Sparks and flames...

Two quick thoughts on last night’s concert; it wasn’t a waste of time, but still plenty of work left before White Lies becomes a great live act. So don’t expect to see me queuing outside the ticket office to get tickets for their next tour. And despite my recent approval, the songs on Ritual are beyond doubt weaker than the ones on the debut, as the concert reached a completely different level (Bigger Than Us aside), when the band performed songs from To lose My Life.

Bumped into Tobias of Death Valley Sleepers at the concert and had a (real) quick chat. I obviously wanted news on the band’s debut album and it sounds like it’s imminent…
+ Black Pearl

Check this new track Every Spark Deserves A Flame by Danish synth-rock trio tung_nem. I’ve featured the band a number of times and it’s beyond me how they stay unnoticed.
Every Spark Deserves A Flame by tung_nem

Have to catch Sleep Party People live someday soon. Has to be an absolutely mind-blowing experience watching five “rabbits” performing music? Here's a live version of brand new (maybe even unfinished?) track We Were Drifting On A Sad Song.

Tonight...

…I’m going to see White Lies at KB-Hallen in Copenhagen (the blurry picture was taken by me when I saw the band at Lille Vega almost exactly two years ago). Me and some friends bought tickets for the concert before the release of Ritual (expecting the concert to sell out in an instant, which it surprisingly hasn't), but after hearing the album my expectations for the concert have been fairly modest, as my react was that the album paled compared to the debut (with every single track being significantly weaker than any of the debut). Or rather so I thought, as intensive listening the past few days has made me somewhat change my opinion. Not that I’m completely won over yet, but it sure has far more to offer than I original thought. So should be a good night, tonight...after all!
+ Death (Crystal Castles Remix)

White Lies - Strangers...

New video...

Friday...

Lots of mails to read and plenty of music to listen to. Sadly there’s some real life work that needs to be taken care of as well, but I won’t let that stop me and plan to update this post from time to time during the day.

Right now I’m busy streaming the Psychic Powers Live Dublab “Sprout Session” (mp3). Still awaiting (some kind/any kind of) news on when the band’s debut album will be released. In February last year they announced that the album was done and in March they added that the album was going to be called Infinity. So what exactly are you guys waiting for? This is pure torture you know!

Need to check out the new single Get In Line (via Pitchfork) by I'm From Barcelona...any good? Summerlike and nice, so I guess it's pretty much as one would expect?

White Lies’ Is Love has been overhauled by Stereolab. Arguably the best remix I’ve heard so far of any track off Ritual, as you can actually recognize the song!

German blog Mittsommernachtsspitzen has been added to the blogroll. Cannot say I understand much of the content (never paid much attention in German class), but the blog does feature some fairly interesting artists!

What the world is waiting for? Not quite sure! But definitely good news that Jonathan Johansson will release a new single in February followed by an album in March!
Aldrig ensam by Jonathan Johansson/HYBRIS

The forthcoming Champagne Riot Moonstruck EP is now available for preordering from the Matinée Recordings site. It will be a four track affair and the fact that ace song Ingrid Bergman won’t be included made me post my dissatisfaction at the Matinée Facebook page. Matinée countered and replied “Don't worry - we have even grander plans for Ingrid!”, which made me fell all stupid, because Jimmy obviously knows a great song when he hears one and won’t waste this grand opportunity to release it. Sorry for questioning your plans, instincts, judgment etc.! I promise it won’t ever happen again!

From the pile...

Det Vackra Livet is the most recent band signed to Labrador and the duo consists of brothers Philip and Henrik Ekström of The Mary Onettes. So don’t be surprised if it sounds like something you’ve heard before, even if it is sung in Swedish. Positively meant btw., as the song has the typical pop charm of the brothers’ other band.
+ Viljan

Ritual, the sophomore White Lies album, has leaked and somehow a copy has landed on my computer. But before IFPI and other morons start accusing me being the sole reason for the deterioration of the music industry, I will (of course) buy a CD when it’s released on Monday (because my wife says so!). So please don’t point your guns at me! Regarding the album, I know I’ve voiced my first impressions once too often, but following four listens Ritual certainly does not have the instant catchiness of the debut, where every track (more or less) could have been picked as a single. Ritual however, I expect will be a real grower and if this is business as usual I'm probably going to rate it much higher than the debut in a few months’ time. The video below previews a few album tracks, though I suspect most people interested in the band have found a copy of the album by now?

Shorties...

Today is only a half working day, so I better do this short, as I have a sinister suspicion that they expect some work from me today!

Emerald Park frontman Tobias Borelius shares a track from his upcoming solo album album name Du känner mig för väl, farväl. It’s in Swedish and it’s good!
+ Hiro

Me like the new Iron & Wine track Tree By The River. It can be yours for the price of an (not just any, but yours) e-mail address.

Last night I tried to grab the free to download Walls Hold Me Remix of recent White Lies single Bigger Than Us, but only available for UK residents. Fuck!

Danish electro-pop trio Tiger Baby shares the Xmas 2010 edit of new track You, which will be included on their forthcoming album. It's business as usual when it comes to Tiger Baby, as the song is dreamy, catchy and totally brilliant!
+ You (Xmas 2010 edit)

The “kickstart The Blueflowers new album” project is progressing well. With 46 days to go $847 of the $1,000 goal has been pledged.

Check this really fine RAC remix for the new Psychic Powers single Dreamboat.
 Dreamboat (RAC Remix) by psychic powers

That's it...

Out of office...

In Roskilde again, so I'm afraid this is all I have to offer today. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow!

Bigger than us...

Bigger Than Us is the first single from the forthcoming White Lies album Ritual (out on January 17). The video is both strange and funny, but cannot really hide that the song is weaker than any track on the debut. The band will be at KB-Hallen on March 1 (just bought tickets; disappointing first single or not).

Shorties...

Not good at all with words these days.

Jens Lekman will be playing at Lille Vega on August 9. A ticket has (of course) been secured.
+ The Opposite of Hallelujah

And White Lies will be playing at the same venue on June 3, but tickets sold out in no time earlier today. Saw them last year and thought they were pretty good, but think I will await a sophomore release, before considering seeing them again.
+ Death

New 20 track compilation Dealing in Antiques from Cats on Fire will be out on Matinée Recordings some time later this month. Promo track is this intriguing cover version of Your Woman.
+ Your Woman (White Town cover)

Super lovely UK indie pop duo The Cavalcade is planning to release their debut album Many Moons this summer. Several songs can be streamed at Myspace.
+ Meet You In The Rain

White Lies, Wintersleep and Mr. Mejdal...

As usual I won't even try to pretend that this is a review, so check this fine one instead if you want a review of last night’s White Lies concert. Though it’s probably rather pointless unless you understand Danish, but the 5 stars should make it rather obvious to anyone that Kristian (of the Frekvens team) was more than happy with what he saw and heard. And I fully agree with his 5 star rating and just about everything else he writes, except that I thought Harry McVeigh had a few occasional problems with his vocals. But on the other hand he’s a charming frontman with lots of poster-boy potential, and more than once he looked genuinely overwhelmed by the reception the band was getting from the enthusiastic crowd. Another reviewer, who hands out 4 stars, is of the opinion that the live sound pretty much resembled that of the album, which confuses me to some extent, as I pretty much thought the exact opposite. Maybe the earplugs played a few tricks on me, but I heard a tight and powerful performance with more guitar and less synths than on the somewhat overproduced debut. This could probably be discussed forever, but who really cares as long as everyone had a good time? The length of the concert (approx 40 minutes) was obviously on the short side, but since the band opted not to play any covers or new tracks, there was nothing left in the tank once they had worked their way through every song of the album (except Nothing To Give). And honestly this was exactly what I expected when I bought my ticket! Finally I brought my camera and a (anything but professional looking) snapshot will be added sooner than later!
+ Death

Perhaps Canadians Wintersleep wasn’t the most rational choice as a warm-up, as the crowd wasn't overly interested. Despite the rather poor sound the band's performance was more than enough to convince me to pick up a copy of their Welcome to the Night Sky album following the concert.
+ Weighty Ghost

Prior to the concert we spent 20 minutes at Vega’s Ideal Bar, unaware that it was Klub Mini Vega night. So while having a beer, we had the pleasure of listening to local artists Dennis Mejdal and Fallulah performing a few songs. Even though his performance (at this point of the evening at least) was limited to just one song, Mr. Mejdal immediately caught my interest, so I’ve been doing a bit of checking up on him today. Seems like this singer-songwriter released an album named Grow Little Acorn, Grow! a little more than a year ago, and the rather phenomenal promo track Broken Satellite indicates that I’ve once again missed out on a great, great artist. But not for long anymore, as the album has been added to the “must have” list.
+ Broken Satellite

Shorties...

Tonight a friend and I will be going to our nation’s lovely capital to see White Lies (supported by Wintersleep) at a sold out Lille Vega. Am really curious to hear/see/experience if the band can meet the hype!
+ Death

I mentioned the new Ostrich track Press Hold in a post the other day. I’ve been mailing back and forth with the duo asking if the track will be downloadable (for free of course) at some point. But apparently the band has been signed by some (still unrevealed) label, and the plan is to use Press Hold as the first single. So no freebie I’m afraid.

This is great news for the North Americans fans, but hopefully the next bunch of concert announcements from Doves will include a rendezvous with the Danish fans.

supertroels shares his thoughts on the new The William Blakes album Dear Unknown Friend. Will soon post my thoughts as well including a promo track

Did the bravest of things the other day, as I deleted all mails from my inbox. With SXSW coming up in two weeks time, promo mails are entering my inbox at a frenetic pace.

About bloody time I know, but today I finally ordered The Pains of Being Pure At Heart album.
+ Come Saturday

The Respectables have mailed me another straightforward rocker (caught it before deleting those mails).
+ Charged By The Minute

This and that...

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the new and final Oliver North Boy Choir EP Blackmail will be out February 22. As a small appetizer the band has decided to give away a so-called “synth version” of the lead track.
+ Blackmail (2nd version)

Danish electro-pop/rock act Volvoe has been awfully quiet for a long time, but news is that the recording of an album is progressing. Slowly, but progressing! The band’s 2007 EP Organized Faults was (and still is) a true, but sadly overlooked, gem.
+ Places
+ Organized Faults
+ Remedy
+ Snowscape
+ These Moments

1st single Miami off the forthcoming Green Concorde album Down The Corridor To The Exit Through The Gates Out Into Safety can now be streamed at Myspace. Does sound a little too much like previous stuff by the band, and I do think that Flowers Of Romance, which was the first track published off the album, is more interesting and better.
+ Flowers of Romance

Spinning off my post earlier today, one of my best and real-life friends hits 40 today. No party’s planned, so he’ll drop by for pizza and beers tonight. Unfortunately we cannot go out for pizza and beers, as I’ll have to stay home looking after the kids, because my wife is going to a…you guessed it…birthday party. Don’t know what is so special about February 6, but it seems like May is or was a great month for conceiving? My present for him will be a ticket for the White Lies concert as well as the band’s debut album.
+ Death

More shorties...

One eye is weeping and one eye is laughing. Ruined by Martin has finally announced a live date. The band’s debut concert will take place on April 25 at Lades in Copenhagen. This is news that I’ve been waiting impatiently for, and then the first date collides with a trip to Tallinn with the boys. But hopefully this is just the first of many live dates to come? If RbM is still unknown territory to you, 5 tracks are free to download from this post.
+ Kaiser Star

Lovely Swedish (somewhat jazz inspired) indie pop quartet Tower of Foil are (according to the band's myspace blog) busy recording, what should end up being their first full-length album. The entire back catalogue (well almost) is free to download from the band’s webpage.
+ Everlasting

Perhaps to celebrate their record contract, which I mentioned yesterday, Ginger Ninja is giving away a free remix of the track Red Lips at BandBase.dk.
+ Red Lips (We Know You Love It Remix)

According to their webpage; the venues for the White Lies concerts in the UK are being upgraded. No upgrade necessary in Denmark (yet), as tickets are still available.

The incomparable Cloudberry Records has just released a split 3 inch CD-R featuring Kevin McGrother and My Laundry Life. This is the purest of indie pop.
+ Kevin McGrother - A Week of Wednesdays
+ My Laundry Life - Sons & Guns

Shorties...

This morning I bought tickets for the White Lies concert in Lille Vega (March 4). Seems like the hype has yet to reach Denmark, as tickets are still available.
+ Death (Crystal Castles Remix)

My Loney, Dear CD collection is now complete, as the missing 4 albums arrived yesterday.

Don’t forget to grab the new track Jetstream by Doves, which is free to download at the band’s webpage. It’s far more electronic than anything we’ve heard from the trio before, and definitely better than any track of the disappointing Some Cities. Kingdom of Rust will be out April 6 and expectations are growing.

Sony has signed Danish indie rock quartet Ginger Ninja. About bloody time if you ask me that some label finally “inked” this extraordinary band.
+ OnePlusOneIsThree

The album The Night Is Ours by Australians Youth Group will be out in the US on April 7. In case you missed it, this was Chris’ favorite album of 2008.
+ All This Will Pass

A fine start...

Perhaps some of you remember that I opted not to post any ”best of 2008” lists. As I wrote back then, it had lots to do with me not liking the “nature” of those lists, as they are so definitive. But in all honesty it was equally caused by the (in my opinion) lack of great album releases in 2008. Well a few outstanding ones aside that was. Therefore it’s really encouraging that 2009 has already given us a few fantastic releases.

Dear John by Loney, Dear arrived in my mailbox last night and it’s pretty much what I hoped for. A little darker and perhaps a bit more complicated than Loney, Noir, but those charming indie pop tunes are still very much present. Now I'm impatiently waiting for the other 4 Loney, Dear albums to arrive. I've never been good at lengthy reviews, so instead I recommend you read the fine one posted by Chromewaves today.
+ Airport Surroundings

Probably no band is more hyped these days than White Lies, but still the debut album had no problems whatsoever meeting whatever expectations I might have had. Cannot think of a better way to describe the band and its music, than this one, originally posted by Exitfare (the first blog to ever feature the trio): “Think of White Lies as the bastard love child of Editors and The Killers, only better”. White Lies will be playing at Lille Vega on March 4 and I'll do my best to secure a couple of tickets tomorrow, when tickets go on sale.

Another band worth some hype (but not really getting any) is Florida dreampoppers Purplespace. The band’s second album A Tiny Little Spark follows nicely in the footstep of the 2006 debut Broken Bells, as not much has been changed. So once again the band proves, how well shoegaze and electronica blend, and whenever those female vocals set in, it almost make you feel like reaching for the sky!
+ Goodbye