Shine on...

Adrian Sieber has teamed up with fellow Swiss singer Nadia Leonti and together the duo has recorded this really lovely cover (and slightly more "polished" version than the original) of House of Love's Shine On. Mailed to me with a Merry Christmas, a permission to share and (if I like) "gift-wrap" it...the later virtually impossible in this time and age (though it is right there below free to download), but sharing it I certainly will and with this post hopefully returning the Christmas greeting!

Never felt like this before...

Check out new track single (have found out that it's actually a re-recording of an older track) Jeg har aldrig (haft det sådan før) by Danish singer-songwriter Stærosaurus...which actually doesn't sound anything at all like your typical singer-songwriter stuff. Rather this should probably be classified as an uptempo pop/rock track instead...but who cares anyway? Far more important is that this is a really, really excellent track (despite being in Danish, which sadly will scare one or two listeners away)!


And here's the old version...in all fairness, the new version is light years better!

Go Buffalo...

This morning I've been listening again and again to Go Buffalo; a glorious little pop gem by Sweden's Like Swimming. It's highly recommendable so obey orders and please spend the next four minutes streaming, listening and enjoying!

Happy nice day...

For more than 6 years (since July 30, 2007 to be exact) Northern Portrait has occupied the softest spot in my music heart. Without overdramatizing things, I guess you can say that I’ve had a rather huge, permanent and probably at times very unhealthy crush on the band, ever since being blown away by the jangling pop sound of Crazy. Quite a feat one could say, as the total number of songs recorded (or come to our knowledge by being released) by the band amounts to 25. From a fan point of view a somewhat measly production over the band’s lifespan and since the release of the glorious debut album nearly 4 years ago, only 7 new songs have been put out (8 if you include the Some People cover, which to be pedantic was originally recorded way back in 2008). So in all fairness you can say that us fans have been given every opportunity to turn our backs on the band and fall in love with someone perhaps not as attractive, but far more reliable. Of course I can only speak on my own behalf, but I’ve done my very best to stay faithful and not let anyone else come anywhere near that soft spot. Of course I’ve been listening to lots and lots of great music by other fine artists, while waiting for news (any news will always do) from Northern Portrait. But at the same time, I’ve been nurturing my heart and made sure that The Fallen Aristocracy, Napoleon Sweetheart and Criminal Art Lovers were always within hand’s reach. So again and again I’ve been singing along about quiet nights in Copenhagen spent in empty hotels, while creating new favourite moments by letting the Münchausen in me drink Lambrusco with Stirling Moss; only to see life return to normal as my headaches begin and then spend my time waiting for a chance to commit hara-kiri with a teaspoon. Then earlier this year I felt even better, when the happy nice day arrived and we all got greetings from Paris Copenhagen, with the release of Pretty Decent Swimmers; which once again saw the band aim for guitar pop heaven. Fast forward to November and the release of the A Sunday Matinée, where, with no offence to all the other very talented contributing artists, the standout track by a mile was the band's effort The Young and Hopefuls; yet again proving that whenever Stefan Larsen decides to dust off his guitar no one really comes close to writing pop songs like he does. Now it’s December and whether it was Mr. Larsen himself or Mr. Tassos of Matinée Recordings, who came up with the idea that this year’s Christmas present to every indie pop fan inhabiting the planet should be a compilation of every non-album track recorded by Northern Portrait, I obviously can't tell. But what a grand idea it was and following the arrival of Ta! in my mailbox yesterday (along with The Matinée 45 Holiday Ornament, which my wife definitely wasn’t too impressed with) I am spending today listening and perhaps more than ever being overwhelmed by the magic pop universe created by the band. Now I can only second the hopes of A Layer of Chips that the compilation title Ta! by no means indicate a farewell and that a sophomore album will (as promised) in fact be released next year. So fast forward to 2014…

Moon bay...

Have heard the track Bay by new Danish trio Julias Moon a number of times before on the radio (actually it's been played regularly the past month and a half), but this morning it just stuck. A really wonderful, catchy and groovy pop piece that I hope you'll (better late than never) enjoy as much as I've been enjoying it this morning!




UPDATE: Hmmmm. Received a promo mail about this band two months ago! But as I've said it so many times before; I get far too many mails promoting pure garbage, inevitable causing me to miss out on something really great. And in this case I sure did! Damn it!

Real life...

I've decided pay more attention to real life today. Decided to (shutter) ignore Twitter, Facebook, promo mails etc. and instead focus on something really odd and unfamiliar like talking to real humans (those of flesh and blood) and getting some actual work done (my to-do-list certainly requires a little attention). While I'm busy out there dealing with the real world, here are two absolutely smashing, gorgeous, phenomenal songs for you to enjoy!

Better in the dark...

New single Better in the Dark by Swedish/Australian duo (and twin sisters) Say Lou Lou is haunting, catchy and stunningly beautiful. And the video is (as mentioned by a few others) really elegant. Not exactly one of those hidden gem acts, I always claim to be unearthing, but this is simply far too great, to not give at least a small shout out. You really should check it out, if you haven't done so already!

Three quick ones...

Ta!; the previously mentioned Northern Portrait compilation album is out today. Been told that my copy will ship today, so hopefully it'll arrive before Christmas? Included on the album is the band's (how I wish it was) Christmas evergreen Leave The Trees Alone...


I Am Noxious has posted a couple of snippets of new tracks on Facebook. Great that new stuff is in the making, but it's virtually impossible to get any idea of what the new tracks will sound like! Meanwhile (the new songs should be ready early next year) check out this almost "legendary" cover of I Gotta Feeling...


My favorite Swiss artist (Lovebugs frontman) Adrian Sieber, has a new nice track out called Hurts So Good (no - not a John Cougar cover).

Shorties...

Things are still very quiet around here. As I've mentioned before; I'm using Twitter more and more these days. Getting in touch there might prove to be a better idea than emailing me!?

Vote for Rosenthal to help them make Barometerlisten (a Danish radio chart - know they'll appreciate your help).


Just ordered my second CD of the year. And of course it's the new Northern Portrait release called Ta! A can't miss compilation covering every track released by the band that wasn't included on the 2010 debut Criminal Art Lovers.


New and really nice dance pop release by NY act Lilly Wolf. But for whatever odd reason it's not possible to embed it. Instead it's available for free right here:
+ Nightmare

Interesting new Danish constellation The Mountains will play their debut concert on February 21 at King Christian IV's Brewhouse. The combination of band and venue is simply too interesting to be missed, so see you there...?

Save Yourself...

Just helping spreading the word and recommend that you check out the lovely debut single (and video) Save Yourself from new Danish folk pop act NovemberDecember. Deservedly compared to Fleet Foxes, The Rumour Said Fire etc.

Oh so quiet...

Not any good at blogging these days, so if you're interested in knowing what I'm up to, I suggest you follow me on Twitter instead. Recommended two tracks their earlier today, so thought I'd shared them here as well...

Via Rodolfo comes this superb female-fronted guitar pop track by UK act Blessa.


Regulars are already familiar with Bubblegum Lemonade, but in case you haven't checked it out already, don't miss out on ace new track This Is The New Normal (opening track from new album Some Like It Pop).

A return to pop music...

Just thought I'd share the terrific news that yesterday Champagne Riot announced an "official return to pop music". Time will tell whether it will be as a one-man-project, as a duo or trio (for a short period of time I do believe they were a trio), because right now the return announcement is all the information there is. Needless to say, this is no less than fantastic news, as the band and their electro dance/disco pop anthems have been sorely missed! Promise to keep a watchful eye out for updates and will return immediately if/when news on line-up, releases, concerts and more or less anything else has been revealed!


+ Scandinavian Warfare

Three videos...

A trio of videos has reached me (through various sources) and since neither of them are even close to reaching the number of views they deserve, I thought I should help adding one or two views to their totals by posting them. Enjoy the videos or if you're not into videos at all, just close your eyes and simply enjoy the songs instead, as all three of them are indeed (you've guessed it) immensely enjoyable!

Perfect heartache, mad men and girls...!

A new song from Finns Delay Trees has hit the interweb and Perfect Heartache is a simply wonderful guitarpop tune. So it's just plain business as usual I guess?


I'm 6 years late I know, but after being tuned in on TV series by Orange Is the New Black (all hail Netflix) I've finally started watching Mad Men. 5 episodes in I do find it highly entertaining, though it's not quite what I expected, as I thought there would be more advertising/business content and less domestic problems and dealing with ghosts of the past.

The new track from UK quartet Hush! is quite a monster, running for more than 9 minutes. Building my expectations on the band's debut, the instant pop charmer and very 80'ies inspired There's Something in the Stars Tonight, but with Girls the band surprisingly heads in a completely different direction sounding grand, darker, more complex and flirting quite heavily with the shoegaze genre. Perhaps not an immediate winner, but definitely a grower!

The young and hopefuls...

The brand new and eagerly awaited Northern Portrait track The Young and Hopefuls from the oft-mentioned A Sunday Matinée compilation is now available for streaming and once again I have to give in to the temptation, and write what I've written so many times before. No band writes, records and (obviously) releases better jangling guitar pop tunes than these lads and as cliché'ish it may sound, I remain amazed me how this band continues to be so stunningly brilliant.

One step closer to trouble...

Yes, I know I just wrote that I'm busy...and I sure am!

I posted the new video by Odd Collection yesterday. Here's the track without moving pictures...


A whopping 11 tracks from the upcoming A Sunday Matinée compilation can now be streamed via SoundCloud. This new baby by Charlie Big Time is absolutely wonderful!

Apart...

Busy day today, so this will be super short.

Stream the much anticipated new single from Danish electro pop act Tiger Baby. Dreamy, catchy and simply gorgeous!

One-liners...

Vote for the best Danish album ever (or so they say).

Apparently Club 8 is big in Japan Indonesia.

Sorry, but I'm not going to accept your invitation to connect on Linkedin.

Finished watching the first season of Orange Is the New Black last night, so now what?

Going to stream the new album Adagio by 4 Guys From The Future today and I expect it to be awesome!

Streamed the new Arcade Fire yesterday and was slightly disappointed not to be blown away.

Will give it more tries though.

Sort of bended the unwritten rules of this post, by posting that second line on Arcade Fire.

The jangling new track by The Electric Pop Group from the A Sunday Matinée compilation is now up for streaming.


And the equally jangling track from Pale Sunday is up there as well.


This new video (and song) from Danish electro-pop trio Odd Collection is pretty cool.

A Sunday Matinée...on a Wednesday...

Just a shout out for the upcoming Matinée Recordings compilation A Sunday Matinée, which will be out next month to celebrate the label's 15 years of existence. 15 (new, unreleased, rare etc.) tracks by 15 of the label's very finest artists, including brand new and much anticipated ones from long time blog favorites Northern Portrait and The Electric Pop Group. 5 of the tracks are up for streaming (and teasing) on SoundCloud and they sure promise that should you decide to buy the album (and why not?) you will be in for one massive indie pop fix.

Sunday Morning on a Monday...

Yesterday Sune Rose Wagner (of The Raveonettes) shared this cover version of Sunday Morning, which he recorded 14 years ago. As you know, I've never been a fan of cover versions, but this is a really cool interpretation (the noisier sound fits the song perfectly) and an absolutely superb tribute to the late Mr. Reed.

Another list of songs found...

Some seriously horrible submissions today and my stamina is being tested more than ever (?)! The good part being that hundreds of mails have been deleted, so the number of emails in the inbox is not that far from being trimmed down to a four digit number. I'm sorry, but three measly songs (though three quite good) are all you'll be getting today, as real life work is demanding my presence...

Himmel...

The video for US duo England in 1819's haunting and gorgeously wonderful track Himmel (which I posted earlier today) is rather spooky and with Halloween coming up; perfectly themed and timed.

List of songs found...

The ongoing story of cleaning the mailbox goes...well...on, but since I woke up with a real positive mind this morning, I am actually going to give several tunes a chance. The good ones (if any) or promising/interesting will end up here. The bad or not-so-good ones will end up somewhere completely different. So today you'll (once again being blue-eyed optimistic) hopefully get lots of (or at least a few) brilliant songs and, since I'm far more focused on listening than writing, no words. In the earlier days of blogging we used to call lists of songs like this one for "mix-tapes" (probably used as a lame excuse for not bothering writing anything), though time has probably come to find a more up-to-date term? "List of songs found in emails and posted for streaming at SoundCloud" doesn't really sound any good at all, but that's exactly what this is...











Will bring the broom to work again tomorrow, so look out for more posts like this one in near future.!

Rambling shit...

Continue to receive loads of shitty mails, so yesterday I made the decision to help people figuring things out, since they clearly cannot figure it out themselves. So set up a number of filters including bad words like "remix", "rnb" and "hip hop", and so far a fine little number of emails have ended up directly in the waste bin. And I've only just started and you bet more filthy words will be added. Now I can only dream of a function that will allow me to spam people right back with 20 mails (or more) telling them "I'm ever so sorry, but since you rather obviously did NOT read the guidelines and mailed me some horrible, horrible music, I thought I should let you know that your email automatically was filed in the trash folder. What a great job you did wasting your time, your client's money, but luckily you failed in wasting mine!"...or something similar rude!

Hopefully you've forgotten all about it, but maybe one of two remember how I wrote about my back problem? It still persists, but now I've got a name for it. It's called...you've probably guessed it...herniation. You can read a whole lot more about it at Wikipedia (or choose not to), but luckily it won't take an operation to fix it. Instead I will be looking forward to seeing my physiotherapist quite often over the next few months.

Is Orange is the new Black the new black? I've always hated TV-series and loathed the concept of having to wait 1 to 7 days for the story to continue. However, I signed up for Netflix about a month ago (to get access to the movies and the children's stuff) and ever since the provider has done a real fine job reminding me again and again that "hey we have truckloads of series right here, just waiting to be streamed". So this weekend I finally gave in and thought "what the heck; why not give it a try?". So obviously I decided to make my "debut" by watching a series about a woman sentenced to 15 months in a women's prison. And being my "debut" I logically cannot share my opinion on whether or not this is better than any other series around. But 5 episodes in, I'm rather impressed by the mix of drama (most of the characters being far more captivating and with far more interesting stories than I ever expected) and comedy (at times it's absolutely hilarious). And of course...the best part being that there are several episodes left as well as loads and loads of other series to be looking forward to...

This is really contradictory I know and very much against anything I've "preached" about obscurity over the years. So despite Cut Copy being the most blogged artist according to Hypem, I nonetheless have to post the band's new track We Are Explorer. Not groundbreaking or anything, just a plain brilliant electronic pop tune.


Never mentioned the release of The Proctors' album Everlasting Light (through Shelflife Records). Lead single Trouble With Forever is a simply wonderful jangly guitar pop tune that is bound to bring back some lovely Sarah Records memories...currently streaming the album via Spotify and it really is quite wonderful!

Dry your eyes and watch my ship go down...

Had last week off from work and as the blue eyes optimist I am, I seriously expected that there would be enough time for writing a blogpost or two. But fatherhood, husbandhood, hanging around the hood, whateverhood, sure is a full time job, so there was no time left for that kind of fun.

So as always following a break (be it short - be it long) there is plenty of stuff piling up.

I bet the whole world knows this already, but consider this a service message for the few, who doesn't. There's a new Arcade Fire video out and a new album coming up.

Danish (who's behind this?) one-man project I Am Noxious is busy working his butt off in the studio (or so we are led to believe) recording new songs. But has nonetheless found enough time to give an older demo track (don't think the first version was ever available online?) an overhaul. Watch My Ship Go Down is described as "a lo-fi pop tune about Friday Nights", although I'm not totally convinced if the term "lo-fi" really fits in this case? A fine, rather catchy and slightly experimental electronic pop tune is probably somewhat more accurate ...I guess!


Another fine and equally interesting Danish electronic pop act It's A Synth is rather busy these days as well and this past weekend the band launched their new website; thereby publishing a few new tracks for us to stream. With a declared ambition of creating "big exciting four-minute floor fillers and epic evolving soundscapes" the new tracks (being uptempo, haunting and energetic) certainly verifies that the band is heading in the right direction.


Their first album aside, I cannot recall ever being a fan of Texas (the band). Always thought that this was a band for girls pretending they were listening to rock music, when they were actually listening to some seriously soft shit. But new single Dry Your Eyes is surprisingly enjoyable and highly recommendable. Not that surprising really when learning that the song was co-written with long-time blog favorite Richard Hawley and it does indeed sound remarkably like something that Mr. Hawley could have recorded himself.

A few choice words and a couple of songs...

My repost of those promo mails guidelines hasn't helped the slightest bit. So right now I'm seriously considering turning on the out-of-office-assistant with a reply saying "don't you ever dare sending me another useless remix or another shitty hip-hop track! IF you do I'll track you down a shove your computer up your..."...or something like that! Doubt it would help though and since I'm generally far too polite, I probably won't!

So while I'm feeling more and more drawn towards turning my back on promo mails, I luckily still receive some fantastic recommendations from old contributor J.A.. Amazing how he's able to dig out interesting yet little known artists over and over. Here are two of his most recent finds and as always this is seriously interesting and great stuff!

Taxes is a shoegaze act from Australia and here you'll get the full package of excellent songwriting and distorted guitars.


If you prefer guitar/synth driven pop songs that are quite 80's inspired, then check out the trio Toy Cities from Brooklyn instead.

And what do you know! Just saw that Mr. J.A. has mailed a few tracks...bet there will some interesting stuff among those as well, but will have to get back to those some other day!

The milky way...

Another pleasant surprise found in the mailbox today. New brilliant single from Sweden's Ismael called Vintergatan (Swedish for "The milky way") was released a few days ago and though sung in their native Swedish the track has quite a "US pop/rock" sound to it. No need to list any references (bet you'll easily spot them yourself), so instead I'll simply focus my words on recommending that you give the track a real good listen...it's pretty damn fine! New album Atlas will be out later this month...

Found a silver dollar on the avenue...

I've said it numerous times before, but it really, really makes my day, when I pick a random track from a random promo mail and then gets completely knocked off my feet. Happened today when I checked fresh single On The Avenue by fairly new Australian trio Major Tom, which since then has been on continuous repeat. The track is an irresistible, charming and close to perfect 70's inspired piano-pop song getting quite some inspiration from (without ripping off) Elton John and (so they say) Ben Folds. SoundCloud doesn't seem to be working today, so instead you'll have to enjoy (and enjoy it you should) the track via this bandcamp link.

And the SoundCloud widget which seems to be working again (the reason was probably some problem with my fucked up computer! Yes! It's new, but still pretty fucked up!).

Three quick ones...

Spent far, far, far too much time this morning installing my new computer at work, so today time is a valued commodity. So this will be short...

A couple of  months ago, I was (and actually still am) really high on the single Over & Over by UK singer Sivu and now he has a new track out called I Lost Myself...which (fortunately) is a pretty damn fine pop song as well!


You probably have done so already, but if you happen to be one of the few, who hasn't, I strongly urge you to stream the new Azure Blue album Beyond the Dreams There's Infinite Doubt (you can do that right here). Honestly, seriously, scout's honor, hand on my heart etc. Pop music rarely gets more delicious than this!


And while you're over at Soundcloud you simply "have to" stream the new and (by me at least) highly anticipated Prince of Spain album His Majesty. On the short side clocking in at less than 30 minutes, but it will certainly be among the best half hours you will spend this year!


Sorry, but I did tell you that it would be short!

4 Guys From The Future - Nothing to say...

Check out new single Nothing to Say (as well as the rather psychedelic video for the song) by Danish quartet 4 Guys From The Future, which can be found on the band's forthcoming album Adagio. The track has been topping Danish (listener voted) radio chart Barometerlisten the past two weeks and quite deservedly so, as it's a really beautiful, catchy and dreamy pop piece.

Promo mails – a few guidelines...

UPDATED: Sick and tired of receiving mails in bunches promoting useless crap, so time to bump the post to the top as well as adding a few things. Updates in italics.

I love listening to new music, but before you send me a mail suggesting that I should listen to your (undoubtedly) wonderful tunes, here are a few lines I think you ought to read first. Otherwise you’ll probably end up wasting both our time.

1. This is an MP3 blog. MP3 in bold. So unless at least one MP3 is available for me to post and distribute as I please, I’m not going to write about (or even listen to) your stuff. Links for streaming, videos and pretty pictures simply won't do! Obvious exemptions are favorite bands whom I’ve featured in the blog numerous times before. Well things have changed a bit. A Soundcloud or bandcamp link will do fine. But please do not send a link for your entire album, because I do not have time to listen to it. Rather you should simply pick your stand-out track and mail that one to me with a short(!) introduction. If I like it, I'll definitely get back to you asking for more.

2. Personalize your mail and by that I don’t mean that stupid “I love your blog” comment. Any message including sentences like “I can see that you’ve previously written about xx or yy band” or “I fully agree/disagree with your thoughts on this/that/whatever” will always stand a fair chance of being read thoroughly. So read the goddamn blog, before mailing anything!

3. Don’t send any reminders. I receive 50-70 (the number just keeps growing) promo mails every single day as well as lots of brilliant recommendations from my 4 "compadres", Chris, Peter, J.A. and Rodolfo. I have a fulltime job plus a family, so listening to everything is simply not possible. Unless such a pill exists that will eliminate the need for sleep (I've been told that it does in fact exist, but I doubt it's a healthy option?)

4. If you check you'll see that I've never featured any metal, hip-hop, rap, soul, blues etc. acts, so once again I suggest you check the contents of the blog before mailing. And I'm really no fan of remixes and cover versions either, though I do feature a few every now and then. But only when it's real good and 99% of what I receive isn't.

5. I've always thought it was far more important to be unique rather than important/influential (or a copycat, which I think is the case for most blogs trying to become popular - write about the same stuff the big blogs write about), so if your songs has already been on Stereogum, Pitchfork etc., the chances of me posting it is probably less than 5% (it does happen from time to time).

Fairly simple guidelines, don’t you think? So please read, understand and stick to them. And remember. Pupils paying attention in class are always the ones getting the good grades!

So once again I'll be looking forward to NOT having to delete 30-50 useless mails jamming my inbox every day!

Windsurfing on Azure Blue waters with the Prince of Spain...

A switch back to English means the revival of an old annoying habit; the creation of post titles that make no sense whatsoever.

This is probably my most anticipated release of the year; The full length (if you can actually call an 8 track release "full length") debut His Majesty from Prince of Spain will be out next week (on October 1). Digitally only I assume, though information do continue to remain sparse?


Actually I'm really, really looking forward to the new Azure Blue album Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt as well. Actually I've received a download link from the label, so perhaps I should just go for it and give it a listen (since it's bound to be fantastic, what exactly is stopping me?)?


Shame on me for completely forgetting to tell that Danish duo Windsurfing (which I briefly mentioned in a post last year) has released their debut 7" through Spanish label Discos Garibaldi. Lead track Never Too Late is a gorgeous pop tune oozing of summer and should the voice sound vaguely familiar, it's probably because the singing is provided by Caspar Bock, who used to front old blog favorites Champagne Riot.

Never wanna know...

I don't get that many comments, but I dare ask the question nonetheless. What do you people think of this new track by Danish singer MØ? People over at Twitter seem to absolutely adore it, but after a number of listens, I still cannot make up my mind...but then again...Pilgrim took forever to grow on me, so perhaps Never Wanna Know will do the same...obviously I hope so! 

Oneliners...

Having a rather busy day ahead of me, so will keep this short.

Don't know if I should risk an eye, but my back is steadily improving and is feeling better by the day.

Quite as expected, the new Azure Blue single Sunset is a yummy and delicious piece of pop.


A new track by Prince of Spain has popped up at SoundCloud and Brothers is of course a thing of beauty.


Frank's words on the new Arcade Fire single Reflektor is the funniest stuff I've "read" in a long time.

Harmonics is an interesting new Danish band, which I do recommend you check out (even though they are singing in Danish).

Kill me...

I've previously called English Electric "surprise of the year" and brand new track Kill Me (included on the Night Café single as b-side/extra track) once again shows OMD returning to early 80's form. Almost more Dazzle Ships-ish than anything you'll find on that album. Somewhat morbid titled, but according to the band the song is about "sloughing off an old skin (killing the past or ones former self) and starting again". And having my recent struggles in mind, I can easily relate to this...

Catching up (sort of), whining, etc. etc. etc...

The important stuff first. Perhaps not important to you, but to me it sure is. And since this is my blog, I make the rules around here. My back is feeling better. Not fantastic. Not great. Not even good. Just better. But better is definitely a whole lot easier to cope with than the mother-f!"#¤%g pain, I experienced only a few days ago.

My unintentional break unfortunately paused my "clean out the mailbox" project, so I'm back at square one with plenty of stuff to delete go through. I don't count the numbers of mails I receive, but it sure exceeds the number of hits to the blog. Amazing thought really!

One band I've been monitoring real close for exactly a year now is UK quartet HUSH! and two weeks ago the band finally doubled the numbers of published tracks...from one to two! New track Cruel is not a world beater like the stunning debut track There's Something In The Stars Tonight, but still a wonderful melodic and catchy pop piece with a fair share of 80's sound added to the mix. The band is currently shooting a video for a forthcoming single (called Blush), so hopefully we won't have to go through another 12 months of wait, before we'll hear new songs!


Rather brilliant Danish singer-songwriter Stærosaurus has a new track out called Under Stranden (translates into "under the beach"), which, being mostly electronic, really doesn't sound that singer-songwriter-like at all. But the track is thoughtful, laid-back, dreamy and pretty, so somehow I do think that it does fit that category pretty well...after all...though who cares anyway? What matters is, whether or not the track is any good. And it most certainly is!


Anyone remember EPO-555? I hope you do! If not, you've either forgotten about or managed to completely miss out on arguably the most interesting Danish indie band of the mid-zeroes. The band split-up following the release of their second album Mafia (or was it later?) and since then the band members have been involved in various other projects (Helsinki Poetry, Oliver North Boy Choir, The Boombox Hearts und so weiter). But recently there has been increased activity on the band's Facebook page and answering the question (not asked by me though) "should one start hoping for news/new stuff", the band replied "don't expect too much, but a little news and some great news as well". Again; not stirring up rumors, just passing on observations...


Still a few things left to write and share, but real life is once again catching up with me, so I better start turning my attention to work. Rounding out today's post with the hilarious tennis themed video for the new Yuck single Middle Sea, which I've previously (in them old, but not so memorable "writing-in-Danish" days) described as simply excellent (and without any doubt, it remains absolutely glorious)...

A catching up post? Not quite...

Know I promised a catching up post, but guess it will have to wait at least until tomorrow. Was simply too tired yesterday to write, work, anything and today my schedule is simply impossible. Manning the phones at work this morning and later I'm off to Funen for a meeting. But busy or not, I thought I'd post the two tracks that by far are my favorite songs of the moment...and as always I hope you'll enjoy them as well!

No question that Prince of Spain is rapidly becoming one of my new favorite band. Away We Go is the band's third single and possibly their best effort so far; which humbly said is quite a feat, as the previous ones were, well, just brilliant. Perhaps not quite as folk popish as Rising Sun/Finding Love, but instead a slightly more straight forward pop song with one of those chorus that will stick in your head for hours and hours after just one listen. The purest of gems!
One thing has struck me though. I've read that the band is based in Nashville, but that's about all the information I can find. So starting to wonder if someone more "established" could be hiding behind the alias? No stirring up rumors; just wondering...


The timing is completely off when it comes to my second favorite track of the moment. Sports by The Eclectic Moniker is all summer, summer, summer, but it just gives me a boost of energy every time I listen to it...and boy do I need those boosts more than ever these days...

Stay positive...

It’s tough these days. Really, really tough. Just when I was finally starting to believe that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and foolishly hoped that my back was close to healing, I suffered setbacks. At first it was just the minor one following the “opera marathon”, but then a little more than two weeks ago, things got pretty bad. What happened I cannot explain (because I really don’t know what went wrong), but for a few days I was barely able to walk and what little hope and energy I had left disappeared completely. I was drained, high on pain killers and cried my fair share of tears. Since then I’ve been consulting a specialist a number of times and things have luckily improved, so I am now able to walk (though not without some pain), go to work etc. I do my best to stay positive, but as impatient I may be, things seem to have slightly stalled. Frustrating as hell, as “state of normal”, where I can walk, run, sit down etc. without pain, feels like light-years away.



Pains and frustrations aside…look out for some kind of catching up post later today or tomorrow…

Night Café...

Check out this new video from old (and we're talking about way back to the early 80's) favorites OMD for the single Night Café. The song is a simply wonderful and catchy electronic pop piece and the album English Electric has to take the prize as surprise of the year (History of Modern was actually pretty darn good, but still pales in comparison), but the video is truly, truly bizarre (if you can make any sense of it, please do tell)!

Rising sun...

Last week I posted the wonderful debut single Find Love by Nashville act Prince of Spain, which I called (roughly translated) "folk pop when it's most beautiful, melodic and dreamy". A second single called Rising Sun has now been released and guess what (you already have); it's equally beautiful, melodic, dreamy and simply wonderful! A new favorite band?



oh...there's a video too...

One step forward; two steps back...

I’m seriously considering a switch back to English. The logic being that my posts in Danish are shit and so were my posts in English. Though it shouldn’t really matter since no one’s reading anything I write anyway. But after all; writing in English should increase the number of people not reading my posts. By that I mean that there are far more people understanding English than Danish, so by switching back you can say that I’ll be ignored by a far greater number of people. Make sense of that if you can…

The title refers to the shape of my back. It’s been hurting for nearly three months and just when I thought things were getting better, I spent 9 hours this past weekend on a bench, in a church, in Copenhagen watching a somewhat shortened version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (the blurry photo is from Die Walküre). I survived and actually thought it was immensely enjoyable, but my back sure took a setback (it prefers that I’m either laying down or standing up). Perhaps someday I’ll write some thoughts on the Ring Cycle, as there sure is a lot to say, mean, think etc. But (hopefully) without sounding too melodramatic, music, movies etc. will never quite be the same again after being introduced to The Ring, as I will constantly from now on and forever be hearing and looking for references.

In case you didn’t understand any of my Danish posts (and you probably weren’t around anyway) they were in vast majority a copy paste of previous posts written in English. Most of the time bitching and nagging about the poor quality of the music found in the mailbox. Or putting it another way…shitty music for at shitty blog! However some music was actually pretty OK, so you really should do yourself the favor and scroll down or check some older posts. There were gems!

But today I’m just cursing at my back pain…ouch...and will perhaps be checking out some music as well, but don't count on it!

Over & Over...

De smukke sange står åbenbart på række i dag og tilsyneladende bare venter på lidt opmærksomhed...Over & Over med det engelske stjerneskud (?) Sivu er tilbagelænet, britisk, følsom singer-songwriter-agtig og bare helt gennemført vidunderlig...dage som i dag er hele besværet værd!

Prince of Spain...

Startede dagen med dette vilkårlige pluk fra maildyngen og til min pænt store forbløffelse røg nummeret ind under huden fra første sekund...debutsinglen Find Love fra Nashville bandet Prince of Spain er folk pop, når det er allermest følsomt, smukt, melodisk, drømmende...(tilføj, om du lyster)...
 

Just kids...

Som jeg vist fik pjevset rigeligt over i sidste uge, har jeg pænt travlt på arbejde lige nu, så desværre er det så som så med tid til at opstøve nyt. Så yderst tilfredsstillende at konstatere at "fødekæden" fungerer upåklageligt og at J.A. som altid står klar i kulissen med en solid anbefaling. Og nok en gang rammer han den klokkerent til et suverænt homerun, for Just Kids med den engelske trio F.U.R.S er præcis et af de her energiske, melodiske, guitardrevne og let støjende numre, som man bare (jeg kan i hvert fald ikke) aldrig kan få nok af!

Klar, parat...

Et af mine yndlingsbands fra snart ufatteligt længe siden krydser spor med et af mine yndlingsbands fra nyere tid. Tears for Fears (The Hurting er nok det bedste album nogensinde) har indspillet denne cover version af Arcade Fires Ready To Start. Nok mere interessant end egentlig godt, men en helt igennem egen fortolkning af sangen, hvilket jo altid er at foretrække frem for de versioner, som deler 99% DNA med originalen. Facebook opdateringer og egen SoundCloud side kunne jo godt indikere, at bandet snart har mere i ærmet...nok utopi at forvente en The Hurting part II, men mindre burde vel kunne gøre det?

Middle Sea...

Ny single fra Yuck...og den er go'! Rigtig go'!
 

Glemte perler...

Barsler lidt med en playlist på Spotify, som jeg i al sin velklingende danskhed har døbt "forgotten gems from the blog". På forskellig vis blev jeg tidligere i dag inspireret til at kigge på lidt gamle blogindlæg (+3 år tilbage), hvor der muligvis kunne skjule sig en lille perle eller to, som aldrig helt fik den opmærksomhed, som den eller de så klart havde fortjent (hvilket jo er et mega subjektivt statement, men da det er min blog osv....behøver vi virkelig komme ind på det?). Kan være en smule anstrengende at gennemlæse sine gamle skriblerier, men musikken fejler da heldigvis ikke noget, så vi lader den tage ordet herfra.

Sensoria...

Så blev jeg da helt uventet og noget så grundigt bombet tilbage til midt 80'erne. Til dengang hvor musikvideoer på TV var en sjældenhed (når man som os kun havde antenne på taget), man optog musik på kassettebånd og gik på biblio for at låne LP'er. Må jo have været på TV, men husker ikke hvor og hvordan jeg stødte på videoen til Sensoria med Cabaret Voltaire første gang. Men husker derimod ganske tydeligt at nummerets elektroniske kølighed, men alligevel umiddelbare iørenfaldenhed gjorde et voldsomt indtryk på mig og erindrer ikke mindst den lykke jeg følte, da jeg fandt Micro-Phonies på biblioteket, så Sensoria kunne kopieres til utallige gennemlyt. Har en kraftig formodning om, at jeg nogle år senere erhvervede 12 tommeren med det insisterende pumpende remix i en eller anden second hand butik...men det må i givet fald være omtrent 25 år siden, så kan muligvis være et udtryk for ønsketænkning snarere end være faktiske realiteter.
Hele trippet startet her til morgen ved, at jeg stødte på nyheden om, at Cabaret Voltaire er i fuld gang med at genudgive gammelt materiale og at #8385, dækkende bandets samlede værker i perioden 83-85, udkommer til november...hvori altså Sensoria vil være inkluderet i flere versioner, hvilket så igen forklarer, hvorfor Mute Records netop har lagt dette stream af før omtalte remix op på SoundCloud. Svedigt!

Krigstrommer og en doven hunds mareridt...

Min kollega insisterer årligt på sin ret til tre ugers sammenhængende ferie og trods en bred vifte af forsøg varierende fra det blidt appellerende om kollegial hensyntagen til det fysisk truende med at det er umuligt at bade med arm, ben og kæbe i gips, må jeg igen i år konstatere, at vedkommende ikke kom på bedre tanker og nok engang valgte ferie over arbejde. Suk, klage, jammer og nød, men lige lidt hjalp det. Arbejde og ansvar er mit og mit alene de næste tre uger...og for en doven hund som mig, er dette jo nærmest på højde med udsigten til at skulle prygles nøgen i gabestok på torvet når det er markedsdag...altså godt og vel næsten. En hvis herre tog således også fanden ved mig i går, hvor jeg var imponerende produktiv i op til flere timer i træk...og lige så snart jammerkommoden er pakket væk, så har jeg sørme så tænkt mig at fortsætte i samme spor! Morakker in spe?

Holder modet en smule oppe ved at lytte til den nye fine EP The Wilderness Children fra den såre interessante og spritnye danske konstellation War Drums. Tung synth domineret (guitarer er bandlyst) post-punk, som lyder pænt 80'er sort uden på nogen måde (og heldigvis for det) at glemme den gode melodi. EP'ens 6 numre kan downloades kvit og frit her eller der, eller bare streames der eller her. Læs mere om bandets baggrund (de er ikke så grønne endda) eller holdt dig bare generelt godt orienteret på deres hjemmeside.

Telefonvagt...

Er i den vanvittig heldige situation, at jeg har telefonvagten på arbejde her og nu fra 14 til 17. En fredag eftermiddag i august, hvor solen skinner, hvilket jo unægtelig kunne lyde som om, at jeg har trukket sorteper, fået fingrene i det korteste strå eller bare skudt pænt langt forbi papegøjen. Men nej! Her er tale om en ganske almindelig og helt igennem ubehagelig turnusordning, hvor det altså i dag er min tur til at svare "Hallo! Ring igen på mandag, når her er nogen, som ved noget om noget som helst". En telefonsvarer burde vel sådan nogenlunde kunne udføre den samme opgave uden at lyde træt og irriteret, men dertil er vi altså ikke helt nået...endnu. Men det kommer...tror jeg.

Crowdfunding breder sig som ukrudt, så det efterhånden er muligt at støtte projekter af yderst varierende art og (givetvis) seriøsitet. Kreativiteten må dog siges ofte at være i højsædet og jeg føler mig faktisk fristet til at smide en plovmand efter Boho Dancers indsamling til et videoprojekt. Fint nok med en video, men en tur i bandets Christiania cykel med efterfølgende kaffe eller øl er altså svært tillokkende!

Er fortsat blæst helt og aldeles bagover af Barcodes med norske Making Marks. Hvis du ikke allerede har givet den et lyt, så gør det nu bare. Uden så mange dikkedarer. Bare gør det!!

Tænker også lidt, at jeg nok burde tage det næste spæde skridt ind i Wagner universet og denne gang høre Kristian Leth fortælle om Das Rheingold...det tror jeg sgu da bare jeg gør, når jeg får spundet en ende på skriblerierne.

Det gør jeg så med denne fornemme anbefaling fra blogger kumpan Peter. The Hosts fra Sheffield har skævet godt og grundigt til 60'erne og har med Give Your Love To Her fremtryllet en helt igennem pragtfuld pop sag.

Virkeligheden med mere...

Er begyndt at tale om virkeligheden jævnt og ofte...gør mig ingen illusioner og ved at alle har gennemskuet det som et voldsomt banalt synonym for arbejde og andre ubehageligheder, som man skal krydse klinger med i hverdagen. Dette (eller denne?) helt geniale Tweet fra Max Bitter sætter på bedste vis ord på noget af det, som jeg vist længe har forsøgt at udtrykke...

Desværre chef. Det der balance mellem arbejdsliv og familieliv er ikke lige mig. Jeg er mere til balance mellem familieliv og fritid.
— Max Bitter (@MaksBitter) August 8, 2013

Havnede uforvarende på DR K i går aftes og endte med at blive hængende til et afsnit af Modekoder, hvor der fokuseredes på overkroppen...og de signaler vort valg af tøj, tatoveringer etc. sender...eller ikke sender. Især spørgsmålet, der gentagende gange blev stillet, om hvorfor folk havde valgt at tage et givent stykke tøj på (og det opfølgende om hvad de gerne ville signalere) rystede mig lidt. For hvad skulle jeg selv have svaret? Står (jeps - hæve/sænke bord) lige nu og glor ned af mig selv og aner ikke hvorfor jeg har netop denne hersens lyseblå polo på...fra et mærke som vist var ganske populært i 80'erne og som efterfølgende (og mest forgæves) har forsøgt at genopfinde sig selv. Men synes faktisk den er ok nydelig og så var den ren i morges; men hvad fanden det lige er jeg prøver at signalere? Don't ask! Men kigger jeg en anelse længere ned, så synes jeg egentlig, at mine sko er grimme; rigtig grimme. Og signalerer vel mest af alt bare dårlig smag? Men det afsnit har jeg ikke set, hvis der altså er produceret et sådant? Kan ske at jeg hellere må sætte signaler fra tøj på dagsordenen og blende det ind i virkeligheden...?

Scannede lige mailboksen og fandt det her nummer fra en elektronisk duo, der kalder sig Hi Fashion. Et band, som tydeligvis går op i tøjets/kostumernes signalværdi, så rent tematisk passer det jo rigtig fint lige netop her og nu. Sangen er en ganske velpresset og nydelig elektronisk pop sag...som trods en vis steril lyd faktisk bliver en del bedre for hvert lyt!

Morgensang...

Alt i mens virkeligheden ubønhørligt fortsætter med at folde sin klamme hånd ud over mig og nådeløst tvinger mig ind i realiteternes verden i stedet for at lade mig drømme væk i nuller og ettere, snupper vi lige et frisk lille pust af et nummer, som burde være det blødeste smør om hjertet på folk med en forkærlighed for C86, jangle og twee iblandet 2 gram støj. Shadow of You er med japanske Boyish og er et ud af fire numre fra en 7" single, som snart skulle udkomme på Cloudberry Records.

Aldrig ensam med Wagner...

Virkeligheden har ædt sig godt ind på mig i dag og har ikke rigtig efterladt mig med nok tid til at snuse rundt og opdage godbidder. Valgte så også lige at anvende en god time på så småt at varme op til Ringen 2013 ved at lytte til første udsendelse af Kristian Leth gå Wagner amok. Spændende og yderst lærerigt...i særdeleshed for en Wagner novice, som jeg jo nok i sandhed må karakteriseres som. Yderligere 4 udsendelser coming up...forhåbentlig med mere af samme skuffe!

Ned i turbanen for gode nyheder er faldet denne opdatering fra Jonathan Johansson, hvoraf vist kan udledes, at der er nyt på vej. Single, EP, album? Ingen anelse, men i situationer som denne er alt nyt som udgangspunkt lig godt nyt!

Og den nyhed kan vi så passende nyde ved at se (eller for de fleste nok nærmere; gense) denne suveræne live version af Aldrig Ensam...mere i morgen...håber jeg!
 

Kaffe, barcodes, fiskeri med mere...

Som jeg nævnte i går, skal jeg have kigget lidt på mails med mere, så jeg har snuppet en solid balje af den ondeste og sorteste kaffe og føler mig nogenlunde parat til at kaste mig over projektet...må nødvendigvis forvente at andre trivialiteter vil bryde ind undervejs, så tænker at der må nedfælges strøtanker og så videre, som så til slut må koges sammen til en eller anden form for anvendelig masse...vi får se...

En indledende tanke når jeg scanner Facebook er desværre, at det aldrig bliver hvad Myspace var, da Myspace var på sit højeste. I et nostalgiske tilbageblik var det jo så nemt og overskueligt med fantastiske søgemuligheder. Noget skidt at det absolut skulle køres i sænk. Tilsvarende med SoundCloud og bandcamp. Gode muligheder for at "embedde", men ellers totalt uoverskueligt medmindre du af anden vej er forsynet med et link til "guldet".

Gider ikke mails, som fortæller mig, at dette nummer eller denne video har haft premiere på Stereogum eller andre sider med massive besøgstal. Niche har alle dage været kodeordet (eller i det mindste ambitionen) og den finder man ikke just ved copy/paste og så lægge sig lunt i andres slipstrøm.

Har ingen interesse i lystfiskeri (selvom jeg lige med stor fornøjelse har læst Laksefiskeri i Yemen), men formoder det er forholdsvist sjældent at første kast giver bid? Ikke desto mindre "fangede" jeg i "første kast" denne vidunderlige popperle fra norske Making Marks. Barcodes er vel det nærmeste man kommer en rigtig sommersingle (uden jeg specifikt kan forklare, hvad det så egentlig er) og da hornene træder ind på scenen (omkring 2:25) skinner solen på det nærmeste som aldrig nogensinde før...

Ikke så tosset. Love Inside a Cage med Canadiske I, The Mountain er rigtig fint og energisk alternative folk pop/rock nummer...og med den sædvanlige standardtilføjelse (som også er det typiske standard kriterie for overhovedet at slippe igennem nåleøjet)...ganske så iørefaldende er det jo også!


Havde held i starten, men der er i sandhed langt imellem snapsen. Forventede lidt at den positive start ville bringe lys i hjertet og åbne sindet, men må vel konkludere at på samme måde som god musik altid vil overleve, så vil dårlig altid blive gennemskuet?

Blev ikke afbrudt af virkeligheden, så det lykkedes at lytte og skrive non-stop. Men bægeret er fyldt og lysten til mere er til at overse. Prøver igen i morgen og skulle det lykkes at finde to perler på ny, så har det hele jo ikke helt været forgæves.

Afslutningsvis (endnu) en lille perle fra min yngste ungdom for længe siden. Ikke af nogen speciel grund andet end at et bandnavn i en mail (som jeg for øvrigt hurtigt slettede) gav nok associationer til at bringer minderne om denne til live...