Hamburg etc....

Hamburg was great. We arrived late Friday afternoon and left early (11 a.m. isn’t exactly early I know, but it did feel like it was real early) Sunday morning. Summed up we spent our time on walking and walking, “flying”, eating, drinking, dancing and sleeping (approx 3 hours per night). The weather was superb, which made us feel incredibly lucky, as it was pouring down Friday morning and the entire Sunday. Already looking forward to my next visit.

The line-up for this year’s Indietracks looks intriguing as always, but unfortunately I won’t be going this year either, as I’ll be in Austria on holiday at that time. Would especially love to see (and hear) Clint of Play People, who’s going to play an acoustic set. Could be the only chance ever to hear the glorious pop songs of Play People being performed live, plus it should finally be revealed who’s hiding behind the alias!
+ Going Out
+ Oh What A Life...

Here's the new single by Club 8 fresh from the mailbox...
+ Shape Up!

Shorties...

Things are awfully quiet around here these days. I wish things could be different, but unfortunately that’s how it is right now!

Going to Hamburg tomorrow with 6 of my real thirsty friends. A few train stops aside, this will be my first visit to the German metropol. Have been told that it's a real cool city?

This energetic and immediately catchy track by Rob Cowen and The Dissidents has had a permanent spot on my playlists the past week.
+ Heartache

Check out the solo project Devious Delight by Northern Portrait guitarist Jesper Bonde. It will be quite interesting to follow, if this evolves into something more serious or simply is the first indication of him (co-) writing future Northern Portrait songs.

Please vote for the excellent Cause & Effect remix (entry no. 65) in the remix contest for Andy Bell's upcoming single Say What You Want!.

Following a string of EP releases Tower of Foil has finally released a debut album. Named Driving North and available at CD Baby. The album can be streamed at Last.fm. or download the four promo tracks for free.
+ Shaping The Sky

Two brand new tracks by cool Swedish duo Ostrich can now be streamed at Myspace.

Mailbox cleaning (once again)...

One of the consequences of suddenly becoming all serious this week and write about that The Radio Dept concert and, what you could perhaps call, Oliver North Boy Choir gossip is that the mailbox has had perfect conditions for growing out of control. So now it’s high time to once again bring out the brooms and start sweeping.

+ Under Byen - Alt Er Tabt
The new album Alt Er Tabt by Under Byen has now been released in the US, so the PR machine is rolling. Still trying to make up my mind whether or not I actually like this band!

+ Plushgun - Mixtapes (Buffetlibre Remix)
The original version is part of the Buffetlibre Peace project.

+ Francois Peglau - God & the unconscious want me dead!
+ Francois Peglau - Everybody loves me
The Peruvian/Argentinean/French (now in London residing) socio dramatic pop singer-/songwriter is back with a couple of nice new songs.

"Old" favorites OMD will be touring Europe in November. Pretty sad to see that no Danish date is included especially since the original (or "classic") line-up is back together, because when I saw the band way back in 1993 it basically consisted of just Andy McCluskey.

Gossip girl (and boy) choir...

A little more than a year ago we had to say farewell to Oliver North Boy Choir, but the band’s music is still around. Perhaps more than ever, as the trio’s delicate cover version of the JAMC track Teenage Lust is featured in an episode of American soap Gossip Girl. A part of the episode in question can be streamed right here (fast forward to 0:47 ) and please don’t start posting any bullshit about the quality of the dialogue and the acting. Just be happy that a great band (dead or alive) has gotten a chance like this to have their music heard by millions of TV viewers. And perhaps even earn a few greenbacks? At the Copenhagen Popfest I tried to convince Mikkel and Ivan to bring the band back to life (and EPO-555 as well, while I was at it – both bands are sorely missed), but I wouldn’t put money on either band reuniting any time soon (if ever) if I were you! A good handful of b-sides plus remixes and cover versions of various other tracks are still free to download from the band’s webpage.
+ Tonight
+ Baby Cool (Good Luck Casper remix)

On the radio this morning...

Some pretty good stuff on this morning, so for a change there will be more than just one video.

Probably not offending anyone by saying that Danes Apollo have been listening a lot (I mean "A LOT") to The Killers?



No wonder I thought this band sounded like Mew! Shame on me for not immediately realizing that this one had to be by Apparatjik!



Every morning when the girls and I are having 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!

I don’t like it like this...

Ok. So I went to see The Radio Dept. perform at an (after all) sold out Lille Vega on Saturday evening. Not with the biggest of expectations, as I had read somewhere (here) that the band was a terrible live act. Though not exactly without expectations either, as the band has been number two on my list of artists I want to see (second only to Richard Hawley) for the past several years. But now, 3 days later, I’m still trying to absorb what I experienced, as I cannot make up my mind whether I should be disappointed or simply accept that we got exactly the performance we could realistically expect? During the 45-50 minutes (including sound checks in between songs) the band spent on stage they performed 12 songs and turned the whole place into an inferno of noise. The later I sincerely hope was a decision made by the band (rather than adding more fuel to the “terrible live act” debate) and something I can “live” with, although I (as one of the few) will forever prefer the more polished Pet Grief to the noisier Lesser Matters. However the fact that just 12 songs were performed made me rather dissatisfied at first; especially with just one track from Pet Grief being included in the set. But having checked setlists, bootlegs, blogs etc. afterwards, I’ve come to the understanding that no matter what you hope for; 50 minutes is what you usually get. So being critical is easy. Doing one’s homework is sometimes a tad more difficult. But had I done it properly, I probably would have known just a little bit better what to expect! One final remark; despite its many omissions I cannot think of any songs I wish hadn’t been included in the setlist, which I (after all) see as the perfect proof of what a truly remarkable band this is!
+ David
+ Freddie and the trojan horse
+ Why won't you talk about it?

Gold...

What has been a really great day started in the perhaps best possible way, when I found epic new track Gold by The Boombox Hearts in the mailbox this morning. Completely new to me it wasn’t, as I had heard it once before, when they played their debut concert at Copenhagen Popfest (pic), and I do remember thinking back then; “wow this is great”. And having heard the studio version I’m still thinking exactly the same, though using something more superlative than “great” is tempting. I’m having some difficulties catching the lyrics, but according to the band the song is a wee bit sad and dominated as it is by the twang guitar sound (reminiscing Chris Isaak) as well as getting support from a beautiful cello, it does indeed have a melancholic feel to it. Gold is the first appetizer from a 5-track EP that is said to be in the making and which hopefully will be out some time later this year.
+ Gold

Sweden's Irene shares a brand new demo track named The Catcher in the Rye. Found via the twitter account of Acid House Kings, so cannot really tell if it's a sign of more things to come! Hmmm - more information (in Swedish) and download link can be found here.

New Danish management & booking agency (and blog) Catching Paper Planes talks to Entakt frontman Jonas Villumsen about his new solo project as well as the future of the band. And quite a few other things as well!
+ Kunsten At Slippe Taget

Check out lovely new single Jimmy Had a Polaroid by Math and Physics Club. Taken from the forthcoming album I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do, which is now available for preordering from the Matinée shop.
+ Jimmy Had a Polaroid

Airspiel - The Rain...

Excellent Scottish trio Airspiel has a new single (and video) out named The Rain. Uptempo, danceable, very 80's inspired ("electro indie pop song with a "retro-futuristic" feel. (Gary Numan, The Human League etc.)") and really, really catchy (damn good it is). Available on iTunes et al.

The worst taste in music...

Amazingly tickets are still available for the The Radio Dept. concert at Lille Vega on Saturday. One of the best bands to visit Denmark this year and they cannot sell out the damn venue? The music taste of the Danes just never ceases to disappoint me!
+ The worst taste in music

Come to think of it, I’m somewhat surprised that I don’t get contacted more often by bands via Last.fm, as this service should give bands (and others) a pretty good idea of the chances of me liking their music. That's probably why US shoegazers The Band in Heaven decided to send me a mail suggesting that I should give their music a listen. So I did and I quite like it. Especially this Cranberries cover is pretty good. More songs are free to download from bandcamp.
+ Dreams (Cranberries Cover)

And while you’re over at bandcamp, why not download the fine debut album A Story of Hurt by Danish Daycare for free in exchange for your email address?
+ A Purpose To My Sins

Elspeth kindly answered my question and mailed "it's all about the magic hat". Though I'm not really sure if this made me any wiser?

On the radio this morning...

+ The Last Dance

Every morning when the girls and I are having 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!

In the pillory...

Friday I was joking (and being a little bit serious as well) about posting a list of “the worst songs from the mailbox”. But having given it serious considerations this weekend I’ve come to the conclusion that it just ain’t going to happen. After all, who am I to ridicule musicians or artists in general? You see! I have no talent for writing music, know absolutely nothing about recording it and cannot even play an instrument (failed miserably when trying to learn to play the piano 30 years ago). Instead shouldn’t my approach always be that even though I don’t like the music, I should at least look at their skills with some envy? Or let’s turn it around! Would I enjoy seeing one my blogposts (or the blog in its entirety) listed among “the worst stuff found on the internet”? It probably wouldn’t be quite unreasonable, but still? Though I promise that nothing will change in the sense that I will continue my whining (when given the opportunity) about all the bad stuff I receive. But I’m definitely not going to put anyone in the pillory!

So let’s move on to some music instead (some good stuff of course!)…

Irish indie rock 5-piece Elspeth has mailed a new track named Mob Journalism. More electronic less rock! Puzzled about Roy Keane being listed among the influences? He’s Irish I know, but…?
+ Mob Journalism

The debut album We Are… by London trio Cha-Cha is released today. I’ve previously praised first single The Fellowship for being a “seriously infectious pop song”, and though the rest of the album never quite reaches the same glorious heights, it’s still a highly enjoyable affair!
+ The Fellowship

Check my Last.fm profile and you’ll see that The Bailing by Inu is my “top track” of the past 6 months. So obviously I was pretty excited to find the band’s forthcoming debut album (to be released June 29) Not For Anyone in the mailbox this morning. Am tempted to cite myself and use parts of the above sentence; “though the rest of the album never quite reaches the same glorious heights, it’s still a highly enjoyable affair”.
+ The Bailing

More from the mailbox...

As I wrote two days ago, words are really hard to find these days. So forgive me for not be able to resist the temptation to take the easy way out and post yet another mailbox compilation. As always reading and listening have been everything from uplifting to mindboggling (in the not so positive sense of the word). At one point I was even contemplating compiling a post named “the worst from the mailbox”. Cross your fingers that it will never materialize, as it will provoke nightmares, cause your blood pressure to rise, make you regret ALL your sins and plenty of other horrid things. But for now, I’ll just stick to the old formula and post the good (or better at least) stuff.

+ The Happy Hippo Family – Undressed Melody
Confident (but terribly named) Swedish band calls themselves “Sweden’s best band, but more people need to realize this”. Cannot say that I agree about that best band statement, but I do agree that more people need to realize that this is infact a pretty good band!

+ Apples - Caravan Of Love (Acappella)
Nice and all that, but didn't The Housemartins record something sounding exactly the same in 1986? It's the b-side of the band's very good single Theo, which will be out May 17. Two remixes of Theo were included in the promo mail, but neither does the original any justice.

+ Thieves Like Us - Forget Me Not
Nice first promo track from the band's sophomore album named Again and Again, which will be out on Shelflife Records July 6.

+ Thee Piatcions - Time (Extended version)
Italian quartet finds inspiration in psych rock of the 60'es and the alternative rock scene of the early 90'es and blends it all together nicely to create a (if not unique then at least) very intriguing sound.

More to come...on Monday...or maybe tomorrow night...?

Shorties...

Not good at all with words these days.

Jens Lekman will be playing at Lille Vega on August 9. A ticket has (of course) been secured.
+ The Opposite of Hallelujah

And White Lies will be playing at the same venue on June 3, but tickets sold out in no time earlier today. Saw them last year and thought they were pretty good, but think I will await a sophomore release, before considering seeing them again.
+ Death

New 20 track compilation Dealing in Antiques from Cats on Fire will be out on Matinée Recordings some time later this month. Promo track is this intriguing cover version of Your Woman.
+ Your Woman (White Town cover)

Super lovely UK indie pop duo The Cavalcade is planning to release their debut album Many Moons this summer. Several songs can be streamed at Myspace.
+ Meet You In The Rain

Various...

US multi-person band Photons has gone on “indefinite hiatus”, which basically means that the band is no more. Shame really as the band wrote some wonderfully charming pop songs. And apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so!
+ Shadow
+ Choose
+ Where Were You Last Night
+ This Must Be Love

Swedish indietronica trio Pistol Disco will be supporting The Radio Dept. at Vega on May 15. What a terrible band name, but hopefully their music will grow on me, as the first listen left me somewhat unimpressed. The 6 track EP Evergreen is free to download from the band’s webpage.

Speaking of The Radio Dept. Brilliant new single The Truest Faith by Swedish duo Korallreven is out now on Acephale Records as a vinyl only release limited to 500 copies.
+ The Truest Faith

On the radio this morning...

Still think it sounds a lot like Learning To Fly, but that doesn't prevent it from being a great song! Not official video seems to be available, so this live version will have to do!



+ Bloodbuzz Ohio