Paper Thin Walls on Swedish shoegazers The Mary Onettes: https://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1257

Dusted reviews "Sonata mix dwarf cosmos" from Rune Grammofon artist Susanna: https://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3990

Pitchfork reviews the latest Supersilent record "8": https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47065-8

For those that might be curious, my review of Friday's Trio Mediaeval performance has been posted in the comments section of last week's mp3 post: [click here]
FWIW, the New York Times has selected "Folk songs" as their #1 classical pick of the year: https://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2007120315385557372396

Friday Bridge
Intricacy
But Is It Art?

"Manners and Mannerisms" is the subtitle of Friday Bridge's myspace page and indeed, a lot of conceptualism and personal aesthetics define her debut album "Intricacy". Singing in French and English, Ylva Lindberg's soprano hovers over 80's synth strings and drums while harpsichords and flutes dance minuets in the background. The Swedish press finds that "incredibly elegant" (P3Pop), but to me, the record lacks overall substance. A few standout tracks prove Ylva's talent for writing very catchy pop songs (current single "Love and nostalgia", or the older "It girl" for example) while others really showcase the potential of doing baroque arrangements of modern pop. Still, it's not that she's not clever (she rhymes give away with Jean Genet) or that I don't enjoy music that focuses foremost on similar 80's-esque aesthetics (such as The Embassy or Nicolas Makelberge). I just feel that, minus the standard-issue synth pop songs, this album would have been a great collection of cleverly-arranged catchy and timeless pop.
- Arnulf Köhncke

Herr Nilsson
Downhill thrill
Karisma Records

Any record that starts off asking, "Would you trade a dysfunctional kidney for a broken heart?" has my immediate attention. As far as opening tracks go, Herr Nilsson put an inspiring foot forwards with "Camera for an eye", a tune whose competence and peculiar drive brings "Downhill thrill" completely alive and kick-starts its strange exploration. While comparable in many ways to Shout Out Louds and Figurines, and quite prone to the unusual bursts of energy that endear Laakso to their fans, Herr Nilsson are almost a distillation of everything that makes quirky Scandinavian pop so damned appealing. Title track "Downhill thrill" dances a little into Of Montreal's territory in its midsection before sealing the deal with thin guitar chords, building strings, and anthemic lyrics. It was "Huskies", though, that completely won me over, four tracks into a record I was already stirred by. "Downhill thrill" does meander into more bizarre terrain as it reaches its conclusion, quite markedly during the Beatles-esque, Consciousness Expansion-era duo "On the road again" and "Killerbee", but overall it is yet more proof that the Scandinavian music gods have smiled fondly upon 2007.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Lords of Metal review the new album "VioLution" from Norwegian industrial metal act V:28: https://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=10775&lang=en

Themilkfactory weighs in on Supersilent's latest: https://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2007/11/supersilent-8-rune-grammofon/

Boy Omega
Hope on the horizon
Stereo Test Kit

Receiving extremely favorable reviews, especially from Deutschland, Boy Omega's fourth album continues along in the singer-songwriter vein that propelled Bright Eyes to enviable heights with 2002's "Lifted..." and again with 2005's "I'm wide awake, it's morning". While some kind bloggers have compared "Hope on the horizon" to such seminal albums as "Blonde on blonde", "Hope on the horizon" is an alright album with some fantastic standout tracks - opener "A quest for fire" being the best. After a few tracks however, the strings and horns start to blur together, as do the songs, and "Hope on the horizon" begins to feel like a record you've heard even before you finish your first listen. It's not bad, it's just not remarkable either.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Boeoes Kaelstigen
Pan European
Adrian Recordings

Ladies and gentlemen, Boeoes Kaelstigen has all of the potential to be the next big thing from Scandinavia. Their brand of smart, calculated electronica is catchy and, most of all, gets all the right parts moving. From start to finish, "Pan European" flows like cognac down the throats of the willing; ending in the spectacular second movement of "Flir"-a sweaty populace. This is meant to be played in those über-hip back alley bars, with dim lights and smoke in the air. This is meant to be played from the club to the bedroom. Boeoes Kaelstigen's "Pan European" is one of the sexiest releases of the decade.
- Matt Giordano

Musique Machine reviews the latest Supersilent album "8": https://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=1501

Pitchfork reviews Norwegian indierock act Ungdomskulen: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/46908-cry-baby
I haven't heard the full album, but everything I've heard so far has been mediocre at best, so I'm somewhat baffled that I see so many praising reviews. Anyhow, listen to some stuff at myspace and decide for yourself: https://www.myspace.com/ungdomskulen

Mando Diao
Never seen the light of day
EMI

In numerous interviews, I've seen the members of Mando Diao talk about being influenced by, among others, the hip-hop scene of today and that they're getting tired of being compared to acts such as The Kinks, Rolling Stones and The Zombies. Fine, but just 'cause you talk about what you're influenced by doesn't mean that it shows. I don't hear an apparent change from the first two albums or 2006's more diverse "Ode to ochrasy". What I, on the other hand, do hear is the production skills of Björn Olsson giving this album a rough edge while at the same time giving it a more laidback feel. Sounds shattered? Well, yes it is and no it's not. The trademark that is Mando Diao floats all over this record, the snotty melodies of Gustaf Norén and the The Beatles-esque harmonies of Björn Dixgård are here as they should be, but it's Björn Olsson's participation that helps make this album one of the more well-crafted released from this band. The string arrangements and the one-take procedure was, quite frankly, the injection I have been looking for! It's too bad that the songs featured aren't among the bands best though. For the most part, they re just too anonymous with a few exceptions. The single "If I don't live today, then I might be here tomorrow", "Not a perfect day" (George Harrison, anyone?) and "One blood" are all great tunes and, if the band kept that kind of focus, this album would be as good as its previous one.
- Jonas Appelqvist

Dieter Schöön
LaBlaza
Headspin Recordings

"LaBlaza" is a damned entertaining, eerie romp through the Göteborg electro, avant-rock, and Krautrock scenes; it's a journey where the origin is quickly lost, the endpoint forgotten, and only the blurs scarring the landscape make much sense anymore. "The harbour's cold" is a wonderfully detached electropop song (and might get kids suggesting that we "smoke a spliff in the afternoon", something I haven't heard since my late '90s frolic through the British reggae scene), and the Khonnor-esque (remember him?) "Soft and slow" is every bit as engaging as it is distant. The rest of "LaBlaza" is just as unique and prone to change, but there's a bizarre continuity present as the tracks rumble onwards. Just another record to prove that, while 2007 may have been useless in many ways, the music released this year has been anything but.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Bzangy Groink on the new Elenette EP, due out November 30 via Cosy Den: https://www.bzangygroink.co.uk/wordpress/archives/2007/11/24/elenette/