Tag: Mp3s
New mp3 and a top ten list today from Swedish singer/songwriter Thomas Denver Jonsson. Now that's synchronicity! Thomas' new album "Barely touching it" came out not too long ago on Kite Records and should appeal to folks who dig Will Oldham, Magnolia Electric Co./Songs:Ohia and the like. I actually like Thomas' record better than any recent release from those two artists. The song I've posted is the opening number and is a bit more lowkey than the rest of the album, but it's still a good introduction to his laidback country style. Good stuff. And don't forget to check him out live - he's got a bunch of dates lined up in the next month:
12/15 - DJ set, K6, Karlstad (SWE) w/The Mellowmen
12/17 - Kåren, Karlstad (SWE)
12/25 - tba, Årjäng (SWE)
12/25 - Kvarnen, Töcksfors (SWE)
01/11 - Harmonie, Edam (NL)
01/12 - Eurosonic 2006, Groningen (NL) (Grand Theatre 8:45pm)
01/13 - Muziekcafé Backstage, Deventer (NL)
01/14 - tba (NL)
Thomas Denver Jonsson - I'm with you all the way
I really didn't like The Ark the first time I heard them. I thought "what the hell is this Rocky Horror shit?" But I couldn't write them off either - something about them made me go back a couple months later to reevaluate my opinion. It took me a couple tries, but I eventually came around to understanding their appeal and now, after seeing them live, I can solidly declare my admiration. They are ridiculous and completely over-the-top, but you won't find anyone else making epic pop music quite like this. No other band could pull off such an ostentatious gay-pride anthem like "Father of a son", today's featured track. I'm not sure if middle America is ready for The Ark, but I think it'll be good for them anyway.
The Ark - Father of a son (live)
Pelle Carlberg is my favorite artist on Labrador. He's got a strong wit and an intellectual air about him that's all too rare in music these days. Yes, the music is still quite twee and yes, even quite fey, but I still do like it. Now don't be confused by today's songtitle - this "Summer of '69" is most certainly not the Bryan Adams tune. No, it's just a pleasant little pop song about Pelle's year of birth. A simple song with a sweet sentiment. And don't forget- Pelle is playing London next week at Tack! Tack! Tack!. It should be a good time, so be sure to come out if you're in the area.
Pelle Carlberg - Summer of '69
New mp3 today from Swedish synth act I Love You Baby! Their latest album "Mondegreen" was recently added to the IAT webstore and should appeal to fans of The Knife or any other glitchy, messed-up electro. Along with Trewetha Records labelmates The State of Floral Beings, ILYB! are making some of the most interesting, punk-influenced synth-rock that I've heard recently. There's plenty of pop hooks, but it's still got an edge. Recommended, of course.
I Love You Baby! - My 49th baby
I do get some relief today - Jason Christie has kindly provided us with this week's Friday oldie post:
The origin of this track is essentially a horrible record, a horrible cover, and but with the energy of music has never ceased to get my goat enough to make it stand tall in the classic bracket. Now we are talking about two excellent bands: BCQ and Hell on Wheels.
The original was a song released almost 5 years ago [when I was stuck to a desk in a news agency spending days and hours trying to sell stories – I was too bored to die]. "Big day coming" was contained on the band's "Outcast" album – a stellar disc. The sort of disc which makes MP3s redundant. We like albums. When did you last buy one chapter of a book? This cover is similar in feel to the original: raw, one take and totally unpolished – it's scruffy, and 2:30 long – perfect. If this don't charge you for the weekend, try crack cocaine.
Hell on Wheels - Big day coming
It's been quite awhile since we've heard anything new from Anja Garbarek. The daughter of renown ECM recording artist Jan Garbarek is oft compared to Stina Nordenstam, both for her reclusiveness and aura of mystery, but also because of her music. Anja's songs tend to be a bit more straightforward in terms of pop melody, but she shares a penchant with Stina for unusual sounds and arrangements. I think the new album "Briefly shaking" is Anja's best, most satisfying work yet - just check out the lead single "The last trick" and tell me you don't agree. I challenge you. If you're one of those folks who's enjoying the new Kate Bush record, this should appeal to you as well. Smart, experimental pop music as good as this does not happen nearly as often as it should.
Anja Garbarek - The last trick
New mp3 today from Brighter Death Now. No, I'm not trying to atone for last week's A-ha post, but I do admit that it's quite a contrast. BDN's skull-rattling throb is about as far away from pop as you can get. Which is not to say that you can't enjoy both - I had 'em on shuffle in my car over the weekend and had nary a problem. But enough of my jabbering, this post belongs to Simon Thibaudeau:
Roger Karmanik has been doing noise, or power electronics as he likes to call it, since the early eighties. Since then, his vision never wavered: Creating challenging music for the forward thinking mind. With the harsh debuts of Lille Roger to diverse Brighter Death Now, his violent and dark world has evolved and refined to the point where now, Roger Karmanik is a cult figure in the genre. His frustration in releasing music lead to the creation of Cold Meat Industry records, a label that has concentrated on various denominations of Swedish dark electronic artists, since 1987. Although the label did a few forays in Norway and created sublabels for international artists, the base of this operation has been Sweden and the artists that adhere to his vision. The quality of the music released is such that I would gladly take a subscription to his label to get everything he releases. Anyway, here is a song off his latest record as Brighter Death Now, "Kamikaze kabaret". "Testing" has more crossover appeal than anything he released in my opinion, at least the music I have heard. Enjoy this song from a master of noise.
Brighter Death Now - Testing
Randy has a new album that just came out, but I'm not going to post a track from it. It's not because it isn't great, because it is (Simon Tagestam reviewed it here), but instead I'm going to reminisce about the record that got me into the band: 2001's "The human atom bombs". Every couple years or so, just about when I'm about to totally give up on punk-rock, along comes a record that breathes new life into the genre. Refused did it to me in the late 90s and Randy did it again with this record. It's not even that they were doing anything all that original - it's that they were doing it with such enthusiasm and vitality that it was impossible not to stand up and take notice. "The human atom bombs" is fun and funny, energetic and entertaining and just all around amazing. So here's a track from that record that'll hopefully help brighten up your Friday.
Randy - I don't need love
Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the second best single of the year. The number one slot was secured by C.Aarmé back in April with "We are the world" and number two belongs to Sir Eric Beyond and the song "Democracy". Mere words cannot do Mr. Beyond justice, as any attempt to dissect his greatness is bound to fall short. Instead, let me encourage you to open your ears and listen. The genius is obvious.
Eric Beyond - Democracy
At the risk of losing whatever cred I've built up, I'm just gonna come right out and declare it: the new A-ha album "Analogue" is fantastic. It's exactly the kind of big, mature pop album that career bands of A-ha's status are supposed to make. Y'know, the kind of record that you'd expect from lifer acts such as REM or U2. The kind of record that bands like Kent so desperately want to make. Even if you haven't heard A-ha since "Take on me", their sound is instantly recognizable and oh-so catchy. It's also worth noting what it lacks - the pathetic pandering to younger audiences that so many older acts fall susceptible to. This is just A-ha doing what they do and doing it well. The darker-tinged melodies of the first track "Celice" are what hooked me in, but I'm finding that I'm loving the entire album the whole way through, moreso every time I listen anew. Along with Tiger Lou's "The loyal", this is one the best new records I've heard this fall.
A-ha - Celice
When I first heard that Nicke from Entombed had started a garage-rock sideproject, I was stoked. I was just starting to get into other dirty rock/garage bands like The Mummies and The Devil Dogs, so the first Hellacopters album "Supershitty to the max" fit right in with my collection. And while that record is pretty good, it's the second disc "Payin' the dues" that really got me going. That record is absolutely on fire and you can hear it with the very first track "You are nothin'". If that's not a ballsy statement of intent, I dunno what is. Unlike the band's more recent material, the recording is still buried in fuzz and dirt, perfectly emulating the style they were going for. Remember- this is garage rock, not the 70s-style arena rawk the band later evolved into. Both eras of the 'Copters are excellent (and in some ways, I prefer the latter), but it's always good to listen back at where they came from.
The Hellacopters - You are nothin'
I'm kind of surprised I don't hear more people talking about Paris. I'd figure that even the slightest PR push would ensure that their infectious Blondie-esque new-wave sound finds a ready and willing audience. It certainly doesn't hurt that the band is quite easy on the eyes as well. I know I've been a fan ever since I first heard them and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second album, the recently released "Secrets on tape". Granted, it's not much of a departure from the first record, but why complain? I'm always eager for more clever, catchy pop like this. Today's mp3 posting is one of the more upbeat, dance-friendly numbers. I just love the way that the verse slowly builds into that huge chorus. That little dip in the vocals just before everything opens up is just fantastic. You know exactly what's coming next, but the tension of those transition chords make it so much better. Beautifully done.
Paris - Another Saturday night
I packed up all my stuff and moved across town into my new house last Thursday evening. That meant I had to miss Regulations, but I am very happy to be in my new place. Got my Internet access up and running Friday and spent the weekend unpacking. Good times, right? I've been going pretty much non-stop the entire time and I'm a bit frazzled, so I'm going to let Simon Tagestam handle today's mp3 post:
Being Swedish, it's hard to try and get people to listen to stuff that's sung in Swedish, since I realise that a lot of the appeal for me is usually about understanding what's sung. But now with Avi posting a track with the real king of Sweden (and with the success of the awful Dungen and the boring Sigur Rós) I feel confident enough to share this song with you. It's a track that I've been listening to over and over again everyday, everywhere for the last couple of weeks (I can prove it!). The song has the same impact on me as when I heard aforementioned Håkan Hellström for the first time, that is – it makes me want to go get drunk and go out and smash things up (figuratively speaking, of course), and perhaps dance a little bit. The song got such a dazzling energy that it almost makes me exhausted listening to it. Bom Bom, who made this masterpiece, are currently based in Gothenburg and London, and at the moment there's nothing I want to do more than to catch these boys in concert. Their other songs that I've heard all sound groovy, but "Pop i kras" is the catchiest one of them, and being a sucker for catchy songs, it's the one I like the most. You can download a bunch of their songs on their website (beware, it's all in Swedish, but it's still pretty easy to find the mp3s). Be braver than I am, and listen to some great music sung in a language you don't understand!
Bom Bom - Pop i kras
New mp3 today from Majessic Dreams off their debut full-length album. We here at IAT were quite smitten with the duo's debut EP "Listen to the moon", so I was quite excited when the new disc showed up in my mailbox. The way they combine low-key pop with glitch/noise is absolutely sublime. Especially on this song - I just love the way that the acoustic guitar figure smolders with vibrating pulses of distortion. It's like watching a campfire burn itself out so that nothing is left but glowing embers. Quiet, beautiful and of course very recommended.
Majessic Dreams - Black out
New music today from the very excellent Memoplay, a duo consisting of IAT-favorite Björn Kleinhenz and Adam Svanell of Johnny Bråttom Records. First Björn writes and records a song in his usual fashion with voice and guitar and then Adam steps in and screws things up on his computer. Björn might get another round in after that, but that's pretty much the way these dudes operate. So if you're already a fan of Björn's other work (such as the excellent "Pigbone 3000" EP on the IAT netlabel), you'll almost surely enjoy this as well since it isn't too far of a departure. And hey, if you dig this song, be sure to head over to their website to pick up a few more.
Memoplay - Words are small