Pitchfork says Susanne Sundfør is Best New Music
Pitchfork finally gets hip to the amazing Susanne Sundfør, bestowing their "best New Music" tag on the single "White foxes": http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14304-white-foxes/
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Your search returned 1881 results. Viewing results 1-15Dinner - You are like LA
New music from Dinner aka Danish artist/producer Anders Rhedin, probably best known for his work behind the scenes with Choir of Young Believers and also as an ex-member of Jong Pang. "You are like LA" is the title track of the first of two EPs to be released via .
Bombs of Hades
The serpent's redemption
Pulverised Records
Old school Swedish death metal is the order of day from this Swedish four-piece. It's all simple enough stuff, quite reminiscent of a less-tech Tribulation in places. "The serpent's redemption" likes to groove a lot and it makes this album sound something along the lines of old school thrash meets old school death 'n' roll. It's nothing really to write home about, but at the same time it's littered with cool parts from start to finish. Sadly, those cool parts are too short-lived and strewn between endless average sequences that often outstay their welcome. The title track is a prime example; a no mark main riff that's drawn out for way, way, way, way, way, way too long. So: there's nothing new, the riffs are average (at best), everything lasts too long and the good parts are few and far between. It's hard to see how anybody in tune with this particular scene would want this over the plethora of other releases out there. Sorry.
- John Norby
Hombre Malo/Desert Icons
Split
Nooirax Producctiones
Yep, the crusties will love this! Hombre Malo kick off proceedings off and, to be honest, they do take a while to hit their stride. Once they do though, they just click and you're right in there with them, tearing shit up. The first three tracks are essentially punked-up stoners while closing track "Burial ground for a past life" showcases the Oslo-based sludgers at their finest. The punky stuff might sound cool and all, but when Hombre Malo hit mid-pace before slowing to a drawn-out, doomed halt, it's as pummelling as a bag of pool balls to the cranium. More of this in the future will level cities.
I take it Spain's Desert Icons have listened to a fair bit of Thin Lizzy in the past. The bits on here that do sound like a metalized Lizzy are the downers here. They just lift and brighten the atmosphere a bit too much in something that has the potential to be dark and nasty... in an outstandingly metal way. Out of three songs, opening track "The search" is Alchemist meets Thin Lizzy and the second song, "Animal rage" is Immortal meets Thin Lizzy. And the Lizzy bits are everywhere in both. Closing track "Time for the storm" is the best of the bunch here by miles and it's killer. And there's no Thin Lizzy in it at all! It showcases a band with an identity of their own who sound so fluid when they just run with it rather than trying to show people that they can play like Thin Lizzy. NB. I think this is the most I've ever written Thin Lizzy in my life.
- John Norby
It's a Trap! Clubnights 9/22: Out of Vogue + Anchor
Next week! Come celebrate the autumnal equinox with an evening of Swedish hardcore at Debaser Malmö with Out of Vogue and Anchor! As always, It's a Trap! Clubnights bringing you the best Scandinavia has to offer. The requisite FB event invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/407303379333860/
Stereogum best new bands of 2012: Icona Pop, Mirel Wagner
Icona Pop and Mirel Wagner are the two Scandinavian representatives on Stereogum's top 40 best new bands of 2012 list, alongside local-to-me friends Milk Music who are also well worth checking out: http://stereogum.com/1142542/stereogums-40-best-new-bands-of-2012/franchises/listomania/
Cobolt - Postume
For most folks, the band Cobolt is, at best, a forgotten footnote from the Umeå music scene of yore. For nerds like me who pursued every thread until exhausted, they were a revelation, an eye-opening glimpse into the vast and varied expanse of the Norrland music scene in a post-Refused world. And now, at long last, Refused bassist Magnus Björklund has posted his old band's final unreleased recordings for public consumption. I've had semi-illicit copies of a number of these tracks for many years now and am glad they are finally getting a proper chance to find an audience -- very recommended!
Vånna Inget - Jag ska fly tills jag hittar hem (video)
New video from Vånna Inget for the title track of their latest EP "Jag ska fly tills jag hittar hem". Sweden's best current punk band? Yes.
Diskoteket - Mörka tankar (live video)
I wish the sound was more than just vocals, drums and bass, but it still must be said that Diskoteket is one of Sweden's current best acts.
Albin - En timme kvar
Now available for streaming/paid download via Bandcamp, the new Albin album "En timme kvar", out now via . As mentioned before, this is the solo debut from multi-instrumentalist Albin Johansson, best known for backing a number of artists such as Solander, Big Fox and Edda Magnason. If the idea of mellow organ jams sounds like a good time, you'll be way into this.
More Øya from Under the Radar
For more on Øya, here's coverage of Day 3 and Day 4 from Under the Radar.
GBG belongs to you
I don't love Air France, but I do love Göteborg and would move there in an instant if I could, so that's more than enough reason to endorse AF member Joel Karlsson's personal recommendation list for the city: http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/city-guides/joel-karlsson-air-france-102151
I'm not familiar with every place he recommends, but I wholeheartedly back Solrosen as one of the best, most friendly and affordable places we ate on our recent trip.
Beastmilk
Use your deluge
Svart Records
Now this is where it's at! This four-tracker kicks off like the ugly cousin of something that The Cult would have put out back in the day and it's immediately evident where talk of the Helsinki quartet being a lo-fi outfit comes from. It's not that they're lo-fi though, it's more that the guitars have been given a dirty post black metal(ish) production and remain subdued when compared to the sublime vocals. They're like an apocalyptic marriage of the voices of Ian Astbury and the enigmatic Czral from Norwegian oddballs Virus. Kvhost of Hexvessel infamy is the man here and he simply kills. After opening track "Void mother" the band venture into a more retro-based aesthetic and, as weird as it might sound, from here on out "Use your deluge" is probably best described as hippy '60s surf-punk for the 21st Century. There are many influences at work here and the concept has clearly been built from a punk foundation. It's also a grower that runs from "not sure" to "utterly amazing" in the space of a few days. Awesome stuff.
- John Norby
Best of 2012 (so far)
Been meaning to get this written up for over a week now, but I haven't found the time and now that I'm about head out on vacation to Sweden for a couple weeks, I figure I need to get at least something up. So without further ado, here's my picks for the best releases of 2012 so far (in alphabetical order):
Agent Side Grinder - Hardware ()
Beastmilk - Use your deluge ()
Diskoteket - Det ska se ut som slutet ()
Magnus Ekelund & Stålet - Supernova EP ()
Nitad - Rastlös & vild ()
Susanne Sundfør - The silicone veil ()
Tvärvägen - Staring directly into the sun ()
Vånna Inget - Jag ska fly tills jag hittar hem ()
On the cusp/too early to tell:
Anchorless - Every nook and cranny ()
Norra Kust - s/t ()
Westkust - Junk EP ()
Reissues:
Missbrukarna - Zooma in en zombie ()
Ratsia - Jäljet ()
Listen to a selection of these records below via Spotify: