Teeth of the Divine is not impressed with the new Satyricon album "The age of Nero": https://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/satyricon-the-age-of-nero/

Musique Machine on the Swedish Death in June tribute Down in June: https://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=2063

PopMatters on E.S.T.'s final album "Leucocyte": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/65567-esbjorn-svensson-trio-est-leucocyte/

Omar/Hjortene
World domination
Walden Rekords

Two stonerrock bands, one Danish, one Swedish, two songs each. Nuance is neither band's strongpoint, so expect the usual fuzzy distortion, pounding drums and wailing vocals over heavy blues riffs; all typical for the genre. Hjortene attempts to distinguish themselves by singing in their native tongue (Danish) with a more reserved vocal approach, but it doesn't make up for a lack of memorable material. Neither band excels in that department actually, though the level of musicianship is plenty competent. Again, fairly typical for the genre: brevity is not in their vocabulary. Omar attempts to make up for that deficiency by slightly upping the energy level, but it's still not enough to make them a standout. Why bother?
- Avi Roig

Convoj
Exceptionnel
Wonderland Records

Due to a tangle of unforeseen circumstances, Convoj's debut full length has been a long time coming... but "Exceptionnel" has been well worth the wait. While a few friends have expressed disappointment that there are two songs from the previous EP - "My timekeeping heart" and "RAMJAC" (and for anyone who downloaded the demos for "Liberty city" and "Cultural legacy" a while back, there are another two tracks you might be familiar with) - all of these songs have been rerecorded and improved upon, especially "RAMJAC" whose final minutes are fantastic. And seeing how well these earlier tracks complement newer ones like "The shovel", "Grace" and "Ghost buster", it's hard to see how these previously recorded compositions hinder "Exceptionnel" in the least. Continuing on from the angular, yet fluid rock sound established early into their career, Convoj's new effort confirms the band's standing amongst the best of the bunch. Completely unrestrained and unrelenting, and yet paradoxically focused, "Exceptionnel" tears down strange avenues only to erupt into graceful moments of beauty... and then back into their distortion-tinged lightning strike guitars, thick, driving bass, deft drum work, and commanding vocal delivery. There isn't a misstep on "Exceptionnel", nor is there a chance taken that isn't rewarding.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Pitchfork reviews the two latest digital EPs from The Raveonettes: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147824-the-raveonettes-beauty-dies-ep-wishing-you-a-rave-christmas-ep

Anna Ternheim
Leaving on a mayday
Universal

Anna Ternheim's "Leaving on a mayday" is not a mayday, but more of a rainy fall-afternoon with yellow leaves covering the ground. This might sound like just another typical Swedish release that reminds you of a black silhouette of a man trudging through the snow in the dark and the cold, however this is not the case. Producer Björn Yttling from Peter Bjorn and John has added percussion that make this 10 track record really stick out. In many ways, this is a much more varied release compared to previous creations and, even though some of the old Anna is left, seems somehow much further away from Anna's previous, more Kent-ish releases. She still plays in minor keys and has possibly sunk even further down into the Swedish snow, but there is still some sort of warmth at the core of every song. With a strong and distinguished beat, Anna keeps the flame alive. She dropped some jazz, added some pop, and taken a further step towards alternative. The cooperation Anna and Björn is nothing but successful and necessary. There are 10 songs and almost just as many shades of Anna Ternheim. With all this in mind, she continues her way of getting better and better with every release.
- Morten Frisch

Moloken
We all face the dark alone
Discouraged Records

Glad to hear someone emulating "Souls at zero"-era Neurosis rather than that band's monolithic, latter-day sound. Do that and you're only setting yourself up to fail. Instead, we're treated to crusty metal that's totally bass-driven with a similarly progressive, apocalyptic bent and a strong hardcore rooting. But no, not the usual mid-tempo sludge, thank goodness. They've got a healthy dose of northern darkness too, though I wouldn't put them up against the mighty Breach yet. Anyhow, this EP consists of one epic 15-minute track broken into three sections and while the rhythm section is exceptionally strong, the guitars and vocals don't add much more than texture. At least they're buried in the mix behind the bass because that's where Moloken shines. Gnarly tone, too -- like a cross between Man is the Bastard and Rush. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys in the future.
- Avi Roig

Finnish artist Eleanoora Rosenholm's latest album "Ala kysy kuolleilta, he sanoivat" is reviewed at PopMatters: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/65310-eleanoora-rosenholm-ala-kysy-kuolleilta-he-sanoivat/

Grand Café
Let loose b/w Makin' out 7"
Roadkill Records

I am the one who always gets stuck with the unenviable task of covering the site's most mediocre of submissions. Seriously, how many synonyms for bland are there, how many ways to say "thanks, but no thanks"? Norway's Grand Cafe fare slightly better than labelmates The Smell of Mutiny, though their blue-eyed rhythm'n'blues rave-up still doesn't add up to much more than better-than-average bar-band. I appreciate the full arrangements with horns, organ and backing vocals, but why should I care when I've still got countrymen The Moving Oos? Or old Eric Burdon albums for that matter? Life is too short for music that is merely listenable.
- Avi Roig

The blog Free Jazz on the Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Håkon Kornstad collaboration album "Elise": https://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2008/11/ingebrigt-hker-flaten-hkon-kornstad.html

Goodnight Monsters
Summer challenge
Bone Voyage

If you're into such bands as The Ladybug Transistor, Essex Green and The Lucksmiths, Finland's Goodnight Monsters could well be worth investigating. Their first album came out in late 2005 and it was quite decent, with a handful of memorable tunes on it. "Summer challenge" is a more professional album that feels like a real follow-up and improvement from their previous offering (unlike a lot of second albums). The songs can come across a bit cheesy now and then, and Goodnight Monsters don't really manage to carry off their happy go lucky twee schtick for 13 songs, but it's an enjoyable album and by listening to it in the freezing cold outside, I can go back to one of those teenage delusions and pretend I'm walking down some Californian beach, eating a corn dog and drinking a cherry Coke (smiling, not retching!).
- Simon Tagestam

PopMatters reviews The (International) Noise Conspiracy's new album "The cross of my calling": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/66078-the-international-noise-conspiracy-the-cross-of-my-calling/

Tiger Lou
A partial print
Startracks

I'm going to admit from the start that I had some difficulty with "A partial print" when I listened to it on Startracks' page a week or so before its release. I was overwhelmed and excited by the opening five compositions, and then this feeling slipped a little - the abandonment of Tiger Lou's typically quite structured, complete arrangements on tracks like "Trails of spit" seemed to dilute the weight of the songs' conclusions, and the closing, nine-minute long opus felt too ambling and unfocused to be a proper culmination of the album's energies. I admit these issues here only to demonstrate that "A partial print" is not an album that reveals its immediacy, its intentioned presence on a first or second listen - what you are presented with is a collage, a collection of images, all of them darkly beautiful extensions of the emotional landscape of "The loyal", but the connections between these impressions can take some time to present themselves, but they will, and then "A partial print" comes fully into being.

The tone of "A partial print" is a dark one, represented not only in the recurring theme of leaving a small fragment of yourself behind, but in the intricate abandon and melancholy of the instrumentation which, on a number of occasions, evolves into heavy, post-hardcore breakdowns akin to the efforts on Small Brown Bike's brilliant swansong "The river bed". The production on the album is fantastic, accentuating the full drum arrangements, the beautiful guitar and bass work, and, of course, Rasmus Kellerman's magnificent, haunting voice. "The less you have to carry", in my opinion the greatest song Tiger Lou have crafted, is the first to truly bear the burden of "A partial print", and is therefore the song that fashions the aesthetic tenets of the album. The line "A partial print is all that I'm leaving behind, a little something to remember me by" is repeated in the closing title track, giving the record an unsettling conclusion - that of an endless cycle of departure and loss, but, as Tiger Lou established themselves as the masters of harrowing grace with "The loyal", this journey doesn't feel haunted or disillusioned, not even as you retrace your footsteps. Nor is it all a cynical, disheartening experience - glimmers of hope shine through in "So demure" and the single "Crushed by a crowd".

"A partial print" is difficult, complicated, heartbreaking, and inspiring - everything we've come to expect from Tiger Lou.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

The Kid
Transient blood
Hybris

After their raw, goth-encapsulated debut record, The Kid have returned with a very impressive follow-up. The production is fuller, the aura less dark, but what they have created here is a brooding, even industrial, dance-pop album. The hooks in "Transient dance" and "The shadow of a horse", combined with 80s-inspired beats, have a certain breathing room that is lacking from most dance records. The slow, plodding "Bluemoon" is foiled perfectly at the end of the album by their cover of Cortex's "Mayhem troopers". A great album that updates, instead of retreads, the genres to which The Kid obviously loves.
- Matt Giordano