Pitchfork is running a two-part interview with Björk: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/146670-interview-bjrk-part-one

Marybell Katastrophy
You are the two
Merger

Building off the demented amalgamation of space-rock, Björk, and industrial-tinged electronica that was present on "This is the one", Danish oddity Marybell Katastrophy has crafted another challenging, yet abundantly rewarding EP. "You are the two" is as difficult to portray with language as its predecessor, if not more so, lavishly borrowing vehicles of expression from almost every popular contemporary genre: electronic arrangements that amble along like Four Tet and other times prowl despondently, evoking early the Cooper Temple Clause; songwriting that at times feels akin to the masterfully bizarre work that Astrid Swan accomplished on "Spartan picnic" - see: "Nightwalk" - only later to feel more like a dangerously unhinged, "Amnesiac"-era experiment - see: "Silence"; even the stand-out track "Hidden agenda" seems indebted not only to the strength of Marybell Katastrophy's songwriting, but Czech electronic artists Khoiba and British prodigy Patrick Wolf's ability to congregate darkness with pop sensibility. Out of all of these myriad approaches and sounds, Marybell Katastrophy brings a powerful sense of coherence and lucidity, similar to the way the Notwist and Slaraffenland are able to explore numerous avenues without making their albums feel like a series of detours. If "This is the one" put Marybell Katastrophy on my radar, "You are the two" finds me pleading for a full-length effort to place high up within my Best of 2008 list.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Lykke Li
Youth novels
LL Recordings

Before I listened to this album, I'd heard about three Lykke Li songs. Those tracks were all catchy and fantastic with great melodies, so I naturally expected her album to be more of the same. What a surprise I was in for! The album consists of a bunch of songs like those I've previously heard, but then there's a whole weirdness thing going on, a bit like Björk or perhaps more similar to those sounds Tom Waits has made his own. The album's quite spooky, and it's got a factory feel to it. The juxtaposition of spookiness with melodic choruses and such poppy devices such as handclaps work very well though. Li is the fortunate owner of a marvellous voice and on the slower tracks it reminds me of Stina Nordenstam. The parts I'm not particularly fond of are the ones where she talks more than sings, but even those ones manage to create an intimate atmosphere that draws you in. This album surprised me, but even though I'd accept twelve "Little bit"s with open arms, the songs on "Youth novels" make for a strong, interesting and intriguing debut album that incorporates many interesting elements without solely relying on them.
- Simon Tagestam

Scandinavian artists on The Wire's top 50 albums of 2007 list include Björk (#16), Kemialliset Ystävät (#25) and Hanne Hukkelberg (#46): https://swen.antville.org/stories/1739018/

Marybell Katastrophy
This is the one
Merger

Denmark's Marybell Katastrophy seamlessly joins the idiosyncratic staccato stabs of "Debut"-era Björk with the spacey-indie approach of Blonde Redhead's latest album, but even this broad description fails to include all the electronic quirks and other eccentric layers the artist incorporates into her compositions. There is a semblance of continuity on "This is the one", though the songs are often drastically different from their neighbors: "Hip" has a chorus that evokes the reverberated distortion of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Bodies"; "Red red" could easily hold its own against any Knife single; and closer "His desperate voice" meanders beautifully like a lost Trespassers William track. This semi-schizophrenic quality does not rob "This is the one" of its own unique personality, rather it gives hints towards what Marybell Katastrophy would be able to accomplish with a full-length effort. This EP has firmly established these Danes' place on my radar.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Sara Berg
When I was a young child I used to feel pleasure from playing with others
Gaymonkey

Where once the market was well and truly saturated with young men, heavy hearts, and acoustic ballads, the scene today has its fair share of Björk inspired vocalists, each with an electronic orchestra backing their efforts - Imogen Heap, Bat for Lashes, and The Knife (to an extent, though Karin Dreijer Andersson's collaboration with Röyksopp on their single "What else is there?" may be a better example), amongst others. Sara Berg has now interjected herself into these ranks with "When I was a young child I used to feel pleasure from playing with others", an album that carefully carries itself along a number of precipitous lines - attempting explorations of darkness and pop flash, featuring pliable organic elements alongside rough digital instrumentation, drawing as much from the fluid approach of Björk's records as from The Knife's sinister focus, with Berg's voice unfolding her range and varying tones throughout this lofty attempt. The whole is definitely not as well put together as many of its parts, "Crawl back from under" and "This can't be desire" being two of the finest examples, but Berg is a talent worth keeping one's eye on. She may not have hammered the point home on this effort, but there's every reason to believe that she will, and soon.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Seabear
The ghost that carried us away
Morr Music

I've begun to lose all faith in people who proclaim that there's nothing happening musically these days. So far this year, I've completely fallen in love with CS Nielsen, Aerial, Immanu El, the new Shout Out Louds, amongst numerous other releases - and this is limiting myself to Scandinavian bands. Seabear are now firmly in the running for the best effort of 2007 with their wonderful "The ghost that carried us away". Just as many were wondering if Sigur Rós would be the defining watermark of Icelandic music for the foreseeable future, especially given the lukewarm reception to Benni Hemm Hemm's most recent work, Seabear powerfully demonstrate that there is life outside of Sigur Rós and Björk, and that Icelanders have just as much control over warm, acoustic numbers just as powerfully as arctic, sweeping efforts. "I sing I swim" is by far the best number on the record, and amongst the best songs I've heard this year. "Lost watch" displays that Seabear's talents aren't merely limited to the warm and present, but also to detached and ambling explorations. Overall, "The ghost that carried us away" is more than ample evidence that the contemporary music scene is far from stagnant or inadequate, and that Icelanders don't need to play electric guitars with bows or have a voice as powerful as an avalanche to create exceptional pieces of music. It's an exceptional album, and worth parting yourself from a few dollars to own.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Ane Brun will be going into the studio on September 17 to record her next album. Production will be handled by Icelander Valgeir Sigurdsson (Björk, Will Oldham, CocoRosie, etc).

The tracklist from this week's radio show featuring special guest Magnus Bjerkert of Adrian Recordings:

01. TALK 1
02. Familjen - Huvudet i sanden
03. Andreas Tilliander - Untitled
04. TALK 2
05. Printer - Minds Out
06. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Flir
07. TALK 3
08. Björns vänner - Isoleringskvall
09. The Fine Arts Showcase - Chemical girl (Familjen remix)
10. Laakso - Truck Driver
11. TALK 4
12. Breach - Diablo
13. Kent - Ingenting någonsin
14. Stina Nordenstam - Crime
15. Stardog - Lack of time
16. TALK 5
17. Bob Hund - Förträngda problem
18. Den Svenska Tystnaden - Reaktor
19. Björk - Venus as a boy
20. TALK 6
21. Honey is Cool - If I go
22. The Knife - We share our mother's health (Trentemøller remix)
23. Silverbullit - Buddy
24. TALK 7
25. Sharif - E.A.A. (Eagerly awaiting anytime)
26. TALK 8
27. eMiL Jensen - Bud från April

Rockettothesky
To sing you apple trees
TrustMe

Confusion reigned supreme during my multiple listens to Rockettothesky's CD "To sing you apple Trees". I honestly have a hard time making sense of a lot of what Jenny Hval throws at me. Maybe I just don't get "it": On the one hand, Ms. Hval's talent is evident in her ability to combine unique vocal styling with catchy melodies to create an air of fleeting, dreamlike fantasy. On the other hand, her failings are evident in her need to shake, almost jar the listener out of the dream state she's worked so hard to create. It seems as though she is hellbent on being her own worst enemy; I simply don't understand why. Nothing exemplifies my point better than the song "A cute lovesong, please". She uses her voice to excellent trancelike effect when she asks, "When you think of me, do you masturbate?"; then follows it up by confessing that "I want you to know that you make me want to menstruate." Huh? Is menstruation a sexual response to you, Ms. Hval? Or do you want to menstruate out of disgust for your protagonist's sexual desire for you? Or maybe, just maybe, you tried so hard to rhyme, you succeeded in ruining what could have been a perfectly good song. Perhaps I'm just being far too analytical. There are some decent songs on "To sing you apple trees" such as "Cigars", "They are bastards!" and the popular "Barrie for Billy Mackenzie" (even though I still don't know what the hell a "Barrie" is). But, the sad truth is, if I want to be entertained by a wacky Scandinavian, there's always Björk. Rockettothesky is simply going to have to do better than this.
- Heinrich Souza

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Feist
02. Belle and Sebastian
03. Björk
04. The Arcade Fire
05. Architecture in Helsinki
06. Shout Out Louds
07. Sufjan Stevens
08. The Cure
09. Bright Eyes
10. Interpol

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/

Pain
Psalms of extinction
Roadrunner Records

Five albums in, you know what you're getting when it comes to Pain (Peter Tägtgren): A well-produced slice of industrial pop-metal, with some stand-out singles (this time called "Zombie slam", "Clouds of ecstasy" and "Nailed to the ground") and albums tracks of varying quality. The previous album was inspired by his collapse, death and following revival and had a real fighting spirit. This one seems mostly inspired by a divorce and is fuelled by equal parts dislike, thinly veiled hurt and a bit of misogyny. That makes for good anger, but not always good songs. The best ones are where Peter doesn't try to hide under furious riffs, but travels the lighter and poppier road. The album feels slightly split; it is like Peter is at a crossroad. He needs to decide what he really wants with Pain. Is it industrial pop-metal, or the heavier songs? Or maybe he should just do the cover album he's been talking about for so long. After all, the "Play dead" (Björk) cover on the album shows a real knack for interpreting others' works, while keeping the emotional core intact.
- Hanzan

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Shout Out Louds
02. The Arcade Fire
03. Arctic Monkeys
04. Björk
05. Of Montreal
06. The National
07. Feist
08. The Tough Alliance
09. Modest Mouse
10. Radiohead

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Shout Out Louds
02. Bright Eyes
03. Feist
04. Bloc Party
05. Arctic Monkeys
06. Björk
07. Radiohead
08. The Arcade Fire
09. Laakso
10. The Beatles

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/

This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. The Arcade Fire
02. Feist
03. Shout Out Louds
04. Laakso
05. Björk
06. Bright Eyes
07. Of Montreal
08. Radiohead
09. The Shins
10. Bloc Party

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/