"
14. (NY) Rihanna - "If It's Lovin That U Want"
15. (15) Le Sport - "Business Girls"
16. (16) Karl Larsson - "Devil Strings"
17. (NY) Gorillaz - "Dirty Harry"
18. (17) Sophie Zelmani - "I Can't Change"
19. (09) Kristian Anttila - "Paul Weller"
20. (18) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Is This Love?"

Leaving the chart: Architecture in Helsinki, Bloc Party, Loveninjas, The Pipettes and Pharell.

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (02) Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet U Look Good on the Dancefloor"
02. (03) Tiger Lou - "The Loyal"
03. (NY) Franz Ferdinand - "Walk Away"
04. (04) Christian Kjellvander - "Drunken Hands"
05. (01) Test Icicles - "Circle Square Triangle"
06. (07) Sa�an Supa Crew - "La Patte"
07. (09) David Sandstr�m Overdrive - "The Crotch of a Saturday"
08. (10) The Pipettes - "Dirty Mind"
09. (15) Kristian Antilla - "Paul Weller"
10. (16) The Sunshine - "Simon Le Bon"
11. (06) The Embassy - "It Pays to Belong"
12. (13) R�yksopp - "What Else is There?"
13. (14) Pharell - "Angel"
14. (20) Loveninjas - "Keep Your Love"
15. (NY) Le Sport - "Business Girls"
16. (NY) Karl Larsson - "Devil Strings"
17. (NY) Sophie Zelmani - "I Can't Change"
18. (18) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah "Is This Love?"
19. (�T) Bloc Party - "Two More Years"
20. (�T) Architecture in Helsinki - "Do the Whirlwind"

Leaving the chart: Katie Goes to Tokyo,�Queens of the Stone Age,�Randy,�Sophie Rimheden,�The Strokes and�Willowtree.

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Bad Taste Records is sending Satanic Surfers, Venerea and All Systems Go (US/CAN) out together on a European package tour. Dates:

11/11 - Volksbad, Flensburg (GER)
11/12 - Ex-haus, Trier (GER)
11/13 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
11/14 - Demokrazy @ Het Magazijn, Gent (BEL) w/Quit Your Dayjob
11/15 - Mondo Bizarro, Rennes (FRA)
11/16 - tba, Bordeaux/Pau (FRA)
11/17 - Sala Caracol, Madrid (SPA)
11/18 - Carpa Centro Historico, Zaragoza (SPA)
11/19 - Punk or Latex Festival, Barcelona (SPA)
11/20 - Rockstore, Montpellier (FRA)
11/21 - Grillen, Colmar (FRA)
11/22 - Alter Stadtbahnhof, Schweinfurt (GER)
11/23 - Universum, Stuttgart (GER)
11/24 - Alex Skatehalle, Osnabr�ck (GER)
11/25 - Mejeriet, Lund (SWE) w/Karl Larsson
11/26 - Garage, Oslo (NOR)
11/27 - Debaser, Stockholm (SWE) w/Karl Larsson

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Karl Larsson (Last Days of April) on tour in the UK:

09/20 - The Barfly, London
09/21 - Bar M, Chatham Kent
09/22 - The Prince Albert, Brighton
09/23 - The Ferryboat, Norwich
09/24 - The Casbah, Sheffield
09/25 - The Fenton, Leeds
09/26 - Bar Bloc, Glasgow

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400

This week's MTV UpNorth video chart:

01. Kent - Den D�da Vinkeln
02. The Rasmus - No Fear
03. The Cardigans - I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer
04. HIM - Wings Of A Butterfly
05. Crashdiet - Breakin The Chainz
06. Darin - Why Does It Rain
07. H�kan Hellstr�m - G�rdakvarnar och Skit
08. The Legends - He Knows The Sun
09. Timbuktu - Stirra Ner
10. Laleh - Live Tomorrow
11. TwoPointEight - Red Eye
12. Blindside - Fell In Love With The Game
13. Stratovarius - Maniac Dance
14. Karl Larsson - Off The Cliff
15. Jupither - Love
16. �stermalm - Le �t Allt
17. Svenska Akademin - Du Vill S� Du Kan
18. Lene Marlin - How Will It Be
19. Thomas Dybdahl - If We Want It, It's Right
20. Hellacopters - I'm In The Band

Go here to vote for your favorite: http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=4753

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400

This week's MTV UpNorth video chart:

01. Midnight Monkeys - Monkeys On Attack
02. The Rasmus - No Fear
03. Crashdiet - Breakin The Chainz
04. HIM - Wings Of A Butterfly
05. Kent - Den D�da Vinkeln
06. Darin - Why Does It Rain
07. The Legends - He Knows The Sun
08. Apulanta - Pahempi Toistaan
09. TwoPointEight - Red Eye
10. Hellacopters - Everything's On TV
11. Stratovarius - Maniac Dance
12. �stermalm - Le �t Allt
13. Svenska Akademin - Du Vill S� Du Kan
14. Lene Marlin - How Will It Be
15. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Station To Station
16. Karl Larsson - Off The Cliff
17. Peshi - Hush Hush
18. H�kan Hellstr�m - G�rdakvarnar och Skit
19. Thomas Dybdahl - If We Want It, It's Right
20. Laleh - Live Tomorrow

Challengers:
01. Timbuktu - Stirra Ner
02. Jupither - Love
03. The Cardigans - I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer
04. Hellacopters - I'm In The Band
05. Blindside - Fell In Love With The Game

Go here to vote for your favorite: http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=4753

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0400

This week's MTV UpNorth video chart:

01. The Rasmus - No Fear
02. Midnight Monkeys - Monkeys On Attack
03. HIM - Wings Of A Butterfly
04. Hellacopters - Everything's On TV
05. Apulanta - Pahempi Toistaan
06. Darin - Why Does It Rain
07. Laleh - Live Tomorrow
08. �stermalm - Le �t Allt
09. TwoPointEight - Red Eye
10. Lene Marlin - How Will It Be
11. Svenska Akademin - Du Vill S� Du Kan
12. H�kan Hellstr�m - G�rdakvarnar och Skit
13. Kent - Den D�da Vinkeln
14. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Station To Station
15. Division Of Laura Lee - Dirty Love
16. Firefox - What's That Sound
17. Kaizers Orchestra - Maestro Kaizerecords
18. Thomas Dybdahl - If We Want It, It's Right
19. Peshi - Hush Hush
20. Alcazar - Start The Firt

Challengers:
01. Saint Thomas - Morning Dancer
02. Crashdiet - Breakin The Chainz
03. Stratovarius - Maniac Dance
04. Karl Larsson - Off The Cliff
05. The Legends - He Knows The Sun

Go here to vote for your favorite: http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=4753

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Upcoming tourdates for Karl Larsson (Last Days of April):

08/03 - Fritz Corner @ Kulturhuset, Stockholm (SWE)
08/12 - HMV Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne (AU)
08/12 - Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (AU)
08/13 - Jive, Adelaide (AU)
08/17 - Manning Bar @ Syd Uni, Sydney (AU)
08/18 - Oxford Tavern , Wollongong (AU)
08/19 - Annandale Hotel, Sydney (AU)
08/20 - Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle (AU)
09/02 - Weltb�hne, Hamburg (GER)
09/03 - Projekt 7, Magdeburg (GER)
09/04 - Scheune, Dresden (GER)
09/05 - Arena, Wien (AUS)
09/06 - Ampere, M�nich (GER)
09/07 - AKW, W�rzburg (GER)
09/08 - Magnet, Berlin (GER)
09/09 - Eins B, G�ttingen (GER)
09/10 - ETC, Erfurt (GER)
09/16 - Zwischenfall, Bochum (GER)
09/17 - JUZ / Indoor Festival, Saarlouis (GER)
09/20 - Barfly (Monarch), London (UK)

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400

The German webzine Sellfish has relaunched with a new user-friendly GUI and plenty more of the usual Scandinavian music reviews and interviews. Recently added pieces include a review of the new Karl Larsson (Last Days of April) album "Pale as milk" and an interview with Anders Wendin of Moneybrother: http://www.sellfish.de/

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0400

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. CajsaStina �kerstr�m - De vackraste orden
02. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
03. Robyn - Robyn
04. Di Leva - Sj�lens krigare: samlade s�nger 1980-2005
05. Totta N�slund - Totta 8: Greatest Hits
06. Carola - St�rst av allt
07. The Hellacopters - Rock & Roll Is Dead
08. Musikal - Mamma Mia
09. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill d�
10. Ulf Lundell - H�gtryck
11. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
12. Kent - Du & Jag D�den
13. Pandora - 9 Lives
14. Nanne - 20 �r med Nanne
15. Ted G�rdestad - Sol vind & vatten - Det b�sta
16. Laleh - Laleh
17. Bodies Without Organs - Protoype
18. Electric Banana Band - Electric Banana Band och Trazan & Banarnes b�sta
19. Helena Paparizou - My Number One
20. Arvingarna - #8

Indieworkshop reviews the solo debut from Karl Larsson (Last Days of April): http://indieworkshop.com/music/1818/

Tue, 31 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Bad Taste has posted an mp3 from Karl Larsson's (Last Days of April) upcoming solo album "Pale as milk": http://www.mejeriet.net/badtaste/mp3/karl_larsson_off_the_cliff.mp3
It comes out on June 22.

Fri, 27 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Ah, Friday. It never comes soon enough. This week's classic tune comes from Last Days of April off their 2000 album "Angel youth", easily the best record they've ever done. Which is not to say they haven't put out decent material since then- they've just never been able to match the ridiculously high standard they set on this release. The band tends to catch a lot of flack for being on Deep Elm in the US (Bad Taste in Sweden) and getting lumped in with the dreaded emo scene, but the music is much better appreciated if you think of it as a pop record. Sensitive boys making great pop songs. Nothing wrong with that. In a lot of ways "Angel youth" is very similar to Jimmy Eat World's breakthrough release "Bleed American": Both bands came from similar scenes and both records have amazing production, gigantic hooks and excellent pacing, 'cept the Swedes probably haven't raked in anywhere near the same amount of money. But what I'm saying is that they could. The potential is there, or at least was. It'll be interesting to see what LDOA mainman Karl Larsson does now that he's gone "solo". I'll be waiting.

Fri, 06 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Karl Larsson of Last Days of April reports that he has just finished recording his first solo album "Safe as milk". The nine-track album is due out mid-June via Bad Taste Records.