Dusted reviews the new El Perro Del Mar: https://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4320
Quite a few sentiments there that I wholeheartedly agree with.

PopMatters pans Norwegian indiepop artist Soda Fountain Rag: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/soda-fountain-rag-its-rag-time/

Paper Thin Walls on Swedish shoegazers Blackstrap: https://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1593

PopMatters reviews Swedish artist Kaka: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/kaka-kaka/

The Silent Ballet reviews the new Erik Levander album "Kondens": https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1421/Default.aspx

Themilkfactory reviews the new Skyphone album "Avellaneda", out now on Rune Grammofon: https://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2008/05/skyphone-avellaneda-rune-grammofon/

PopMatters on the new Children of Bodom album "Blooddrunk": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/57675/children-of-bodom-blooddrunk/

Pitchfork reviews Fonal artists Eleanoora Rosenholm and their new album "Vainajan muotokuva": https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/49523-vainajan-muotokuva

Millencolin
Machine 15
Burning Heart Records

Millencolin have been going now for 15-16 years, hence the name of their seventh album (it sounds a bit cynical and bitter to call your band a "machine", doesn't it?). Lou Giordano who produced Millencolin's fifth album "Home from home" has again been called in, I suspect, to give the album that polished Foo-Fighters-feel, and he's succeeded. It is a very slick album, with Millencolin nurturing their softer more melodic side. They've also gone a bit wacky and added strings on some of the tracks, a trick that works just fine despite it not being that obvious. I prefer Millencolin when they've got a sound that's dirtier and more rock'n'roll and with less arena rock ambitions, so I'm not that keen on this album. Another thing that bugs me is that Nikola Sarcevic's lyrics are really terrible. I mean, they're among the worse I've ever heard; even though he's pretty good at writing choruses, some of the verses just make me cringe. Millencolin's lyrics have always been bad and full of horrible rhymes, but listening to "Machine 15" I can't help getting outright annoyed by them. Despite all this, it's a solid album with a handful of skatepunk hits that should appeal to the Kerrang/Alternative Press demographic.
- Simon Tagestam

Pitchfork bestows the coveted "recommended" rating on Swedish artist The Tallest Man On Earth, a name you might be familiar with from the "Upp till kamp!" soundtrack: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/49623-shallow-graves

Zeigeist
The Jade Motel
Spegel/Imperial Recordings

Listen to them once and you'd be forgiven for mistaking Zeigeist for fellow Swedish art poppers The Knife. The first few tracks certainly support this theory. But listen again and you'll start to notice the (admittedly minor) differences. For one, Zeigeist trade off vocal duties between Princess and Per (no surnames needed, apparently), giving their sound a little bit more variety. Secondly, though they wear their "artsy" label proudly on their sleeves, Zeigeist's music is almost always more direct and more pop. This would be an amazing thing if the songs on their debut had the kind of hooks needed to match their fantastic electro dance beats. The album improves as it goes on, but even with repeated listens, there isn't much to sink your teeth into. "Black milk" and "Cuffs" have some interesting ideas, while "Wrecked metal" is probably the most immediately catchy of all the tracks. The frustrating thing is that it's clear that the band has enough creativity to come up with something really jaw-dropping. I'm sure every song works better as a part of their reportedly theatric live shows, but on record it's a little less than inspiring.
- Nick James

Gothtronic reviews the new Zeigeist album "The Jade Motel": https://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&reviews=4884

Aversionline reviews the Lighthouse Project/Satura Lanx split "Come to accept": https://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2008/05/05/lighthouse-projectsatura-lanx-come-to-accept-split-7/

Teitur
Live @ Health Sunday, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY, 05/04/08

Seeing as how this was Health Sunday, the rating is obvious. However, for those whom are unaware, Health Sunday consists mainly of playing soccer, and that is just what we did. We were graced this past weekend by the Faroese band Teitur, who, amidst their US tour, could not turn down an opportunity to partake in a match. A lovely day it was, sunny and around 70°F, the the lads did not disappoint. Singer Teitur Lassen had quite the success at the forward position, both assisting and scoring; and bassist Mikael Blak was a stalwart in the midfield slot. WIth a majority of the tour to go in support of their new album "The singer" (out soon), perhaps you can coax the band into playing a match -- I don't think it would be too difficult.
- Matt Giordano

The Grand Opening
Beyond the brightness
Tapete Records

After having first found The Grand Opening through the netlabel here a couple of years ago, I thought I had an idea of what they sounded like. Suffice to say, I was a bit naïve in that outlook. With "Beyond the brightness", the music has become slightly more minimal, the lyrics dimmer, and the overall package something quite good. At times, it recalls "Northern blues"–era Kristofer Åström, which is not something to look lightly on. That same, bleak yet beautiful feeling is evident here, and best conveyed on tracks such as "On the losing end" and "Lonely hearts night out". "Anxious looks" starts the album off strong and does not let up much at all. As introspective as it is, it's fragility is so accessible, I can see new fans being won over as a result.
- Matt Giordano