Got a new track for you today from Austisterna, a Göteborg-based act named after Stig Larsson's debut novel. Though I have been bestowed with the exclusive privilege of posting said track by label , I wouldn't be doing so if it wasn't good and so logically it follows that yes, it is indeed a fine piece of work and one well worth checking out. Fit for this grey season too, not just because I'd rather be hibernating as the song title suggests ("Sov" = "Sleep"), but also because the band's violinist provides an extra little heart-tug with her languid melody line laying over the delicate tinkling of piano, a melancholy sound that's perfect for these short, dark days. It's been three years since the band's debut "Sista scenen" and now the follow-up "Legender", recorded once again with producer Mattias Glavå (Håkan Hellström, Broder Daniel, Franke, Sambassadeur etc.), is finally ready and will be released on March 2 on both CD and LP, as well as digital. "Sov" is merely a taste though; the first proper single "Rachael Ray" doesn't come out until January 10 and I'm sure that if it's anything as good as this, we can look forward to a fantastic record.
Hard for me to think of these dudes as something other than the little siblings of EL-SD, but that probably has more to do with which band I heard first than anything else. Anyhow, that dude Pontus is a beast on the kit no matter how you look at it, googly eyes or not. And yeah, support your (local) noiserock band!
Though not as immediately gripping as debut EP "My sleep was filled with dreams", On Volcano's newest work "New blood" is likewise great. No surprise as far as I'm concerned, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth noting as these things often fall through the cracks and I would be completely to blame if such a thing should happen. "Mission" is my pick of the litter for it's absolutely killer bass hook, both in sound and melody. Skirting the edges of both goth etherealism and postrock-informed moodiness, On Volcano has crafted a track fit for the dancefloor and headphone listening. "Wave your flag and dance to the mission" Download the rest of the EP here: http://www.onvolcano.com/
Black winter day? Yesterday the Pacific NW was anything but! Monday brought us a few inches of snow which, for a region that often gets none not to mention rarely this early, meant that most folks said "screw it" and took the rest of the week off seeing as how Thursday is Thanksgiving and we're just not all that well-equipped to handle extreme winter weather. Tuesday followed with sheer perfection: cold, clear and sunny all day with the temperature peaking at just above freezing. I still had to work because, well, I always have to work, but I still made sure to spend plenty of time out of doors with all the smiling folks happy for a snowday. So even though Amorphis may not be on-point lyrically, their happy-sounding melodic death metal is still a perfect fit for the season. Just think "bright winter day".
If you've seen any John Carpenter films, you know that his soundtracks are often just as memorable as the visuals. Even the most dated-sounding of his works is still evocative, so it's no surprise that many artists would attempt to emulate him and Finland's Nightsatan is a fine example of one such act. Of course the Carpenter worship is just a starting point -- "Karelian Starmaster" will certainly have you thinking "Escape from New York", but it's plenty epic in its own right, moving through various tension-building arpeggios before resolving with a depressive final coda. Also, according to the label, the band performs everything live including the synthpad drums which I must say is pretty cool considering the ease with which this kind of music can be pre-canned.
I am a big appreciator of the large gesture. Pixie Carnation and We are the Storm are two fine examples of contemporary Swedish acts achieving epic indie rock grandeur; Another Nation's National Anthem is another. The band's new EP "Conscious castle" is a concept work that flows steadily from track to track, from one climatic moment to the next; in between are moments of refined melancholy that remind me of Tiger Lou, especially on the two-part "Hold, stranger". The band's own descriptor of "massive" implies a heaviness that they lack, but they got the size part right on. Many acts have been following similar paths in the wake of Arcade Fire, most of them falling far short; ANNA succeeds with their restrained bombast and a balanced fragility/woundedness. They could probably still do more to differentiate themselves from the rabble, but I can't begrudge a song like "About your fathers" when it does it so well.
Another Nation's National Anthem - About your fathers
It's that time of year when my work schedule is absolutely manic, so of course that means I've taken on a couple freelance jobs in addition to all the usual BS I'm usually paid to do. And as for things I'm not paid to do such as this site and that one, well... they tend to slip amongst my top priorities. So yeah, that's my ongoing excuse for a severe lack of mp3 posts and other feature-length content. Still trying to figure out a proper balance so I can work as much as I need to and still enjoy life, but in the mean time, here's a track from the very great Swedish indie throwbacks Life Before Man. You like classic Swindie? Do you get nostalgic for the sound of the early 90s? Maybe you appreciate your indiepop to have a touch of anger? Good! Enjoy this demo track from a 12-year old band that never recorded anything until very, very recently.
I am excited to premiere a new track today from Penny Century, still one of my absolute favorite Swedish indiepop acts and yet somehow, still also currently unsigned. But let's not dwell on that travesty and instead dig into the music, a track entitled "Fiver" which they describe as "perhaps not the most radio-friendly song," but one that best exemplifies the "difference between this album and the last." Which is not to say that the difference is really all that drastic, but "Fiver" does indeed show a much mellower and subdued side of the band. Of course, Julia Hanberg's vocals shine through as strong as ever and the band's melodies are still super catchy, though with a much stronger emphasis on the keyboards. I'm not fortunate enough to have heard any more than this one tune, but if it's more along these lines, I'm sure I'll love it. As for the future, the first "official" single from the album "James Hurley" comes out on Christmas Eve and I suppose the album itself (working title: "Friends and family") will follow sometime thereafter, either via the band's own label or via some other smart person who decides to pony up. Perhaps it's time already for me to get my 2011 watchlist started?
Indie-dance pop is pretty near the top of my list of despised musical forms, but even in the darkest depths there can be light. Whether by pure accident or divine inspiration, Satellite Stories' "Helsinki art scene" does right by adhering more to the tenets of tightly wound post-punk or early indiepop than reconfiguring and watering down the artsy punk-funk of Talking Heads and their acolytes. The sound is stripped of all artifice, the pace is set to racing and the chorus is infectious; a simple and memorable descending single-note guitar line ties it together with a bow. Shame that the rest of the band's other material pales in comparison, but I'll always take one great song above the rest of the mediocre dreck that's overflowing my mailbox.
I find myself at a loss for words when faced with Johan Heltne's new album "Sara,", much like I did with his previous record "Vetenskapliga bevis för att Jesus lever". Beyond the issues pertaining to the obvious language barrier, Johan's music remains peculiar and enigmatic, albeit with a sharper, rawer edge this time out. Lead track "Krieg ist krieg und schnaps ist schnaps" (as first posted here) was a red herring with its easy-listening sax solo and gentle atmosphere, which is not to say that similar tropes aren't repeated/revisited, but the overall feel of the album is anything but "easy". Johan's soft, half-whispered vocals betray his intentions. "Sara, was written during a strange year," he says, "One of my best friends contracted cancer and was dead six months later. Another friend made a serious attempt to take his own life. Another friend was raped at an afterparty. At the same time, several conflicts raged around me, where I was more or less involved. They were concerned with gender roles, dissent and unability to understand others, something that resulted in polite non-relationships. During this time I also had unusually many and powerful epileptic seizures at night. I remember it as though I never was able to get a good night's sleep. The lyrics of Sara, are characterized by this." Nowhere are these feelings more apparent than on "Katarinas pappa ska dö", a Bergman deathbed scene set to song (see lyrics here). Images of blinding whiteness gives way to a harsh sustained chord, the inevitable pressing weight of darkness and the pain of reality and death, a feeling reflected in the music's brutal starkness. No, this is far from easy.
Quite possibly my favorite track from The Bear Quartet's latest album "Monty Python" and, in a single word, tense. The melody occupies such a small space and moves in tight, chromatic steps, back and forth, up and down. No resolutions, only odd, endlessly circling riffs, goofy gurgling noises and dour pessimism. Repeat, not fade indeed.
"Fuck you! Hail Satan!" Yeah, it's way corny, but it also puts a big, dumb smile on my face. Crucifyre aren't going to change anyone's life, but they are obviously having a lot of fun and that's more than okay by me. Besides, death metal really should be fun anyway.
It's Halloween weekend and I've been listening to The Misfits all day long, so I figure I should probably share and share alike, especially seeing as how they are perfect band for the occasion. Problem is, the only cover tunes I have handy come from the dismal "Hell on Earth - Hail to Misfits" compilation which is 98% garbage. I suppose that Entombed's take on "Hollywood Babylon" is solid, but that's not exactly seasonably appropriate so we gotta go with the next best thing which is "Night of the living dead" as performed by The Robots. Competent, yet unexceptional, but that's all I got, so yeah -- happy holidays I guess. Deal with it.
I make no secret of my allegiance to the sound of modern old-man hardcore. Give me a band full of dudes who are old enough to know better playing angry mid-tempo rock and chances are high I'll be stoked. And seeing as how We Live In Trenches just had a CD version of their album "Modern hex" released by , I figure it's due time I posted another track from them. I've actually been listening to the record a lot too, as I only semi-recently tracked down an affordable domestic copy of the vinyl and received a digital promo for easy gym-listening. Shame that bassist/vocalist Anna Knutsson recently parted ways with the guys though, as she provided a nice counterbalance to the male-dominance as well as a little something extra to distinguish them from other like-minded acts, but whatever -- life goes on and people gotta do their thing. Us guys still gotta blow off some steam as we age and get balder/fatter/slower/angrier.
Behold! The latest underground metal hype! Shame that the vocals are so feeble because the music is pure Mercyful Fate-worship awesomeness. And I'm sorry, but the Satanic Grimace-priest outfit pales in comparison to the horror conjured by The Curator. I mean, they're still a decent band and I really do love the tracks that feature prominent organ playing, but that singer is pathetic. No balls whatsoever. At least they smarty eschew all band member names and faces so they could quietly replace him very, very easily.