Just came across interesting Danish alternative/post-rock band Son My over at Last.fm. The band's dreamy sound should definitely appeal to fans of Sigur Ros, Mogwai etc. Wonder why I've never heard of these guys before!!
Fadeaway recommends Italian psychedelic/ shoegaze/alternative rock band Katrienne. 3 tracks from the band's self-titled 2005 album are available for free from the band's webpage. I have to admit that the Italian music scene is rather unfamiliar territory to me, but perhaps it's time to start exploring it? Especially if there's more like this to be found! Somehow I'm certain that Fadeaway has a few more recommendations up his sleeve!
the fabulous debut album Songs for the Locust King by Sweden's The Book of Daniel (it's untterly beautiful and simply perfect when you're tired and a bit hung-over). This indie pop/folk/jazz inspired album has received fantastic reviews and it sure deserves each one of them. Whether this is a one-man project or a multi-person band is difficult to decide, but of course the band hails from Gothenburg, just like every other great Swedish band these days!
The closing track Catch and Turn of the Green Concorde debut (Ten Cities) has been pumping on my stereo tonight, and since the band has granted me permission to post a track of the album in the blog, there really is no doubt in my head that this superb piece shall be the one. It's an epic/majestic track; sounding like something you'd expect to find exactly in-between Interpol and the shoegaze classics. Not sure if that description is any good, but the track is definitely worth a "right click" and 5 minutes of your time.
Found the Swedish band Dew over at Myspace tonight and below I've listed pretty much all the information I can find:
It's Monday - It's snowing - I'm busy - I'm Tired - The coffee is cold - I cannot upload any files - I'm not broke, but I still cannot stop whining........
The album Stockholm Syndrome by Danish indie/folk/acoustic duo Murder, was among my favorites of last year, but I never did feature the album in the blog, because I couldn't receive permission to post a track. Now (to celebrate a string of things) the band has made it possible to download the fine When The Bees Are Sleeping for free from their Myspace profile. I'm not going to add further except that I still think it's a great and very beautiful album.
In his fine post on the Labrador label the other day, Chris forgot to post this beautiful one by Laurel Music.
As promised by Chris in his post today, here are two more tracks by Swedish indie pop band Ronderlin. Both tracks are taken from the vinyl 7" released on Tomt Recordings in February last year. The single is not sold out, but nonetheless the label has made both tracks available for free. Aside is a wonderful up-tempo pop song that sounds the way I imagine Pet Shop Boys would sound, if they ever tried to play indie pop (perhaps with a little help from New Order). Closed Eyes is a quiet and beautiful track that probably is enjoyed the best with your, ahem, eyes closed! Apparently not even the label knows for sure, whether the band is in the studio recording or not!?
Danish electro pop/rock 5-piece Port Largo has made the excellent track Another State of Mind available for free download over at Myspace and at MyMusic.dk. The song sounds like New Order meeting Spleen United in the Kling Klang Studio, with Jonas of Mew taking care of the vocals.
The Eames Era website has received a "facelift" and the occasion is the release of the band's second album Heroes and Sheroes. Three tracks from the forthcoming album (the exact release date has yet to be announced) are generously available as free downloads...
Yesterday I was contacted by a visitor to the blog, who had stumbled upon this older post on Danish band The Cupids. He asked about news, official releases etc., and to be able to answer his questions I contacted one of the band members. He replied, informing me that the band is very much alive, and has recently been spending a lot of time rehearsing. The best news, however, is that the band will soon start recording and chances should be fine that more information will flow this way very soon. Back then I thought the band reminded me of The Smiths and it certainly still does!
Volvoe are quite productive these days. Today the band has uploaded another new track (called Places) and (once again) it's a really great one!
the new track called Organized Faults by Danish electro/indie pop act Volvoe. Just like every other output we've heard from the band so far, this one is really catchy, very danceable (with some 80's influences) and immediately leaves a positive impression. These guys are (for some reason) still unsigned, but I believe a Demo EP is currently being recorded.
J.A. has been "missing in action" the past month, but last night he sent a mail recommending unsigned Danish band Knoxville. As always it's a bit strange having a Danish band recommended to me by a foreigner, but I guess it just proves how small the world really is these days? But I'm always interested in hearing new Danish bands, so the first thing I did this morning was to download the 3 (what turned out to be) great songs that can be found at the band's webpage. The best way to describe the band and the music is probably by using the band's own words: "Somewhere between the frolicsome tunes of Franz Ferdinand, the cocky coolness of Interpol and the raw rock songs from the Foo Fighters you'll find the band Knoxville." Further information is very limited, so I have no idea whether this is a new or old band. But since the band is capable of writing songs like these, I feel pretty certain that we'll hear a lot more from these guys in the future!
The first single from the forthcoming debut album Guilt & Confusion by Finnish band The Orders is available as a free download over at PIAAF.com. The track is called No Safe Place and it will be possible to grab the track for free until the album is released on January 17. The music year 2007 already looks very interesting!
Swedish 6-piece Fontainebleau. This 80's inspired band sounds like a mix of Joy Division and The Cure, with a front man singing in Swedish. So you could easily be critical and say that you've heard it all before, but this is dark, depressive, emotional, infectious and really, really cool, so I honestly don't care! Like almost every other interesting Swedish band these days, Fontainebleau hails from Gothenburg...
the Italian indie pop/folk band Warm Morning. The band released an album called Feather last year, and judging from the songs you can stream over at Myspace this band could be a real gem. Retrophobic offers the title track of the album as free download, and that one is definitely a "must". Cannot figure out how to order the album, but I guess this means that I'll have to drop the band a line. According to plans the band will release an EP on the rejuvenated Shelflife Records later this year...
Gaffa's demo CD of the month (January) is by acoustic/folk/country influenced one-man project The Village Idiot. Especially two things caught my attention when I read the review (read it here in Danish). For the first time ever a demo received 6 out of 6 stars, which for obvious reasons made me curious and wanting to check it out. But equally remarkable (in my opinion) is that Kenni (the man behind it all) and I share the same hometown. And since I'm having a hard time recalling any other interesting artists or bands from "around here", it was quite a (pleasant) surprise to learn that this month's top pick was a "local hero". The songs I've listened to so far do indeed find some inspiration in legendary artists like Nick Drake, Lou Reed and Johnny Cash, though he's definitely not a "copy-cat" (have to quote Gaffa on this). But far more important is that the songs sound really, really great, so it's quite easy to hear why Gaffa was impressed! Wouldn't it be sweat if he was playing live somewhere "downtown" in the near future??
Thanks to Falk/Darkerradio (don't know what he prefers) for recommending Canadian indie pop/rock band Red Orkestra. This Ontario based band is definitely inspired by the British music scene listing bands like The Manics, The Smiths, Suede etc. among the influences, though I do hear a lot of Budapest, Embrace, Haven and even Coldplay inspiration in the music. A total of 7 tracks are generously available from either the band's webpage or Last.fm, and all of the songs are pretty nice and catchy. Even though some might claim that this is not the most groundbreaking/innovative band you'll ever listen to, the songs are certainly worth a spin (or two).
The album A Little Place in the Wilderness by Canadian indie pop band Memphis was a late arrival in my collection last year, but it still made a good enough impression to end up as no. 11 on my list of favorite albums of 2006. The album is the second output from this duo consisting of Chris Dumont and Torquil Campbell; the later probably more known as the front man/lead singer in the more well-known and much loved Stars. Rob Mitchum over at Pitchfork wasn't all that crazy about the album at the time of the release (August 15), but unlike him, I really enjoy spending the 40 minutes in company with this album, listening to the duo's blend of dreamy indie/twee/chamber-pop. Despite owning two of their albums, I've never really been a fan of Stars, which probably is why I have no problems listening to A Little Place in the Wilderness, without constantly comparing it to Torquil's "other band". I've received permission to upload these two tracks, which I believe are very representative of the album.
I mentioned UK band The Steadies in the blog a while back, and since then the band has been so kind to send me a copy of their Demo EP. Equally generous the band given me permission to upload and post the songs in a decent quality for you to download and enjoy. If you missed The Steadies the first time around, you should hurry up and check them out, because (as I wrote back then) this band writes simply beautiful and lovely indie pop/folk songs.
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