Shorties...

I’ve learned that IFPI (who else?) was responsible for the complaint I mentioned yesterday. I’ve mailed them, but I seriously doubt that I’ll ever get any explanation.

Today is Bad Lieutenant day, as the band is giving away their new single Sink or Swim for free. You do have to enter your email address, but it's well worth it. In case you've never heard of Bad Lieutenant (well of course you have) it's the new band of ex-New Order frontman Bernard Sumner.

Unfortunately the new single Heavenly by The Storm pretty much destroy all hopes that the band’s sophomore album Black Luck will be any better than the debut.

Coincidence or? I mentioned Bodebrixen exactly two weeks ago and Wednesday a promo mail arrived. Full of the usual "yada yada", but also included the essential information that the album will be out October 12. Lovely new track Suit Your Needs can be streamed at Blaa Vinyl.

Trade a cloud picture for four new songs by Björn Kleinhenz. That's a fairly generous offer, isn't it? However I'm still dreaming that he'll someday reunite with Adam Svanell and record more songs for the really intriguing Memoplay project. But I'm afraid that I'll have to accept that this duo is all but dead. The fabulous 4 track EP is still free to download from Last.fm.
+ Words are Small

Someone please explain...

Bullshit mail of the day comes from Box.net; “We have recently received a complaint regarding the following file(s), which you have been sharing through your Box.net account, and infringe on a previously-held copyright: "MyBox/slaraffenland_ meetandgreet.mp3”. But, but, but? Less than 48 hours ago I received (a second) promo mail (from Team Clermont in case you think I’m making this up) offering this track as well as another track from the forthcoming Slaraffenland album We’re On Your Side as free downloads. So how can I possibly violate anything? Apparently I know shit about how mechanisms work in the music business, but I cannot help thinking that someone is fucking things up really bad somewhere or perhaps my ignorance has just reached new heights? To make sure that the complainers get more to complain about (or in an ideal world realize that there are in fact absolutely nothing to complain about), here’s a repost of Meet and Greet as well as the second (so called "promo") track Open Your Eyes. Both are (as mentioned) taken from the We’re On Your Side album that will be out in the US on September 15 and one week earlier on September 7 in Denmark.
+ Meet and Greet (Team Clermont link) (Hometapes link - the band's US label!)
+ Open Your Eyes (Team Clerrmont link)

Tellus about the Moon...

It’s been a while since we heard anything from great Swedish indiepoppers Tellus about the Moon, but for a good reason, as they have been busy recording their debut album. I had a short chat on the web with one of the band members Saturday night and he informed me that the band is now working intensively on finding an ”attractive” label to release their album, as the band remains unsigned. You might recall that the band released an EP on Letterbox Records last year, but their self-titled EP probably should be considered a “just this once” kind of thing? But the band remains confident that they’ll soon be signed to a label, and I’m definitely going to stay optimistic with the band. And why shouldn’t I, as the three new recordings recently uploaded to Myspace sound excellent? I’ll monitor the situation closely and will obviously keep you posted, when (hopefully soon) news on label signing, release and tour dates etc. will start popping up!
+ Nomore (from last year’s EP)

On the radio this morning...

Was somewhat surprised to learn that this one has been picked up by "our" national radio.



+ The Big Pink - Dominos

Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

Saturday evening...

This has a somewhat familiar ring to it I guess? Wife’s out, the kids are sleeping and I’ve just found a cold beer in the fridge. So time to hear some music, read plenty of mails and check a few blogs.

Just found a mail from Song, by Toad Records telling about the release of the Meursault EP Nothing Broke. Released in April, so hardly news anymore, but since this is my blog, who’s there to stop me from mentioning anything that’s new to me? The acoustic EP is said to be “a little on the morose side”, but we all like being a little miserable from time to time. Don’t we? No matter what; promo (and title) track Nothing Broke is an absolute beauty!
+ Nothing Broke

Chris doesn’t seem to think all that highly of Britney Spears and I find it real difficult to blame him. But why does he hate tigers so much that he wants them to meet her (I doubt very much that they'd even bother having her for dinner)?

Note to self. Need to listen more to Brooklyn band The Library! If you want to beat me to it, the band's 7 track debut album The Life and Times of Rosa Lee is a free download.
+ TomKat
+ The Life and Times of Rosa Lee

Chromewaves has once again cost me a few quid. This time I was somehow convinced that the only proper decision would be to order the debut album xx by UK quartet The xx.
+ Basic Space

Hmmm. Most of the music I've downloaded today has been not just good, but real quality stuff. That's quite nice for a change. But great songs often get extensive listens, which then detracts your attention from potential thing to feature in a post. (Probably my backward way of saying that today's post is a lot shorter than I hoped it would be, thanks to the fine things I've come across.)

New Aerial single All Refrain is the next in line of great things tonight. It's catchy, haunting and a little bit noisy, which to me is a close to perfect combination. From the band's third album Put it this way in headlines that will be out on Nomethod Records some time this fall.
+ All Refrain

That was it I'm afraid. Have a great Sunday!

Ginger Ninja - Sunshine video...

BandBase.dk has just premiered the video for the superb Ginger Ninja single Sunshine.

2 EP’s and an album...

That’s been my menu so far today, and a both diverse and most enjoyable one.

The Thoughts Like Bombs EP by Houston quartet The Watermarks is a fine pick as the starter, as it immediately makes sure that all senses are alert and ready right from the beginning. Described like "if Phil Spector made an album with Jesus and Mary Chain and New Order, it would sound like The Watermarks.”, and the magnitude of noise, distortion, synths and guitars make this description a fairly accurate one. The EP has been out for more than a year now, but to me it’s still a new and absolutely pleasant acquaintance. The entire EP is free to download from the band’s webpage or at Last.fm.
+ Face the Wall
+ Remember to Forget

Ghosts is the third album by Danish alt-country (or nordicana as preferred by the band) quartet Homesick Hank, and a really perfect choice for the main course. The album features 11 gorgeous tracks relying primarily on their own beauty and the strength of the songwriting, but a judicious dose of spices (strings, piano etc.) has been added, thus helping to turn this album into a truly glorious experience.
+ Gasoline Skies

The Imperial School EP by US duo Horse Shoes rounds up today’s “culinary” experience and I’ll be hard pressed to find a better choice for dessert than this. The purest of indie pop so sweet (think the best of Sweden) and of such sheer quality that Shelflife, a name that equals quality, sees no problem in releasing this as part of their CD+7” 1000 series. I’m still no fan of the whole concept of including a 7” vinyl as part of the release, as my turntable is determinedly stored away (that one too – see yesterday's post) in the attic.
+ Changing Winds
+ The Imperial School

Promos CD's...

Don’t think I had received a promo CD in maybe 6 months or more, and then suddenly two in two days? I’m an old fashioned guy in many ways. I pay the restaurant bill on a date (or used to before I got married), open doors for the ladies, give compliments etc. And when it comes to music things are no different, as I prefer music on CD’s and not as something stored away on a computer. OK; I promise not to re-open that tangible vs. intangible discussion (once) again, but I’m certain you get my point. So I’m quite thrilled that I've seemingly been added to those mailing lists again and am seriously looking forward to receiving more CD’s in the near future. Only problem is storage, which is a rather delicate issue, when you happen to be married to someone, who thinks CD’s have no decorative value whatsoever and should be stored in boxes in the attic, far, far out of reach. But I’m not going to let that ruin my current state of joy! So to show my honest appreciation I’ve been listening to From Sumi To Japan by Brian Bonz & the Dot Hongs and Visitation by Division Day a few times each today, and although both of them show serious potential, it’s still far too early to state, whether or not you should spend some of your weekly allowance on either, or perhaps even both, album(s).
+ Division Day – Devil Light
+ Brian Bonz & the Dot Hongs – Kid Shit

Posting for the sake of posting...

I’m having a tough time today trying to find anything of interest to post and at some point I was thinking about turning today’s post into a plea to my favorite artists that they should start posting news, music, tour dates, whatever, just to give me something to write about. I even considered suggesting that some of them should split up, but in an afterthought I reckoned it probably wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all! I'm obviously well aware that one shouldn’t just post for the sake of posting without having a least something slightly relevant to say, but as I’ve recently (sort of) re-found my blogging enthusiasm and am back at posting at a fairly regular pace, I really, really want to post “something” today. So basically this means that I won’t give a damn about this “rule” today, and the contents of this post will simply be a handful of tracks found during my most recent mailbox "cleaning", without any words accompanying them. Well I suppose I could add that they are indeed all well worth a listen.
+ Plus49 – Naive Brother
+ The Postmarks – My Lucky Charm
+ Keegan DeWitt – Telephone
+ Anna Ternheim – What Have I Done

No more...whining and rambling...

If you check my Last.fm profile today, you’ll see nothing but Mew. No More Stories is, pretty much as I expected, not an immediate winner, but neither was And The Glass Handed Kites, so I feel confident that sufficient listens will turn this into another masterpiece.
+ Repeaterbeater

Anyone remember this post? Obviously I remember it very well, as it was probably written with more heart blood than any other post in the history of this blog. Indirectly brought back to my attention yesterday, when I was checking older mails and found a link for yet another remix of a Doves track, as it was the Still Going remix of Kingdom of Rust that caused me getting increased heart pressure back then. But a remix I found yesterday and even though that Sasha's Subsubdubdub remix of Jetstream is pretty awful and does nothing for the song except ruining it, I’ve decided to post it; simply for no other reason than to see if the eyes of IFPI are still watching my every move. Just for the record. The remix has been okayed for posting; what did you expect? I’m not THAT brave!
+ Jetstream (Sasha's Subsubdubdub remix)

Be a sport and follow Hits In The Car on NetworkedBlogs. A big "Thank You" to those already following!

More whining. Last year I unsuccessfully tried to get press accreditation for Start! Festival (called Vesterbro Festival back then), and didn’t even bothered applying for it this year. Then yesterday I received a mail from the bigger and certainly more interesting, but in Germany located Reeperbahn Festival, in which they encourage me (and everyone else receiving the mail) to send an accreditation request. Hopefully Start! will be inspired next year and “start” looking at bloggers as an attractive way to help promoting their festival.

And even more whining (will this ever end?). lastbandalive has just informed me that copies of their EP are no longer available. I’m devastated.

Shorties...

The eagerly awaited Mew album No More Stories is out today. I’m probably one of the very few, who has yet to listen to it, but I’ll snap up a copy, as soon as the working day is over. Reviewers seem to adore the album and the average rating of the 7 reviews compiled by Gaffa is 5.6 stars out of 6.

Indicater Records has a new (download only) compilation out. 19 indie pop/rock tracks for €8 seem more than reasonable to me; especially if the other 18 songs are of the same caliber as this promo track by Irish trio Sweet Jane.
+ Sweet Jane – Blackboots and Blackhearts

You’ve probably already streamed the new The Pains of Being Pure at Heart track over at Pitchfork? It can be heard at Myspace as well, if you (just like me) happen to be no fan of Pitchfork. I’m really not a fan of streaming either! But the song is mighty fine though.

Californian electro pop duo Electric Valentine offers their new single Beat Drop as free download. It’s taken from the duo’s debut album Automatic (out tomorrow August 18) and is a fairly catchy yet rather harmless pop tune.
+ Beat Drop

My inbox is one big mess and I’m once again reading, downloading, listening, deleting etc. And yet once again I’m equally amazed and frustrated how much junk is mailed to me.

Is today’s BandBase.dk track of the day irresistibly catchy or simply one of the cheesiest pop songs you’ve ever heard?
+ The Chop Chop Family - You Used To Be So Indie

Keychain...

Not feeling all that well today so should be interesting to see what today’s post turns out to be like.

Have streamed the four lastbandalive tracks over at BandBase.dk over and over since mentioning the band in yesterday’s post. Still no news on the EP though. Recall seeing lastbandalive at this year’s Start! Festival and how I thought they sounded like “the best band in the world” through the first three or four songs. Unfortunately that impression didn’t last and I don’t think I even stayed and watched the performance till the end. The band will be playing at the Start! Festival after party at PH Caféen in Copenhagen on August 29 and I would be there if I wasn’t going to Lolland for a few days with some of my most childish friends.

Another concert I won’t attend after all is the Crunchy Frog 15 year anniversary party, as I had forgotten that we are going to a birthday party. Unless magic occurs and EPO-555 decides to reform at some later stage, this sadly means no EPO-555 concert for me in this life.

Rikke (Blaa Vinyl) sent a message yesterday appraising La La Naïve and suggesting that I should check out another Danish duo, Bodebrixen, as the two acts are somewhat connected (helping each other out when playing live etc.). I’m aware that I should have checked out the music of Bodebrixen ages ago (there has been some hype), but I’m afraid I opted not to. But luckily Mr. Bode and Mr. Brixen have finally been introduced to me and 10 seconds into the first track I realized that this is something that I’m going to enjoy immensely. Naive indie pop tunes oozing of Swedish influences always seem to be a winning formula and in this case it’s no different as I’m literally blown away. A self-titled album was released last year, but is currently being rerecorded, remixed and will be rereleased (lots of re’s) in October. Sign me up for a copy!
+ Keychain

Rounding out today’s post; Jonas has compiled an extensive list of all (?) references in Entakt lyrics. You definitely need to understand Danish to fully appreciate this “master list”, but not necessarily to enjoy the band’s fine songs.
+ Kunsten af Slippe Taget
+ Orkestret Med Det Blotlagte Skelet

BandBase.dk – Track of the Day...

I have spent quite some time today checking out various tracks which at some point have been selected “track of the day” at Danish music community BandBase.dk. The daily track is usually picked by commander editor in chief Rasmus Ardahl, who does a fine job to secure that as many genres and artists (signed vs. unsigned) as possible are being covered. This obviously means that not all tracks are equally enjoyable for persons with a limited music taste like mine, but there is still plenty of music to explore, as this feature/service began for more than a year and a half ago. Below a few of the songs I’ve found (or in most cases refound) and enjoyed today including a few comments for each tracks.

+ The Boombox Hearts – Extras, when you’re ready, please (track of the day August 12, 2009)
Featured in this blog not so long ago, but nice to see the band getting some recognition at BandBase.dk as well.

+ Windermere – There’s a Sun (track of the day May 19, 2008)
The band’s sophomore album No One Wins was my favorite album of 2006 (back in those days, where I actually bothered making those lists), but 3 years on we are still awaiting any news on a follow-up.

+ lastbandalive – The Mexico Of Europe (streaming) (track of the day June 6, 2009)
This is by far my favorite song of the moment, but sadly only available for streaming. The band consists of 3 (I believe) former members of The Alpine and apparently a 6-track EP is ready, which I’m currently working to get my hands on.

+ La La Naïve – Not Just Things (track of the day October 18, 2008)
In their own words La La Naïve is "Toy Piano, Glockenspiel, synths, beats and fantastic melodies". Add playfulness with a capital P to the mix and you have a pretty good description.

+ Under Byen - Af samme stof som stof (track of the day July 26, 2009)
Not just a community for the up and coming, and more established names like Under Byen can be found at BandBase.dk as well.

Me Me Me...

Here’s a track found in a mail some time ago, which I instantly liked so much that I had to ask for permission to share it. I received that permission within hours, but for whatever odd reason I have never gotten around to actually posting it. Then Saturday I sort of got a “in your face” reminder, as the song was aired on national radio, so I made a vow that it would be included in my next post, before the song becomes old news. The song in question is the first single Me Me Me from Danish quartet Lars and The Hands of Light, and it’s a quite laid back, acoustic dominated track with a real catching chorus. Name of frontman Lars Vognstrup probably should have rung a bell (shame on me for my ignorance I guess), but he happens to be an ex-Wolfkin and Money Your Love band member, so he’s hardly a newcomer to the business. The band is the most recent band signed by Crunchy Frog and a debut album is in the making with an expected release date some time this fall.
+ Me Me Me (download link removed)

The reviews of the new Jong Pang album Love, which was released yesterday, are somewhat lukewarm, but since The William Blakes frontman Kristian Leth insists that this is the best album of the year, it has now been ordered, as I obviously don't want to risk missing out on something great.
+ Liar Liar

Chromewaves is the grand cru among music blogs and although the much hyped and talked about duo The Big Pink had been featured on just about every music blog imaginable, it wasn’t until I read this “introduction” that I actually thought it worthwhile checking them out. Truly great stuff and yet another album added to the shopping list.
+ Dominos

The Sky Drops debut album Bourgeois Beat is out today (available from the band's website) and first promo track Swimming With Fishes simply merges the best of indie pop and shoegaze. Without question something that needs to be checked out further.
+ Swimming With Fishes

Various...

Even more cupboard cleaning.

US indie pop piece Brown Recluse [sings] are currently working on their debut album, which should hopefully be out early 2010 on Slumberland Records. To stir up some interest a 4 track (12” and digital) EP named The Soft Skin EP will be put out on September 8. Preview track Contour and Context immediately raised my eyebrows the first time I gave it listen, being such a glorious catchy pop tune with charming 60’s influences. May the rest of the stuff be equally great!
+ Contour and Context

Not a day without some Northern Portrait news. Stefan is interviewed by Romanian (?) blog/online magazine ZME music (in English).

Swedish folkpop combo Gustav and The Seasick Sailors are giving away their recent single Sadie Says as a free download. Technically challenged as I am, I couldn’t make the download work, so instead the band was so kind to mail the track in my direction along with the b-side/bonus track/whatever named 6 am. And two excellent tracks they are. The somewhat Bright Eyes inspired 6 am is beautiful, melancholic with some depressing feel to it, though the lousy speakers at work, makes it impossible to hear whether or not the lyrics actually verifies this. Sadie Says is pretty much the opposite, being a more cheerful and up-tempo tune with a chorus that you could easily find yourself humming after a few listens. Both tracks can be found on the new edition of the band’s Brilliant Hands album.
+ Sadie Says
+ 6 am

The number of Twitter followers has now reached 273 and I’ve actually started enjoying this whole tweeting and reading tweets thing!

David Gray’s Babylon will forever be one of my favorite songs, but cannot say that I’m all that excited about his new single Fugitive (stream it at Myspace).

Various...

Sort of cleaning out the cupboard.

Copenhagen night club and venue Culture Box plans to celebrate its reopening this weekend by throwing a massive party. In detailed information on what will happen this weekend can be found at the official website.

Kashmir mechandise I can easily live without!

Saw a docu last night on Swedish TV about the movie Elegy. The information alone that the Jens Lekman track I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You is featured in the movie really, really made want to go see it! Of course you already know that the song can be found on the absolutely wonderful Night Falls Over Kortedala album where you can find these two lovelies as well.
+ Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo
+ The Opposite of Hallelujah

I seriously need better news feeds, as the super-essential information that Camera Obscura will be playing at Loppen in Copenhagen on September 30 had completely slipped my attention. Tickets have now been bought!
+ My Maudlin Career

I was pretty impressed by Danish girl trio Giana Factory at this year’s Start! Festival and via Soundvenue comes the news that the band plans to release their debut EP in October. As a small appetizer I suggest you download the three demos available from BandBase.dk. Lead singer Loui Foo is the sister of Sharin Foo of The Raveonettes in case her last name has a familiar ring to it.
+ Trippin

Speaking of The Raveonettes. First song from the duo’s forthcoming album In & Out of Control has now been debuted (the term used in the promo mail). Pretty close to brilliant, but who came up with the bizarre idea of naming a catchy and cheerful tune like this Suicide?
+ Suicide

Some of you can probably not stomach any more news on Northern Portrait, but I simply “have” to pass on the information that “the album is basically ready now”. Preview track New Favorite Moment is now streaming at the Matinée Recordings sounds page as well as their Myspace site.

Whatever happened to Leisure Alaska...?

Coincidentally I just stumble upon this, but exactly one year ago today; Leisure Alaska published the track Present Yet Unseen (and a video) and announced that it was taken from their soon to be released second album. Here we are 365 days later and still waiting for that album, but Present Yet Unseen remains a brilliant song!
+ Present Yet Unseen

The pains of a northern riot (part II)...

Following up on yesterday’s post.

So far I’ve only been able to find two reviews of the concert. One by Soundvenue and one by Undertoner. Both reviewers are fairly positive and rate the concert 5 and 4 stars respectively. Unfortunately, only Undertoner thinks it’s worth mentioning the opening acts, but only waste two lines on that, which I doubt will excite either band?

Danielle has written her thoughts on the concert and has posted a few pictures as well (click the photo to see more). Her fine blog (love exists) has been added to the blog roll.

Another Danish blog On The Brightside has posted a few nice pictures, but the words are sparse.

Champagne Riot sort of verifies the speculations I posted yesterday, whether or not the one-man project has been put in the grave. The band has a new Myspace page and only new tracks are being streamed. The forthcoming single will be called A Friend of A Friend, so the title I suggested was a bit too extensive.

Indie MP3 interviews Stefan of Northern Portrait. Notice how he answers the question about the album in a fashion that would make any politician proud (revealing absolutely nothing).

According to Last.fm, Northern Portrait will be playing at Prinzenbar in Hamburg on October 2, but the concert has yet to be listed at the band’s Myspace.

Was introduced to fellow blogger Rikke (author of blaa vinyl) at the concert, but our chat was cut short by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart hitting the stage. Hopefully we'll be able to continue our talk some other time?

The pains of a northern riot...

This is not a review. Just some thoughts on last nights concert at Lille Vega. A blurry picture might be added later today.

Champagne Riot were three men (2 male and 1 female to be exact) on stage and since no songs from the Paris and I EP were performed, I assume that Champagne Riot as a one-man project has been put in the grave. But then again, they only played 4 songs (all of them new to me), so a more extensive set might have included a few of the older ones. 4 songs were definitely on the short side, but probably the deal the trio was able to cut, as frontman Caspar handles the bass for the second opening act Northern Portrait as well. But the set was even more on the short shirt as the trio gave a fine performance and didn’t sound anything like a brand new constellation. Forthcoming single A Friend of a Friend of a Friend (or something like that) sounded promising (somewhat Pet Shop Boyish) and should hopefully be out come September/October, though information is sparse.

Northern Portrait was every bit as fabulous as I’d been told (and hoping) they’d be. Almost seems unreal that the band’s live debut took place less than 4 months ago, because the band played its way through the set of 10 songs like seasoned veterans. I had been looking forward to the concert for ages, and had convinced a couple of friends to join me at the concert, so it was quite a relief that they didn’t disappoint. Several tracks from the forthcoming debut album Criminal Art Lovers were included in the setlist and the two that didn’t know beforehand sounded perhaps even better as some of the songs from the two EP’s. Now if they could only finish the damn thing and get the album released!

The performance of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was pretty much like I thought it would be; a short and quite noisy set with hardly any variation, but still damn appealing. The noise and lack of variation sort of “killed” my compatriots, so I had to watch the second half of the Pains’ show on my own, though that didn’t make me enjoy it any less. The music aside I in particular enjoyed the band’s interaction with the fans and the chitchatting in between songs which really wasn’t something I had expected. Instead this left me with the impression that this is not only a band with great musical talents, but at the same time a friendly and utterly charming bunch of people. You can definitely count me in the next time they are visiting Denmark!
+ Champagne Riot - Scandinavian Warfare
+ Champagne Riot - Heroes of our Time
+ Northern Portrait - Crazy
+ Northern Portrait - I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Everything With You
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Kurt Cobain's Cardigan