Summer holiday...

See you in a couple of weeks...

From the mailbox...

Words will be few today (as I will have to keep a close eye on The Tour as well), but I promise there will be some fine tunes to download!

+ Secret Circuits – This Town
Superb indie rock track taken from the Leeds quartet’s debut EP.

+ Goodnight Electric - Teenage Love and Broken Heart
Rodolfo recommends this incredibly catchy and very 80’ies inspired new wave/electro pop tune.

+ Tears Run Rings – Forgotten
J.A., another long time contributor, recommends this brand new single by Tears Run Rings.

+ South Ambulance - Simple Obligation Of A Man
The Swedish 5-piece has a new EP out on Indicater Records.

Exchange your email for excellent new track Bad Bad World by Guster. I just did!

Today's picture was found here and used without any permission whatsoever...

Hits in the car...?

Found this update on Scottish duo Strawberry Whiplash over at the Matinée Recordings news page: “The band is currently working on songs for that all-important debut album which may or may not be called ‘Hits In The Car’ when it finally sees release.” I obviously know that the naming of the album will have absolutely no connection to a blog run by yours truly, but I still cannot help thinking that it would be awesomely cool!
+ Picture Perfect

The wonderful Under Your Skin by Danish indie popsters Forgotten Fields On Fire is BandBase track of the day (today). Check out the duo’s banner, which is a rather colorful version of one of my favorite paintings!
+ Under Your Skin

We probably all know what it’s like stumbling upon an old song and then spend the rest of the day listening to it ten times (at least) as well as speculating, how come you haven’t listened to it for ages? Exactly what happened earlier today, when I came across this Beirut “classic”.
+ Postcards From Italy

Indietracks...

This weekend, while the indie pop world is partying away at Indietracks, I’ll be flying to Austria instead for the second part of this summer’s holiday. The last couple of years I’ve been seriously thinking of going to the English Midlands for the festival and although I’m really too old to be sleeping in a tent and living off junk food and beers for three days, it would without a doubt be motherfucking fun! But sadly things didn’t work out this year! Next year perhaps? Or maybe the year after? Or? Just like previous years, this year’s line-up looks really intriguing consisting of a “healthy” mix of known and lesser known artists, which hasn’t exactly reduced my desire for attending. For those of you (us) not going, here’s a short “mix-tape” of songs by bands I would definitely see…if I was going, that is!
+ The Felt Tips – Treat Me Gently
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than The Stars
+ Stars of Aviation - Underneath the elms
+ Burning Hearts - I Lost My Color Vision
+ The Cavalcade - Meet You In The Rain
+ Clint (Play People) - Goes Out

Too tired to write anything today...

Instead I once again recommend that you download the great A Friend of a Friend by Champagne Riot before the download link is removed on Friday!
+ A Friend of a Friend (link removed)

Shorties...

The heat is still unbearable and my brain has yet to recover from Wednesday’s short circuit.

Have you watched the Northern Portrait video I posted earlier today? If not; what exactly are you waiting for?

The great Tap Tap gives away a brilliant new track called Dry Dry Land, which is “all about Portugal”.
+ Dry Dry Land

New track Where I’m Going by Cut Copy is definitely worth “the price of an email address”.

Although my mother is from Finland, I have never bothered learning more than a few words of the incredibly complicated Finnish language (I can count to ten and do a bit of swearing). If I had, I probably would have known what Finnish trio Regina sings about. Now (like most of you) I have no clue, but their music is pretty good and the album Puutarhatrilogia was released by Friendly Fire Recordings last month.
+ Saanko Jäädä Yöksi?
+ Sinun tässä salissa

To be honest I expected it to be awful, but 8mm’s cover version of Bad Moon Rising is surprisingly decent.
+ Bad Moon Rising

Crazy video...

+ Crazy

Shorties...

This one will probably end up being even shorter than yesterday’s post, as the heat in my office is unbearable and my brain simply refusing to cooperate.

Told you that Peter would feature Les Incendiaries! Yes Peter! You might be predictable, but your taste in music is absolutely impeccable!

One Weekly Gun is back writing songs! Will this be a “one week wonder” or will we once again be treated to a new song every week?
+ Is Sex a Thing?

One of my all time favorite bands Cause and Effect has a brand new webpage and celebrates this by giving away a free download of the excellent Dirty 8VA Mix of Happy?

US synth-pop duo Null Device reminds me quite a lot of the aforementioned Cause & Effect and recently I’ve been feasting on free downloads from their bandcamp page.
+ Footfalls
+ Travelogue
+ The Sad Truth

Shorties...

Really short today...

Soundvenue has picked the self-titled debut album by Sleep Party People as the best album released by a Danish artist so far this year. Well done Brian!
+ I’m not human at all

UK duo The Tamborines shares their track CWB in exchange for your e-mail address. Definitely worth it!

Rodolfo recommends Canadian band Les Incendiaries. I'm pretty confident that this is something that Peter will write about at some later point, so instead I simply suggest that you download this Under Electric Light remix of their song Danaé, which I've posted a few times before.
+ Danaé (Under Electric Light mix)

Let's Go Surfing by The Drums has been remixed by The Raveonettes and now sounds like a song by (this can hardly be a surprise) The Raveonettes.
+ Let's Go Surfing (The Raveonettes Remix)

A champagne murder mystery...

Danish duo Champagne Riot has just finished a new version of the track A Friend of a Friend and as always they boldly state that “it's really the best we've ever done”. Not really sure if I fully agree (still having a major crush on Ingrid Bergman), but in many ways the re-recording has done wonders, when comparing it to the first version, which actually was pretty good in its own rights (I doubt it is available for downloading or even streaming anywhere, so you’ll have to take my word for it). The new version is slower paced, the vocals are not nearly as a “strained” and in general has a more melancholic and beautiful feel to it. The band is planning to release it as a single some time this fall, but has kindly granted me permission to post it for a short period of time (two weeks). So I strongly suggest you grab it while it’s there!
+ A Friend of a Friend (link removed)
+ Ingrid Bergman

I’ve featured great NY quartet Murder Mystery a few times before around here and now the band is back sharing two new tracks. No way I can top the band’s own description of the tracks, so that's the one you get: “The first, I Am (If You Are) is the debut lead vocal performance of our drummer Laura. It sounds like a collaboration between Stereolab and Madonna -- pulsing synths, shimmering guitars, a disco beat and a charming vocal performance ….The second, Change My Mind is like a Cure or Belle & Sebastian pop jam arranged with the warm, bouncy synths of Aphex Twin’s Ambient Works”. Think I’ll just add that both tracks are exactly as good as the description promises!
+ I Am (If You Are)
+ Change My Mind

Insomnia...

This week has been real terrible from a sleeping point of view. Perhaps it's a little too early to start talking about insomnia (so let’s call it sleep deprivation instead), but 3-4 hours of sleep a night really isn’t doing anything good for neither brain nor body. So if what I write today makes no or little sense (as if it ever does), you know now why!

Earlier this week I started deleting Myspace “friends” and the cleaning continues, as far too many useless artists post far too many repetitive (and useless) updates, thus cluttering the news/update stream and “drowning” the few useful ones that do pop up from time to time!

Cannot say that I was all that impressed by the live performance of Swedish trio (quartet) Liechtenstein at Copenhagen Popfest, but new track (lead track of the soon to be released single) Passion for Water is in fact a more than competent indie pop tune!
+ Passion for Water

Just read this post over at Faronheit. Now there is a blog receiving exactly the same promo mails as I do (including the songs/remix featured below)! Check the post out and don’t forget to download the really fine Just Can't Sleep (Stupid Human Remix) by The Aikiu.

Last month I expressed my discontent with a remix of Korallreven’s Truest Faith. Now yet another remix has surfaced and though this isn’t even half as bad as the aforementioned remix attempt, it’s still rather weak when compared to the original version.
+ The Truest Faith (CFCF Remix)
+ The Truest Faith

Labrador shares a second track by [ingenting] from the album Tomhet, idel tomhet. No band I can possibly think of captures the feel of summer better than [ingenting].
+ Medan vi sov
+ Halleluja!
Plus these two summer favorites:
+ Här kommer solen
+ Släpp in solen

Speaking of summer favorites. Two years ago I predicted that the self-titled debut album by This Is Ivy League would be that year’s summer album. I guess it didn’t exactly turn out that way and since then things have been pretty quiet around the band. But who knows? Perhaps (and hopefully) another gem like this one is in the making?
+ The Richest Kids

South Park picture found here.

Is this the best it gets...

According to his blog former Budapest frontman John Garrison is currently writing songs with Danish singer/songwriter Mads Langer. Budapest (?) you might ask? Aside being the capital of Hungary, Budapest was a British band that in the early 00’s released a fabulous single called Is This The Best It Gets? and a pretty decent album (though it didn’t fully meet my expectations) named Too Blind To Hear. In case you’re not familiar with Mads Langer either, he burst onto to the Danish music scene in 2005 with the beautiful and emotional debut single The Breaking News, which (I believe) was written as a response to the 7 July 2005 London Bombings. And this year his cover of the Olive track You’re Not Alone has been getting massive airplay in Denmark. Anyway; it should be interesting to see and hear what comes out of this rather intriguing collaboration!
+ Mads Langer - You’re Not Alone (Olive Cover)

Catching up...

As mentioned yesterday; the world has been really busy while I was away, but today I’ve been equally busy (and still am) trying my best to check updates, mails und so weiter.

I swear. Someday I’m going to find out what is so fabulous about of Montreal. Unfortunately new track Coquet Coquette doesn’t quite provide the answer either! But someday!
+ Coquet Coquette

Swedish one man project bakers at dawn is working on a new album (or more precisely a “record”, so perhaps it’ll just be an EP?) and first track published bodes really well for the album/record/whatever.
+ authority

Sky Sports predicts that Northern Portrait will end up on the cover of NME some fine day! Since Sky Sports isn't really about music at all the true purpose of the feature was to ask Stefan of the band to share his World Cup memories! Could be interesting to hear if this year's World Cup has given Stefan any "new favourite moments" (pun intended).
+ New Favourite Moment

Great new demo track The Occasional Ego-Boost by Jeremy Sparrow can now be streamed at Myspace. Recorded by Tobias a.k.a. mr. Death Valley Sleepers.

If Facebook is to be trusted the new Loney Dear album (which will be the 6th album release by mr. Svanängen) will be out on February 15 (next year I suppose, though the update doesn't say this excatly).
+ Airport Surroundings

Watch Tetris=Therapy perform an acoustic version of the track Seasick (the original version can be found on the debut album Acquaintances.
+ Seasick

Stuck inside these four walls...

…for another 2½ weeks, 'cause then it’s time for the second part of this year’s summer holiday. But I’ll get back to that at some later point. So here I am back again residing at my desk at work glancing out of the window at the fine (though fortunately it’s not “fantastic”) weather. Equally fortunate is that work rarely piles up while I’m away, so getting back is usually not all that stressful (and yesterday was no exception). In contrast, it’s impossible to say the same, when I start checking my private mailbox and all the updates at the various social networks, as it has become utterly apparent that the rest of the world sure wasn’t away on holiday last week. Now I just need to isolate the good stuff from the junk…

The title of today’s post was (as you have all guessed I suppose) inspired by this classic: