A quick preview of The Late Call's forthcoming album "Pale morning light", produced by John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening, Hearts No Static, etc.) and also featuring Ylva Ceder and Patric Thorman (Tvärvägen). The video for the first single "Look At You Now" will be up soon with the actual album to follow on September 14 via .
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:
(Ironville, Tvärvägen) and , a new subsidiary of , are teaming up to release the debut 7" from Malmö-based indie act Yast. Not sure what the release date is, but the a-side tune is called "Believes" and can be previewed above.
, the label run by the fine folks in Ironville, have signed Tvärvägen and will be releasing their new album "Staring directly into the sun" in early 2012 on both digital and vinyl.
(Tvärvägen, A Perfect Friend) has announced the signing of two new acts: Euphoria and the Lazy Boy and The Eyeshades. Expect new EPs from both in early 2010.
The Knoppar label has a new release from Tvärvägen "sideproject" Spunk available for free download: https://knoppar.blogspot.com/2009/10/some-great-news-from-tvarvagen.html
In the same link at the very bottom, there's also another free download for a mix of new Knoppar stuff which I presume includes more Tvärvägen as well as A Perfect Friend and more.
A Perfect Friend (Thomas Denver Jonsson + Pacta/Ondo) has signed with Knoppar (Hajen, Tvärvägen) for the release of their sophomore album "Timber and modern ways". No date yet, but expect a release late this year.
Swedish solo artists Hajen, Euphoria and the Lazy Boy, Winter Took His Life and Tvärvägen are teaming up for the "Dirtfarming and Logging '09" tour in May in which they will all share the stage together as a single band performing eachother's songs. Dates:
Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby decree that Ironville's forthcoming album "Welcome to Ironville" to be 2009's second exceptional release, the first being Livaventura's "...And they slept with their eyes open" (see here). Keep in mind that order here is unimportant as that Livaventura record won't be out until April and Ironville's debut has no official release date yet (spring?), but I've heard them both and am confident in my appraisal. Hopefully you already saw the video for "Roses" as created by band member Henrik Öhberg (aka Tvärvägen) -- if not, please remedy that straightaway. And download the song, of course! The lyrics are full of neediness, but the delivery keeps the desperation at bay by being quirky, not cloying. It's a discussion, not an ultimatum, at least not yet. And the string-heavy arrangement is a welcome respite from all the generic guitar-based crap I sift through on a daily basis. Actually, that's one of Ironville's finest qualities -- it's not just a matter of having an armada of instruments at your disposal (which they do), it's about using them judiciously. I can't say for sure that it's the band's own doing or the invisible hand of producer Markus Krunegård (Laakso), but I don't really care because the result sounds so fantastic. Keep an eye on these guys for sure.
Swedish artist Tvärvägen has a new single called "September" posted for free download today: https://www.myspace.com/tvarvagen Tvärvägen is the band of Henrik Öhberg who also plays with both alt-country act Ironville and hip-hop duo Amok. Look for his album "Sånger från Tvärvägen" this fall via Knoppar.