Friday Evening...

Now what? The wife's in Germany, The Kids are sleeping, I've just spent half an hour doing pushups and sit ups as well as a few other exercises to help strengthening my ailing back, I've had a shower and have now poured myself a nice glass of beer. So what are my options tonight? I guess I could either:
a) Waste 90 minutes and watch the The Wedding Planner on TV
or
b) Listen to some music.

To be quite frank the first option is nothing I'd ever seriously consider doing, as I don't feel like I have 90 minutes to waste on some pointless Hollywood junk. So music it will be and since I have 1,000+ mails in my inbox, odds are (or should be) pretty decent that something will catch my attention.

Somehow I've completely missed that Danish melancholic rock quartet Skywriter uploaded a new track called Rewind earlier this year. Well - I assume it's a new track as it wasn't included on the debut Where Both Worlds Never Meet. Nick Cave meets Interpol? Craving Utopia, the first track from the forthcoming album (release date?), is still worth a listen!
+ Rewind
+ Craving Utopia

J.A. recommends Every Minute Is OK by Russian electro pop act Punk TV. No innovation of any kind here, but still it's absolutely irresistible with its pounding rhythms and catchy melody.
+ Every Minute Is OK

Copenhagen duo Feet Don't Fail Me is currently looking for a guitarist and a bassist, so if you want to be a rock star, this could be your chance! Interesting indie rock is on the menu, so why not give it a shot?
+ Out of Control

The last one tonight is this slow-paced and atmospheric beauty by Swedish one man project Sinking Slow. Another lovely gem brought to us by J.A.
+ Dark Song

Steam Train to Utopia...

Last night I finally received a message that I've been eagerly awaiting for quite some time now. DAMPFBAHN!'s ambitious project has been completed and 9 remixes of All Is Swell are done and ready, and have been published at the band's remix page (these are the days of Radiohead, so all the remixes are obviously free to download - a bit more information on the remixes/project can be found there as well). In the band's own words "It's a wonderful compilation of remixes of our song All Is Swell. Ranging from beautiful to bizarre!" and who am I to disagree? It certainly is quite a bumpy, but at the same time a highly entertaining, ride listening your way through all of the remixes. Have to admit that I simply love this concept (who doesn't love getting a string of new remixes for free?) and sincerely hope that other bands will get inspired to do the same!
+ All Is Swell - Zvook Mescalin
+ Hank Swelliams remix - Forest and Crispian

First single/teaser from the forthcoming Skywriter album has been published. I have no idea of what the album will be called or when it will be released, but several concert dates this fall have been announced, so hopefully something is brewing (just received info that the album won't be released until some time next year). The lyrics are dark/pessimistic, but listening to this really catchy track is still very uplifting indeed, as it promises well for the album. Finally big thanks to the band for letting me post the track!
+ Craving Utopia

Last one for a while...

This afternoon me and the 3 girls will go to the beautiful Danish isle of Bornholm and we won't return until Sunday evening. No e-mails. No web access. So this will be the last post for 5 days!

Danish quartet Skywriter released the album Where Both Worlds Never Meet a couple of months ago, which I have to admit went completely unnoticed by me. However, yesterday the band sent me a "friend" request at Myspace and when I realized that four songs of the album are available for download; I decided to give the boys a listen. The music is quite dark alternative rock dominated by the highly noticeable vocal of the lead singer Jakob Dahn. Overall I'm pretty impressed and the songs have left me with a feeling that I really should explore this band further.
+ For Heavens Sake
+ Passengers

Did you remember to download the remix of This Time I mentioned last night? If not - hurry up and do so!

US shoegazers Panda Riot have posted a new demo called She Dares All Things. Less dark and a bit more uptempo than I expected. Still the guitars and the vocals are just right, making this track an absolutely thrilling experience!
+ She Dares All Things