I don't understand the hype. I guess I must need to hear the entire full-length, but this just seems like average singer/songwriter stuff to me. I don't say that to slag her, she's definitely got a nice enough voice and decent songs, but the Swedish press seems to be going nuts for no good reason. Frankly, I expected more.
- Avi Roig
This gig was a bit of a funny one. I could never have predicted the hysteria that would surround Moneybrother's first performance on English soil. I first became aware of this band at the Hultsfred Festival in 2003 when I was informed by a friendly stranger that I had to make Moneybrother one of the absolute priority bands to see that weekend. Unfortunately, I never made said gig. However, I made sure that I tracked down the "Blood panic" CD when I returned to the UK. I was intrigued by the cover which I guessed was a pastiche of Michael Jackson, but was ultimately only drawn in by "Reconsider me" and "Don't call the police". Those two tracks showed great promise.
Fast forward two years and I found myself at the Camden Barfly, with the band's new record "To die alone" sitting pretty at the top of the Swedish album chart. Somewhat predictably, the shoebox sized venue was completely sold out. Demand was so high that the promoter had oversold the show, selling an additional 150 tickets to the 180 which should have been on sale. The upshot of this nonsense was that when buzz support act The Modern (who I predict will be a great band for Melody Club to play alongside) finished their set, the entire crowd was kicked out of the venue and forced to queue up again to see Moneybrother. Only the lucky 180 with green wrist bands were granted exclusive access. It would be interesting to note how many of these people who were let back in were non-Swedish or non-industry people. I reckon you could probably count the number on one hand.
When Moneybrother eventually came on I was surprised at how tight the group was. When I found out that they had recently played an industry gig in America, I really didn't give them much of a chance of succeeding Stateside. However, the way in which the band seemed happy to change the arrangements of the recorded versions and skit off of each other made me think that they really could make it as a "jam" band over there. As most of the set was made up of songs from the new record (which I am unfamiliar with) the main body of the set was new to me. However, these new tracks seemed to be more sincere and varied than "Blood panic". I enjoyed how each member of the band was attired in a ridiculous fashion. For example, take the trombonist who was dressed head to toe in tight white denim. It takes balls to carry that look off, believe me.
By the time Moneybrother came on for their encore, the entire crowd was moshing and one brave chap attempted to crowdsurf. The band ended on a chaotic drawn out version of "Reconsider me". Moneybrother do justice to the once derided music genre of white soul. However, although the gig was an undoubtedly enjoyable experience, I expect the band to achieve greater success in the US than the UK due to their sound being more palletable to the tastes of the former market.
- Nick Levine
Saturday night at a smokey pub in Clerkenwell, London. The clock's just gone 10 and in the basement of The Betsey Trotwood music history is being made. Never ever have a band played such a small venue. Picture your living room. Now divide it by three and you have the room that Sambassadeur played in. Three guitars, a bass and an Ipod. That and a constant elbow in your side is what you got for your fiver. Not that it was difficult, but the gig was sold out! Their sound is comparable with fellow label mates Radio Dept. They have a similar fondness of guitars. Sambassadeur build their music around melodies carefully crafted for their lead guitarist. A tall bass player with sideburns and an mp3-player courtesy of Apple supplied the beats. Unfortunately some of their background drumming sounded like they've just put the same song on repeat. I like the idea of pre-recorded beats which is less noisy than a drum kit. It gives the melodies a bigger rein but I doubt it would work at Wembley, which, according to one of the singers, is where we'll see them next. Sambassadeur divides the singing between Anna Persson and Daniel Permbo. They literally sing every other song. Anna seems timid. Her voice is quiet and she is almost hiding behind her microphone. That is probably down to the fact that they were playing live, because when you hear her voice recorded on their single "Between the lines", it's strong and in charge. Her colleague, Daniel, is slightly more charismatic and actually managed to say something in between the songs.
Their English label, AC30, describes Sambassadeur's music as "heartfelt, gentle and emotive songs, simple and understated. Pure indie guitar pop from Sweden." My opinion as well
(On a different note. My friend and IAT colleague Per Appelqvist, who also attended the gig, fell madly in love with singer Anna Persson. From a distance, obviously. Too shy to approach her, he had to make due with another pint in the bar.)
- David Hellqvist
Solid singer/songwriter material that excels on upbeat numbers such as the opening tune "Darling". The slower material gets bogged down a bit in AOR territory, but is never without its charms. Even at her worst, there's plenty to like about Karin. Unfortunately, she seems to lack the extra something special that would elevate her above the pack of other similar artists. That's really a shame because I get the feeling that the glossy major-label recording is to blame. All the edges have been worn so dull there's barely any emotion left. Just like the suburbs, it's safe and comforting, but predictable and boring. Hopefully this talent won't keep going to waste.
- Avi Roig
The Teenage Idols are straight forward rock'n'roll. It's difficult not to like them. With half of the songs from "Something wicked" under the three minute mark, TTI prove they're about compressed and intensive rock music. Loud guitars, driving drumbeats, fat bass lines and a screaming, panting voice makes for good entertainment. All of this probably also qualifies TTI as an excellent live band. I can imagine experiencing them in a smaller venue being quite an exciting and sweaty adrenaline kick. The only time they lose my interest is during the closing tune; "12:15". It's not so much the Hendrix-esque guitars I mind, but the out-of-control banging on drums and excessive screaming that does my head in. TTI is right. This is something wicked, at least in the east London sense of the word. I just wish they would have the common sense of changing their band name before they make it big.
- David Hellqvist
Broder Daniel are Swedish, very big in their homeland, and their music is quite unique although there are some obvious influences, such as Jesus & Mary Chain. They've released four albums, going from a crazy punk sound on their first album to a more mature and melodic sound on their last album "Cruel Town". But to be honest, it's all crazy nice. "No time for us" is quite an ingeniously compiled compilation, it appeals to almost everyone, whether you're a massive Broder Daniel fan or whether you just doesn't know where to start with them. The first CD is crammed with most of the best songs from Broder Daniel's back catalogue, but it's CD2 that made me drool over this release when I first got it (from my girlfriend's family - thank you very much!). On this one we get exclusive demo outtakes, and such, from the whole of Broder Daniel's career. It's great stuff of course, but mostly for fans and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who doesn't love Broder Daniel. Best way to go about this must be to buy the CD, listen to the first one, fall in love with them, buy all their albums, dance a bit, cry a bit, and then go back to CD2 after you're pretty much down with the band. It's always baffled me how Broder Daniel never made it big outside Sweden, but then it might not have been their main concern (now I think they are more than happy with being one of the biggest bands in their country). Hopefully we get another one of these treats in ten years time after another four teen angst-ridden albums.
- Simon Tagestam
There is no question to where Estrange got its inspiration from. This could have been any of Depeche Mode's early albums. It's not easy making a synth pop album without being influenced by Martin Gore and Co, but bear in mind that every songwriter gets his inspiration from somewhere and Estrange could have done a lot worse. "About yesterday" is the EP's strongest track. When some of the other songs bore you with a minute-long intro, "About yesterday" sets off straight away with a catchy chorus and sweet melodies. The problem with Estrange, it seems, is that all their songs sounds fairly similar. The tone of the Marcus Lilja's voice is boringly bland on most of the tracks. Although he manages to get some speed going with "Convictions", it is overshadowed by the too long and slow "Slide". I still salute Estrange in his quest to bring and break electronic pop music to Sweden; a country filled to the brim with punk rockers!
- David Hellqvist
Loopy is destined for the in-flight music program on Scandinavian Airlines. The Copenhagen-based group represents all of SAS's constituents: it features a Danish bassist and guitarist, a Swedish drummer and a Norwegian singer/guitarist. More importantly, the band has created a noteworthy debut album that blends UK-style guitar pop (think Snow Patrol) with some surprises. The melancholy title track meanders most of the way, before drummer Mathias Elovsson speeds up the tempo considerably and brings the song to a crashing halt. The top-notch "Never loud" is oh-so-minor key, showcasing soulful vocals from Leiv Aasen. A few songs get needlessly repetitive (like "Morning Star"), but the spacy "Silent Song" (which sounds a bit like Slowdive) makes up for it. The blend of shoegazer and pop on such well-constructed songs makes Loopy a band I'll have my eye on.
- Matthew W. Smith
Anders Wedin's former band Monster released a couple of albums (and a compilation) that had quite a lot of good songs on them, but they were far from perfect, and the same goes for Moneybrother's first album "Blood panic" - a lot of hits, but too many duds. Looking back like this, it appears as if Anders Wedin has gradually improved as a songwriter (not that weird, I know), only for him to reach his full potential on "To Die Alone". For this is in fact, to use a British term, a belter of an album. There are no of those dodgy duets that I had problems to stomach from "Blood panic" and Anders appears very confident with his excellent voice, and it appears as if he has calmed down a bit and not tried to fit thousands of ideas onto one record, which consequently makes all the songs on "To die alone" gel better than what the "Blood panic" tracks do. With "To die alone" we also get a nice mix of up-tempo number and slower stuff, and personally I prefer the slower songs to the rockier ones, there's so much soul in them that they almost burst! The best track on the disc is "Eventually it'll break your heart" (a gorgeous but sad, sad song) which is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time and for the last two weeks I have to get a daily dose of it or I start feeling strange. A few weeks ago I reviewed the first single from this album and wrote that it gave me a 'sickly feeling' - a statement I won't withdraw but I can admit that I like "They're building walls around us" a bit more now than then, but it's still my least favourite track from the album. As you might have noticed, this review doesn't really add that much to the current praise that Moneybrother is getting from the It's a Trap! quarters and other places, so allow me to humbly join the queue of people saying: "This album is fantastic".
- Simon Tagestam
The music of this Stockholm outfit is fast, brash and melodic, with plenty of nods to early punk. Frontwoman Bea Persson's singing adds a poppier side to the sound, especially on the title track. The standout is "Pretty little thing", with Persson sounding a bit like Shirley Manson of Garbage and guitarist Johan Andersson weaving a hypnotic stairstep riff in and out of the faster parts. Parts of the album drag because some of the songs are indistinguishable. In fact, the whole thing has the air of a band fighting--with mixed results--to capture its live sound in the studio. Jacob Malmström's primitive, relentless drumming gives every indication that this a group meant for the stage. I'll continue listening to a few of these songs--but I'd rather see them in concert some time.
- Matthew W. Smith
This to me is the perfect record for my two hour commute to and from work. It grabs me by that part of my body covered by 2 layers of underwear (London is cold!) and wakes me up. The way Adam almost cries out his lyrics screams teenage angst and that mixed with Carl's inspiring guitar plays makes this a fun record to listen to. The lyrics are simple and catchy, albeit feeble, however the catchy tunes make up for it.
- Per Appelqvist
Capital Country's music lives in the borderland between country and alt.country. It's pretty well crafted, but sometimes it falls pretty flat thanks to the country clichés being way too tacky and obvious. There are two singers on these tracks, one female and one male, and the male is absolutely preferable since the female got some weird country vibrato going that sounds a bit weird and too wobbly. It's all very MOR though, and it's easy to imagine Capital Country having a cult following in their native country, consisting of a lot of older bearded men in fleece shirts and smelly shoes. The contrast between the two vocalists lead tracks are so stark that I'd dare to say the male lead songs are alright, whereas I just can't stand the songs where the woman sings on. My judgment is therefore this; half of the songs here I wouldn't mind uploading on my iPod, if I had one, but the rest I'd leave in the desert with the coyotes and vultures as only company for them to die a slow and warm death.
- Simon Tagestam
Not only is it the second day of spring, but it's also St. Patrick's day which means that most people are going to get drunk on Guinness and clog up the streets of London wearing stupid hats which they will end up vomiting into. But despite the racist debacle that St. Patrick's day has turned into, this Thursday is a day of party thanks to Arcade Fire playing a show at the University of London Union. There's been a massive hype around Arcade Fire the last few weeks so naturally their show sold out long time ago and tickets are being sold on eBay for ridiculous amounts. It's definitely a perfect chance for a record label to promote an up and coming act. Weirdly enough someone has decided that it would be a good idea to put José Gonzáles in the support slot, this Guinness drenched day. And sure, there's a fairly large crowd watching him play his songs, but a lot of people are at the back or in the bar, and their chatter almost drowns out José's singing and guitar strumming. For the people in the front, who can actually hear something, it's quite a captivating moment, and Gonzáles' hits such as "Crosses" and "Heartbeats" (a cover of a song by The Knife) all go down well. But for me, who has seen José twice before, with the second one taking place in a small atmospheric bar cellar in East London, tonight's dose only makes me sleepy. To be honest, any artist who plucks away in the spirit of Bert Jansch and John Fahey should ideally be witnessed in a smaller venue and this is partly why I now feel that going one hour early to catch José Gonzáles play yesterday was a bloody waste of time, especially when I could have been in a pub drinking 2-3 pints of Guinness shoulder to shoulder with some twat in a large green hat.
Note: The Arcade Fire were breathtaking.
- Simon Tagestam
I've been a fan of Millencolin since I was 14 and heard their first EP "Use your nose" (they were really my first love, well them and Jakob Hellman). I think their two first albums are classics, whereas the third one ("Music for monkeys") and their fourth one ("Home from Home") have never rotated that much in my stereo. With their fourth album ("Pennybridge pioneers") they got Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion) to produce and the result was a heavier sound (heavier as in still soft but more edgier than their previous super poppy sound), which suited them well and it sort of made it appear as if they had matured a bit and musically "evolved". I was very relieved to hear then that with "Kingwood" (their sixth album) they have once again gone "heavier" and decided to write some less wimpy songs than before. It's still melodic new school punk we're dealing with though, melodic new school punk of the finest variety! Most people don't like this sort of stuff, or at least none of my friends do (there is of course no reason for this), but if you like your Blink 182, Green Day, Descendents, Lagwagon, NOFX and so on, you should definitely give this a listen.
- Simon Tagestam
Strip Music are a new Swedish synth pop band, who have risen out of the ashes of Yvonne. However, describing them as "pop" is a bit of a misnomer. Although Strip Music use the synth as a device to drop as many hooks as possible within each song, the overall sound of the band races along at a speed and urgency that is perhaps too epic to be merely described as pop music. Songs like album opener "2.75" have vocalist Henric delivering vocals with such intensity that they lay genuine claim to the Joy Division comparisons, creating a sound that is both melancholic and uplifting at the same time. Forming a new band with the synth as the core of your sound is a tricky and obvious thing to do in 2005, what with the recent successes of The Bravery and The Killers. However, somehow Strip Music have managed to carry this off successfully without sounding cheesy, whilst being able to retain a human element to their overall sound.
- Nick Levine