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Are you kidding me? This has got to be one of the most guileless, gutless singles in recent memory. Is the UK really so enamoured with pop pap that this kind of pathetic blue-eyed soul can become hype? "I love my baby (but if anyone touches her I'll kill them)" aims squarely for the middle. It's the kind of music I can see appealing to boring, middle-aged ladies; the kind of people who swear off spicy food, wear puff-paint sweatshirts, hoard cats and stay far away from any sort of edge. Lite-rock predestined for the dentist office lobby, in other words. Seriously, I thought we were past the ironic yacht-rock thing already. I find it really hard to believe any young people actually, honestly think this is good. At least with Ruffa Lane labelmate and fellow Swede Montt Mardié, he only uses kitsch as a starting point, not a means to an end. Avoid!
Napoleon - I love my baby (but if anyone touches her I'll kill them)
In case you haven't noticed, I managed to get the label page back up this past weekend.
I won't pretend to be impartial on Tiger Lou's new album "A partial print". Not only do we have a working relationship (I put out the "Until I'm there" 7"), but I am also lucky enough to consider Rasmus Kellerman a friend. Apparently I'm also something of an inspiration, having intoned the words "The more you give, the less you carry" when offering to lend a hand with the band's gear at Umeå Open. Who knew I was such a font of wisdom? Who would've thought such seemingly mundane circumstances can be so transformed? So yeah, I am about as far from unbiased as one can be, though I hardly let such matters keep me from opining on many subjects.
"Crushed by a crowd" struck me as an odd choice for a single at first, but I've since come around, having considered it more in context. It may not be the album's highlight, but it is immediately accessible and it sounds the most like the Tiger Lou you've come to know, as opposed to the Tiger Lou you thought you knew, the Tiger Lou of "A partial print". Every new album is different than the last and this one is far more austere and opaque than anything he's done before. It's also more grandiose and imposing when taken as a whole, in its intended dosage. Hence, "Crushed by a crowd" gives an easy in; its comforting familiarity allays concerns, the fear of change. And it's also a great song, one I appreciate the more I listen. That's the other thing - "A partial print" is, above all, a grower. It's a big, modern rock record with moments of huge bombast, but fans craving a more intimate connection will need to spend more time digging below the surface looking for a way in. It's there for you if you want it, but it holds you back at arm's length. Trust me though, it's worth it.
Tiger Lou - Crushed by a crowd
Check out Norwegian artist Christer Knutsen and Sacred Hearts and the new video for his new single "The way it will always be": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EI9Ez_qrms&fmt=18
Said track will be appearing as the theme song for Norwegian TV series "High Hopes" which premiered this past weekend. It's currently available as a paid download, but will also be appearing on 7" vinyl in the near future.
The Washington Post Express on Finnish viking/folk-metal act Ensiferum: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/10/swords_sonic_sorcerers_ensiferum.php
Worth reading, if just for the epic metal war question near the end.
Hopefully you already took the initiative to download all of the tracks from Björn Kleinhenz's excellent covers and remix countdown, but just in case, we've got all of the tracks re-posted here as a netrelease. Who cares that we're still a week away from the Swedish release of his new album "Quietly happy and deep inside"? Download these tracks and pretend you already know the record! Of course, I aim to stupefy, which is why I've posted the one track that's probably the most different from the original. Obviously, that Anders Teglund remix I posted is also distinctly not Björn, but you can still hear fragments of his voice. On the other hand, Switzerland's The Rabbit Theory take the song "Krokås" and totally mess it up, turning it into an emo post-punk workout. It's all jagged rhythms and hoarse vocals, yet you do get a huge finale to round this up at the end. I know, not a Scandinavian band, but rules are made to be broken. Sometimes. Download "Krokås" below and then head to my netlabel page to snag the rest.
Also, don't forget my interview with Björn's friend and fellow singer/songwriter Thomas Denver Jonsson discussing his contribution: [click here]
The Rabbit Theory - Krokås
It looks like the excellent Finnish music blog FinnArtic is being forced to close up shop: http://finnishrock.blogspot.com/2008/10/end.html
Better act fast if you want to educate yourself in Finnish musical obscurities.
I don't listen to nearly as much death metal as I used to, but when I do, I'm almost always reaching for something that appeals to the old-school. Coffins from Japan are a standout and of course the new Bloodbath is totally solid even if it is more "Clandestine" than "Left hand path" (as stated before), but there's also a bunch of far more underground acts worth mentioning and Necrovation is one of 'em. I'm sure I'm missing a lot too, so feel free to leave me suggestions in the comments. Anyhow, these Swedes play filthy death metal exactly the way I like it: Sunlight guitar tones, drums that sound like drums, phlegm-heavy vokills buried deep in the mix and tons of groovy breaks. It's got the melodicism that made the aforementioned "Left hand path" a genre landmark, but it's also got the basement-quality grunginess of Autopsy, another death legend. I still dig some tech stuff now and again, for instance the new Cynic is more than decent, but I think I'll always prefer my metal to be dirty and antisocial. No trends, no poseurs, much love.
Necrovation - Dead faith's purulence
Swedish indie act Marching Band have an exclusive track called "Trust your stomach" included on the soundtrack to the new movie "Nick and Noras Infinite Playlist" which will be out in theaters this coming weekend.
Celestial is giving away the title track of their new album "Crystal heights" as a free download: http://musicismygirlfriend.com/celestial/music/
Swedish pop act Celestial has a new website: http://www.musicismygirlfriend.com/celestial
The band's new album "Crystal heights" will be released on October 8 via Lavender/Music Is My Girlfriend.
Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm and Daniel Nyström of Svenska Grammofon Studios recorded Broder Daniel's final show at Way Out West this past weekend. I have no idea if it will be released, but I assume so.
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These Finns sure know how to sabotage themselves. Between the misleading name, forgettable cover art and tepid instrumental opening number, it's a miracle I even bothered to check out the rest of the album. I'm glad I did though because these dudes actually have a decent heavy fuzzrock sound once they get going. They're not idiosyncratic enough to stand out from the mediocre multitudes, but I do dig the fact that they're going for a more modern, streamlined approach as opposed to doing the tired retro/stoner thing. I've heard enough wannabees in that vein to last me a lifetime. Anyhow, I'd say that Devillac is eminently listenable and far, far better than I expected, but still totally forgettable in the end.
- Avi Roig
As regular readers know, Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Max Hansson from Cut City/White Knives.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
During a drunken haze back in the year 2000 while stuck in my hometown, I threw a dart at a world map and figured that chance could have its way with me. Though aiming for internationally consensus-proven cool cities like New York, Berlin and Paris, I fell short and took the bus up to Gothenburg and started delivering mail with a disgruntled grin. In my bags I had a band lacking any basic nuance of ambition along with an appetite for spending more time on stage than off. It was an unhealthy equation, but by ditching (read: being ditched by) some of the members, I started Cut City with David Hagberg and it led me to fulfill some modest goals of mine. That was six years ago and though many of the people I know have since left town, I stay put. I'm too old to move and my wonderful girlfriend makes life tolerable here. Gothenburg can be quite abysmal at times, mostly during the fall, winter, spring and the majority of summer. There are things here that makes it worth living though: Koloni put on a whole lot of wonderful shows and pushes a healthy experimental climate; Release The Bats put out some amazing music as does Ideal Recordings. Without them, Gothenburg would have you jump for the Xanax bottle.
How do you deal with bandmates living in Malmö? Don't you know they barely speak Swedish down there? What's keeping you from ditching David and getting someone local? Or why don't you sell out Gbg and move south?
Rehearsing less than once a month is what we do and it's how we define work ethic. I've got a small studio (a grand euphemism for old computer) set up in a tiny walk-in closet and that's what keeps me sane. I'm from the south myself so the language barrier is easily broken down. I can't move to the south because I'm banned there and we can't give David the boot because he's a machine and we all know that machines will take over the world and we really, really want someone to be on our side when that day comes. To be honest, Sweden's such a small country that you run into friends pretty much without effort.
Do you feel any connection to the Swedish post-punk scene of yore or do you draw inspiration from elsewhere? Do you ever consider your city's musical heritage at all? Do you think there's any such thing as a Gbg sound?
I merely play the music I do because I lack the musical prowess to play metal. And that's the honest truth. When you read this I'm either at the Iron Maiden concert with 60,000 other heshers or discussing the grandeur of a mummified Eddie with everyone who failed to get a ticket. Post-punk is too broad of a term to stylistically distinguish band A from band B. But I do know what you mean my dear friend. I'll tell you this: my favorite guitarists among many are Roger Mcguinn, Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine - the triple R - and they inspire me in many ways. Trying to copy them while lacking the talent I make my style my own (oh, the hubris).
I moved here being totally oblivious to what this city had spawned band-wise and I knew next to nothing about what it had to offer with the exception of its metal scene and its very distinct Gbg sound. I would say I feel a whole lot more affiliated with the city now after befriending many of its contemporary musicians. I feel a kinship with the likes of Alarma Man, Silverbullit, Dieter Schöön and a slew of other bands that know better than to sing off-key.
How does the city inspire you? How does it stifle you? How do you think people could make it better?
I like to take long, long walks from one end of the city to the other and see how it transforms from big anxiety-provoking concrete blocks to huge beach mansions soon-to-be engulfed by the sea; from rich ghettos to poor ghettos. I like watching people hitting the bars on Avenyn; I like watching the young kids clubbing; I like seeing the contempt erupting from both sides of the coin. This city could mean everything to me and at the same time nothing. I can't say I could tell if it makes me or breaks me. I think people could make it better if they drank more. Juice.
Going to Way Out West this year? Anything in particular that you're looking forward to? Or dreading?
Yes. Deleted Art has two bands playing there this year: The Mae Shi and No Age. I'm amped up and ready to surf the crowd. Then there's Sonic Youth of course, as well as The National and they're both bands I love. Had only Journey been there playing the entire "Escape" album with Steve Perry holding the mic instead of some poor replaceable cover band member, I would literally be bawling. That's not going to happen though, so I might as well just sit back home watching "Frontiers and Beyond" or "Live in Houston". Dreading? I don't want to run my mouth off and take a piss on bands that probably deserves it because that would be rude and I'm not a rude person (Mando Diao). I dread queuing to the unsanitary toilets, shit and piss on the floors.
Lastly, got a song to share? Either from one of your own bands or another, it's all good. Tell me about it!
I don't know if copyright laws prohibits you from sharing "Bastards of young" by The Replacements with your frequent visitors. I would love for you to have that up there instead of being elaborate and unscrupulous enough to exploit this offer and have people listening to my own band. I know the answer to this and will offer you the second best thing to the Mats themselves: "Replacement". It's our own ode to Westerberg et al and a deliberate attempt at stealing the best things in music history.
Thanks!
No, thank you! Still they ride, on wheels of fire. They rule the night. Still they ride, the strong will survive. Chasing thunder.
Cut City - Replacement
Danish rockers No Privacy have invited the infamous Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre to record a duet with them this weekend.
Devillac