Friday night blogging...

Another one of those posts that should look vastly familiar to regulars. Wife’s out with the girls sipping Strawberry Daiquiris and the kids are watching TV (and before long they’ll be sleeping), so time to read mails, check a few blogs, scan twitter, hear some music and maybe even have a beer. Plus post a few bits and pieces of course!

Easter is soon upon us, so blog post entries will be irregular for the next couple of weeks. Btw. This has to be one of the best songs with “Easter” in the title.

Glenn, who used to be in the now split up Velour, has formed a new band named The New Investors. Describing their music as “chamber, disco-pop”, and though the first batch of demos don’t quite have that immediate charm that used to be the Velour trademark, they nonetheless bode really well for the future.
+ The New Investors – I’ve Been Seduced
+ Velour – If You Really Want Me

The new single This is the Day by Sweden’s The Fine Arts Showcase is a pretty nice up-tempo pop rock piece, but pales compared to the 2006 single Chemical Girl.
+ This Is The Day

Note to self...Time to pre-order Clinging to a Scheme!
+ Heaven's on fire

zzzzz...not much happening really...

I quite like this one. I’m far too tired to care about descriptions now, but folk rock is probably the best one. Whatever! Just check it out!
+ Chris Pureka - Wrecking Ball

I so fucking miss JJ72! So many, many, many reasons why!

I've just updated the Ruined by Martin vs. tung_nem post.

Shorties...

I really hate to write this, but that much talked about Velour concert was a disappointment. I still think they should stay together as a band, but they clearly didn’t bring their hearts to the stage Friday evening.
+ If You Really Want Me

Supporting act Golden Green Tangerine on the other hand was a positive surprised. The songs they’ve recorded so far sound quite competent, and they turned out to be a pretty good live act as well. The band itself thought they had an off-day/-night, so I’m definitely going to see them again, if they can improve on Friday night’s performance. I’ve asked for a few more MP3’s, but the band doesn’t think that the songs are complete and therefore hesitant to share them.
+ American Dreaming

For the third week in a row Northern Portrait is no. 2 in “Det Elektriske Barometer” chart. Among the testers this week is fine new track The Devil Travels Fast from the forthcoming moi Caprice album as well as the superb Geraldine by Glasvegas.

New song by One Weekly Gun is up and an e-mail service has been launched!
+ Depression

I’ll be out of office the next couple of days, so there will be no updates.

Arrivederci...

I’ve already mentioned this numerous times, but tonight will be the very last chance ever to see Velour playing live. And they are indeed a very good live band, so I expect you to show up at Rust tonight at 9 PM!



+ Janey Black (Tiger Baby Remix)
+ If You Really Want Me

Shorties...

Don’t think I’ve actually mentioned it, but that Napoleon Sweetheart EP by Northern Portrait is sheer brilliance. And the trio is currently working on their debut album Criminal Art Lovers, which obviously is terrific news. Is it too optimistic to hope for an early Christmas present?
+ I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me

Danish synth-pop duo Blue Swan is (via mymusic.dk) sharing their brand new track Hunter and Prey. The boys certainly know how to conjure a catchy pop tune, and it will be interesting to follow, if all the new recordings will lead to some much deserved attention from a few labels. Or if it will be yet another internet freebie release, which I obviously don't mind at all, although seeing them signed would be an even bigger thrill.
+ Hunter and Prey

While the indie pop world is awaiting the next Celestial album (should be out anytime soon), why not listen to My Lily Of The Valley; another project of Celestial front man Andreas. A 3 track EP has just been released on Cloudberry Records. Thanks go to J.A. for this fine one!
+ Precious Moments

September Song by Biker Boy has now been published and free to download during the first week of September.

A babysitter has been arranged, so barring the unforeseen I’ll be at Rust September 19 to pay farewell to Velour.

Lukewarm...

Over the past year or so, Swedish synth-pop duo Ostrich has slowly developed into a blog favorite and recent output Lukewarm only helps reinforcing that trend. Like most of the previous tracks (you can download all of them for free over at Myspace), the new baby is dark and melodic, and continues to draw heavily on the Depeche Mode influences. Isn't it about time that some label somewhere signs this duo to some kind of record/publishing deal?
+ Lukewarm

Two new tracks by Swedish indie poppers Tellus About The Moon can be streamed at Myspace. Looks as if the band has been signed to Letterbox Records, but no words on if/when anything will be released.

Danish one-man project choir of young believers will release its/his debut album this is for the white in your eyes on Monday, and the advanced single, the grand and absolutely gorgeous Next Summer, has already received massive airplay. The band/act has been getting quite a lot of press as well since the debut EP was released last year, so one could say that hype has slowly been building up. Soundvenue has just published a review of the album, and a 5 out of 6 rating certainly indicates that there could very well be more to this than just “hot air”.
+ Next Summer

Bad news of the day is that Danish sixties inspired surf/pop quartet Velour has decided to split up. Why the band's appealing pop songs never reached a wider audience is simply beyond me. They'll be missed and the band will be playing their last ever concert on September 19 at Rust in Copenhagen.
+ If You Really Want Me

Out of office...

The holiday season is coming up, so for the next couple of weeks there will be no updates. It would of course be tempting to use blogger’s scheduling facility to secure a flow of daily posts, but somehow I don’t see that as “true blogger spirit”. So mid-August I’ll be back again and I’m already beginning to fear the number of mails and blog updates I’ll have to read my way through upon my return. But that’s a problem of the future and instead I’ll much rather find joy in the fact that the weather forecast looks absolutely fantastic, unlike last year, where we were inches from drowning. And while I'm away I suggest that you:

Join the Northern Portrait Facebook group! I'm seriously afraid that the Napoleon Sweetheart EP will be released while I'm on holiday.
+ Crazy

Download the 6 tracks by Velour that (for the moment) are freebies at the band's Myspace profile. The album Undress Your Alibis was my soundtrack of last summer.
+ Janey Black (Tiger Baby Remix)

Watch last night's episode of Kaer paa tur. It's in Danish, but if you wind forward to the 5:17 mark you'll get an introduction to my local CD pusher. You could of course watch the rest of the episode and get a bit more familiar with my hometown.

Download the 8 Speaker Bite Me remixes, including this fine one by SuperTroels. Try to spot the Pink Floyd and Kate Bush references!
+ Teach Me Tiger (SuperTroels remix)

Check out the Green Concorde post from yesterday. It's been updated!

The Mail Department...

I need to do something about my mailbox. I seriously do. +700 mails are residing there and it certainly doesn't look as if I'll be able to work my way through them any time soon. The mails can be divided into several promo mails, some blog comments, more promo mails, a few Facebook messages, another bunch of promo mails, numerous music recommendations received from Chris, Peter, Rodolfo and J.A. as well as (you've already guessed it) a few more promo mails.

If you happen to be a regular visitor, you probably know by now that I'm a fan of the Canadian blog Chromewaves and yesterday I found the great news there that The Radio Dept. will be releasing their third album in May. I guess I was one of the few living souls who actually thought that Pet Grief was better than Lesser Matters, so it will be quiet interesting to hear in which direction the band has decided to move this time. The info was published in the band's Myspace blog on February 6, which made me go through my list of blog supscriptions or more exactly those lacking.
+ Why Won't You Talk About It?
+ The Worst Taste In Music

Gaffa isn't exactly impressed by The Storm.

On February 18 the Velour album Undress Your Alibis will finally be released in Denmark. The timing isn't perfect as this is an album filled with the sound of summer. But the boys have been looking forward to this moment for more than two years, so I guess they cannot allow themselves to be too picky about the date.
+ If You Really Want Me

Danish electronic rock act VETO will release their second album (to be called Crushing Digits) on May 5.
+ You Are a Knife

From Warsaw to Prague…

On Friday my wife and I will go to Prague for the weekend, and I just realized that (Copenhagen aside) it will be the fifth European Capital I visit this year (the previous four being Warsaw, Berlin, London and Bern). This will be my third trip to the Czech Capital and I’m very much looking forward to spending a few days in the city that I visited the first time in the (not-so) good old days of the Iron Curtain.
I know I often complain about how my life has change since I became a father (and of course it has), and how I never travel anywhere anymore. I guess the above lines tell quite a different story and that I really should stop whining?

Swedish indie pop one-man band (does such a thing as a one-man band exist?) Pet Politics has released a limited edition 7” single on English label The Great Pop Supplement. The single is lo-fi indie pop piece called The Spring and is exactly as lovely and catchy as you’d expect it to be (knowing that it’s from Sweden). Intriguingly the b-side Taken Away by Aliens is even better, but since you probably don’t trust a word I’m writing, I’ve posted both tracks below, as they can both be downloaded for free at Myspace. The man behind it all is called Magnus Larsson and hopefully it isn't a surprise to anyone that he’s from Gothenburg.
+ The Spring
+ Taken away by aliens

The four happy boys in Velour have recorded a video for the track Janey Black and if you know who the black-haired girl in the video is (+ is a Myspace friend), send the lads a message and perhaps you'll win the album Undress Your Alibis.

Ether & Velour...

Sometimes I cannot help thinking that life just isn't fair. I just read the great news that Ether Aura will be playing a free show on August 24th at The Berkley Front. The only, but quite significant problem is that the venue is located in Michigan, which is (at least) a 12 hours journey away from Denmark. But if you happen to be in the Detroit area next Friday don't miss the opportunity to see this fantastic band live. Below two tracks from this year's excellent album, Before We Could Sing.
+ Twist
+ Tell Me That I'm Nothing

According to the band's blog Entakt is currently recording new tracks. You all should know by now that I'm quite a fan, so this is great news indeed!

The catchy If You Really Want Me by Velour has been remixed by Emil Høiriss. The remix is absolutely cool, but it's really quite a shame that it's not possible to download it. Instead you can stream it here or download the original version below.
+ If You Really Want Me

Yesterday Peter posted a new track by Swedish shoegazers Fathom 5. Strongly recommend that you check it out!

Sometimes I find the Last.fm recommendation function quite amusing. This morning it suggested that I should listen to a band called Northern Portrait.........hmmm wait a second. That name does ring a bell - doesn't it?

The new and instantly loveable "free download only" single Nothing Burns Like Bridges by Penny Century is released today on Letterbox Records.
+ Nothing Burns Like Bridges

Velour - The sound of sunshine...

Danish 60's inspired indie pop band Velour has been so kind to send me their yet to be released second album Undress Your Alibis. Actually it was released in Germany last week on Noisedeluxe, but so far no date for a Danish release has been set. But perhaps/hopefully the band's Danish label (Sonet) will hurry up, once they read this very positive German review of the album? My German isn't any good (actually it sucks pretty bad), but a statement like "...ist Pop im besten" shouldn't be all that difficult for anyone to understand. And this is indeed a wonderful pop album that really urges you to grab a cold one, put on your wayfarers (or whatever they are called these days) and dance into the sunshine. And the sun will shine, because these songs are so charming and irresistible that even the sun wouldn't want to miss the party!!
+ If You Really Want Me (my favorite track on the album)
+ Pam And The Important Man (described as a "pop jewel" in the review)

Easter is (almost) upon us...

Danish band Velour has mailed me 3 tracks that I'm currently enjoying. This is happy and charming pop music with strings, trumpets and stuff, described by the band as a tribute to the sound of the late 60's. Perfect when the sun is shining (as it is now) and the songs should fit nicely on any summer compilation. The band is signed to the Sonet label, but the debut album has been postponed several times already, which is quite a shame as this is music for the summer days (and not for the rainy and windy days of autumn).
+ Alibi
+ BBC
+ Rain In Summertime

Wednesday the girls and I will travel to Warsaw, Poland for a few days. Don't expect any updates while I'm away.

Peter (Schallgrenzen) recommends German indie/alternative 5-piece Unicova. This track is pretty cool and sounds like The Radio Dept. getting inspired by 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins.
+ Hush, yeah fly

Finally; two Swedish indie pop bands/projects recommended by J.A. Both Felix and Me and Twinkling Streams keep information at a very minimum, so I have no clue who hides behind these aliases. J.A. labels it "sweet pop music", which I think is an excellent description!
+ Felix and Me - Love It
+ Twinkling Streams - Things We Never Had