Blah blah blah...

Wife's out, kids are sleeping, but no beer tonight as it is Tuesday evening. Mailbox is jammed and there are plenty of blogs to check out. Hopefully something interesting will pop up?

Ivan has written a rather entertaining post on his trip to All Tomorrow's Parties. My short term memory is a joke, as I had completely forgotten our talk about favorite Mew songs. But I do believe we came to the conclusion that Mica is by far their best?

Indie MP3 reviews Criminal Art Lovers. "...we surely need another Smiths to send us blazing into the next decade..."!!

Don't know how many times I've written about that jammed mailbox of mine. But it's true and sometimes means that I forget something I should have posted a long time ago! This includes this Live Foel Session version of Victoria by the Andrew Boland fronted Carnations. Tracks from The Union EP can be streamed at Myspace, but information on a possible release is sparse.
+ Victoria (Live Foel Session)

NY duo The Ropes will release their 3-track Love is a Chain Store EP on December 15 using the well-known "pay what you want" model. This is great stuff. Don't know what else to say!
+ Love is a Chain Store

Mail promoting Kylie Minogue...delete...

Soundpool (sort of) mixes disco and shoegaze on their forthcoming 7" single But It's So.
+ But It's So

Busy day...

I really don’t have time to write anything today, but right now I’m completely fed up with work. So screw that!!

Andrew Boland, who must own one of the best voices in music, has abandoned his solo project for a while, and is now fronting a brand new Manchester constellation named Carnations. Musically you won’t find much of the heartfelt crooning we’ve been used to hearing from Mr. Boland, as Carnations has chosen to walk the indie/alternative rock path. The songs I’ve listened to so far bodes really well, though the band still seems to be in a kind of experimenting phase and has yet to decide exactly what they want to sound like. It's hardly a surprise to anyone that the somewhat The Smiths inspired Three Reasons is my favorite, but no matter what, this is one band I’m definitely going to follow with great interest.
+ Pressures of Love
+ Marie
+ Three Reasons

The 4 Danish youngsters in The Imaginary Orchestra of Mr. Kite have decided to part ways. Young bands splitting up happens a little too often for my liking, but motivation is everything. So when the hearts are no longer in the project, it’s the right decision to move on. And then it doesn’t really matter what us listeners think!
+ Black Cat

I’m quite surprised how much I’m enjoying the Junior album by Röyksopp. I obviously knew what type of music I would be getting, but never thought it would make such an impact.

This post has recently attracted a lot of visitors from Facebook. Not that I mind at all, but I just cannot figure out why and how?

Busy, busy days...

The past few days have been terrible, but the weekend is approaching and brighter days are ahead. Guess it’s time for another round of “catching up”.

ENTAKT will release their yet untitled sophomore album on October 6. The two tracks (premixes) I’ve heard so far sound absolutely phenomenal, so I boldly predict that this will be my favorite album of 2008.

Diefenbach will release Dark Spinner, their 4th album, on October 27.

We Are Popular, the much anticipated debut album by The Holiday Show, will be out October 20.

October could end up being quite interesting, as moi Caprice (I’ve mentioned this previously) will release a new album as well.

One Weekly Gun is back writing songs, including this one inspired by the hoopla surrounding Paris Hilton's recent visit to Denmark.
+ Oh, Paris!

Thanks to Ivan for introducing me to Swedish duo The Argument, which is believed to be the new project of Marcus from Bakers at Dawn.
+ Forget All About The Politics

I've just purchased a copy of the This Is How It Ends EP by The Papertiger Sound. Stream the 4 tracks at Myspace.

One of the Danish radio journalists got so fed up with the Olympics that he decided to do something completely different and instead explore the Beijing indie rock scene. That way I (and hopefully a few others) got introduced to Carsick Cars, which we have been told are highly popular in their native country. The trio has been the opening act for Sonic Youth a few times and once you listen it becomes pretty obvious that the legendary US act has been a great source of inspiration.
+ Guang Chang

Hits In The Car favorite Andrew Boland will be giving away free copies of his forthcoming release, the four-track How The West Was Won 7" EP. Read more at Myspace.
+ Baptist's Lullaby

Shorties...

There will be no updates the next couple of days. Going to Jutland tonight to see Interpol live at Train tomorrow night!

Doesn’t seem like that Entakt video from yesterday is working...or is it?

You can stream a whopping 2 minutes of the new Carpark North single at myspace. Don’t know if they are afraid of people recording and sharing it, but seems pointless to me only making a part of it available.

Hits In The Car favorite Andrew Boland has published a lovely new track named Aili.
+ Aili

The Ropes are giving away the title from the duo’s forthcoming album What They Do For Fun. Was surprised how immediately catchy it is.
+ What They Do For Fun

Back from the cold...

I'm back from 5 days in what turned out to be winter cold and not at all spring-like Warsaw and as always the world has been busy turning while I was away, so let's take a quick look at some of the stuff that has happened...

Hits In The Car favorite Andrew Boland has a new song up called The City Lights.
+ The City Lights

Late Night Venture front man Søren Hartvig has written an excellent piece on shoegaze. It's pretty obvious where the inspiration came from if you listen to this track from the band's forthcoming album.
+ Skylights

The Zvook Mescalin remix of the BREUMM track Silhuetter is now available as a free download. 3 more weeks and the album will finally be released.
+ Silhuetter (Remix)

And while you're busy downloading. Why not grap the Truth Telling Peekholes EP by Majorian from the band's Myspace page?
+ Truth Telling Peekholes

12 weeks and counting...One Weekly Gun has recorded a new track.
+ Prenuptial Agreement

The brilliant AirSpiel track I mentioned last week is now free to download.
+ Seventh Heaven

Shorties...

In its first 24 hours of existence 20 persons have joined the Richard Hawley til Danmark Facebook group. More than I expected, but not nearly enough to make an impact. Yesterday a The Divine Comedy til Danmark Facebook group surfaced as well.

My favorite Irish singer Andrew Boland covers Can't Help Falling In Love (with the subtitle - Drunk, Shit)! His cover version of Bird On The Wire is one of the most popular tracks in the history of this blog and has been downloaded/streamed 1,467 times.
+ Can't Help Falling In Love (Drunk, Shit)
+ Bird On The Wire

On their upcoming Denmark tour The Floor Is Made Of Lava will be supported by the young quartet Kiss Kiss Kiss. This is a very talented and very interesting band, which musically is closely related to TFIMOL.
+ Recorded Smiles

As much I'd love to go, it's probably not a good idea attending the Yoav concert at the end of the month. February 1 will be the first day at my new job, so showing up sober and well-rested could be a good idea!

Music Of The Moment promotes The Pastry Club.

I was quite surprised to find two Counting Crows promo tracks in the mailbox yesterday. Does this mean that even bigger bands (and their management/labels) are beginning to realize that music blogs are in fact an OK way to promote music? Both tracks are from the forthcoming Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings album (out March 25).
+ 1492
+ When I Dream of Michelangelo

The sophomore Pascal album Galgberget will be out on Novoton on January 22, and the first single/promo track Längtar Efter Dig is equally irritating and catchy.
+ Längtar Efter Dig

The new(?) video for the wonderful The Sound Of You by French/UK duo Mono Taxi.

Bird On The Wire...

Some of you might recall that I posted a few songs by Irish singer Andrew Boland a long time ago, but since then he's been ever so quite. So I was slowly beginning to fear that he had completely given up on recording. Luckily this all changed yesterday, when I found out that he had uploaded a new track to his Myspace profile. In fact it's not really a new track, but a cover of Leonard Cohen's Bird On The Wire, which in Mr. Boland's own words is "only up to take up space, really". Whether or not this is actually the case, I don't know, but personally I think his fine version is worth a shout-out to the world.
Last night I had the opportunity to listen to a new track he's recorded with what might turn into his new band and it does sound very The Smiths inspired and very promising. So obviously I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they'll work something out.
Finally I've re-posted two of the "oldies", in case you missed them the first time around!
+ Bird On The Wire
+ The Submarine Song (by his former band Shadowplay)
+ Leonard Cohen's Few

Kind of girl +++

I didn't update the blog yesterday, as I spent a large chunk of the day in Copenhagen far, far away from my computer. Among the things I did in the Danish capital was having a cup of coffee with Jesper, who is responsible for the promotion of Danish alternative/indie rock/pop band Kind of girl. Following our short encounter he wrote this, which almost made me blush. Guess you must be completely new to this blog if you have missed out on this great band, so here are a few tracks to get you started.
+ Poetry Boy
+ Slave To Your Charms

Two tracks found in my mailbox last night taken from the album Arrivals And Departures by US indie pop band The Icicles. The band has been compared to Camera Obscura and especially Whirling is absolutely sweet.
+ La Ti Da
+ Whirling

SuperTroels has remixed two tracks by Danish electro rock act Turboweekend. He's an absolute workhorse, who never ceases to amaze me. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up his debut album later today.
+ Wash Out (Original)
+ Wash Out (SuperTroels Remix)
+ Something To Say (Original)
+ Something To Say (SuperTroels Remix)

Nothing But Green Lights has once again posted an excellent track. This time it's Good Coat by UK indie pop/folk singer Rod Thomas.

Hits In The Car favorite Andrew Boland has uploaded a few new tracks to his Myspace profile. One of the tracks is called Andrew Boland's Few, which is a title very similar to his previous (and absolutely wonderful) track Leonard Cohen's Few. I really like the new one (laid back and reminds me somewhat of Richard Hawley), though it never really reaches the heights of the Cohen tribute.
+ Andrew Boland's Few

I've just received a "friend" request from the official Terry Hall myspace profile. 3 tracks are available as free downloads and one of them is this gorgeous classic by The Colourfield. I actually have the original 7" somewhere.
+ Thinking of you

Two brand new tracks by The Sky Drops are available for free from the band's webpage.
+ Sentimental
+ Million

Andrew Boland...Shadowplay

He's been quiet for a while, so I sent Andrew Boland (ex-Shadowplay) a message today, asking for news/updates. He quickly replied that he's been quiet for the one simple reason, that there isn't anything to tell. Since there (unfortunately) is no news to share, I thought I'd share these two wonderful tracks instead. Once you've listened to them, I hope you'll understand why I'm so interested in hearing more from this excellent Irish singer/songwriter. Oh! And before anyone starts ripping me. Yes, yes, yes! I know that I forgot both tracks when I made my best-of-2006 list!
+ The Submarine Song (Shadowplay)
+ Leonard Cohen's Few (solo track)

The shadow of Andrew....

The Submarine Song by Irish band Shadowplay is still among my favorite songs of the year (and it really should be one of your favorites as well!). For some reason I completely missed that the band split up three months ago, but yesterday I learned that lead singer Andrew Boland has recorded a few tracks of his own. His first two solo recordings (still just demos) are mellow and laid back, and the songs really fit the label "music for the lonely" given by Andrew himself! In his own words he's not even close signing to a label, which I find very hard to understand. The chorus ("I need you") in Leonard Cohen's Few (originally I thought this might be a cover version, but instead the title is a reference to the Cohen song The Guests) is achingly beautiful and the vocals definitely bring back memories of Scott Walker, though several people seem to be hearing a lot of Morrissey in it. As always I believe that you should judge that yourself!
+ The Submarine Song
+ Leonard Cohen's Few (new file - 160 Kbps!)