January 31, 2007

Son My...

Just came across interesting Danish alternative/post-rock band Son My over at Last.fm. The band's dreamy sound should definitely appeal to fans of Sigur Ros, Mogwai etc. Wonder why I've never heard of these guys before!!
+ It Will Soon Be Over
+ Intermission
+ By Night

Katrienne...

Fadeaway recommends Italian psychedelic/ shoegaze/alternative rock band Katrienne. 3 tracks from the band's self-titled 2005 album are available for free from the band's webpage. I have to admit that the Italian music scene is rather unfamiliar territory to me, but perhaps it's time to start exploring it? Especially if there's more like this to be found! Somehow I'm certain that Fadeaway has a few more recommendations up his sleeve!
+ Our Ever Changing Earth
+ The Other
+ Tomorrow Daylight

January 30, 2007

Another busy day!!

I have another hectic one ahead of me, so I won't have much time for posting anything. But I thought I'd share these with you.

Celestial's debut album Dream On will be released on Skipping Stones Records this spring and the title track has been made available as a free download by the label as a (let's call it) "appetizer". Highly anticipated.
+ Dream On

The great Danish indie poppers Charlie Don't Surf has a new song available for download over at Myspace.
+ Still no Signs

SuperTroels has posted a remix of Green Concorde's 2:26.

January 29, 2007

Songs...

I'm really, really busy at work these days, so I have very little time to update the blog. But here are few quick ones!!!

Swedish band Dew has been so kind to send me a couple of their tracks in a better quality than the ones I posted the other day. Now there are no longer any excuses for not checking them out!
+ Still Looking
+ All That I'm Leaving Behind

Rodolfo has asked for (and been given) permission, to post the catchy and danceable (new) single by Scarlet BLONDE.
+ Electric

Falk recommends the really cool track Impurity by UK Gothic rock act The Faces of Sarah.
+ Impurity

Sorry about this rather incomplete post, but it's the best I can do right now......

January 28, 2007

Today I've been listening to...

the fabulous debut album Songs for the Locust King by Sweden's The Book of Daniel (it's untterly beautiful and simply perfect when you're tired and a bit hung-over). This indie pop/folk/jazz inspired album has received fantastic reviews and it sure deserves each one of them. Whether this is a one-man project or a multi-person band is difficult to decide, but of course the band hails from Gothenburg, just like every other great Swedish band these days!
+ The Camels Parade

January 26, 2007

Friday evening.......

The closing track Catch and Turn of the Green Concorde debut (Ten Cities) has been pumping on my stereo tonight, and since the band has granted me permission to post a track of the album in the blog, there really is no doubt in my head that this superb piece shall be the one. It's an epic/majestic track; sounding like something you'd expect to find exactly in-between Interpol and the shoegaze classics. Not sure if that description is any good, but the track is definitely worth a "right click" and 5 minutes of your time.
+ Catch and Turn

Thanks to Fadeaway (go make him your friend!) I've been streaming Italian shoegazers Murnau a few times recently over at Myspace. It doesn't really matter that they are singing in Italian, because the music is awesome (especially Organico). I'm still hoping that they'll send me a few tracks to post.
+ Goccia (no language barriers here, as this one is an instrumental)

Celestial is releasing a 3 track single on Florida label Cloudberry Records on February 1. The "a-side" can be streamed at the label's Myspace profile and it's an up-tempo piece with lots of guitars and sounding absolutely gorgeous. The more calm and quiet "b-side" Hope, You Know is already a free download from Cloudberry Records webpage.
+ Hope, You Know

One band with a kick-ass attitude is Edison Jr from Copenhagen. On the band's Myspace profile it says: "Many artists today seem to be focusing on the wrong things - mainly fame and fortune. That's ***** crap! They should be looking at what's really important.... The music (if you hadn't guessed it). Real music with real feelings can move people - which is what real music is all about." And of course all 3 tracks posted by the band (this is indie/pop/lo-fi kind of stuff) are free to download if you like!
+ House in Brooklyn

Tinkerbell is one happy camper these days!

J.A. recommends Swedish band The Confusions and it's quite peculiar, because I actually visited the band's Myspace profile the other night, without listening to the band (why I decided not to, I cannot remember). Now I have and this is pretty decent alternative/indie stuff inspired by the likes of New Order, Smashing Pumpkins etc. Several tracks are available for free and especially Artificial from the 2006 album 5 am is worth checking out!
+ Artificial

January 24, 2007

Seeing through the snow...

Great Danish music blog emodreng & indiepige has a new home.

Download Keane's cover version of the classic The Sells Sanctuary by The Cult over at Torr. Awesome!

Chris and I could have saved ourselves a lot of troubles the other day. Cobra by Oliver North Boy Choir is available over at Last.fm!
+ Cobra

Skatterbrain recommends DAYS!

Yesterday I compared Dew to The River Detectives. Check out this track from the (brilliant) 2005 album King of The Ghost Train Ride.
+ Some Kind of Love

Guess what I'll be doing March 31!?
+ To The Lighthouse
+ Artboy Meets Artgirl

Came across the simply wonderful Suddenly Everythings Happens by California Snow Story over at Myspace tonight, just to learn that Indie MP3 had mentioned it earlier today. But it's certainly good enough to be mentioned by me (and plenty of others) as well, so grab this great new freebie by Letterbox Records.
+ Suddenly Everything Happens

January 23, 2007

Swedish Dew

Found the Swedish band Dew over at Myspace tonight and below I've listed pretty much all the information I can find:
- Formed in 2000 and released an album in 2005 (I believe it must have been called Somewhere Else).
- Two band members (Tommy & Dan). So it's a duo (I'm clever eh?).
- The band has five Myspace "friends". Hopefully they'll accept my request to make it six!
- Influenced by many genres, but mostly by British group from the late 70's and early 80's.
To me this is exactly the type of charming indie pop that so regularly and generously flows from Sweden to spoil us all.....hmmm - now that I think of it, Dew actually reminds me quite a lot of The River Detectives if anyone remember that Scottish band!? Check out Dew even though the songs are in the typical (low) Myspace "quality"!
+ All That I'm Leaving Behind
+ Still Looking
+ Somewhere Else

January 22, 2007

Stupid Monday....

It's Monday - It's snowing - I'm busy - I'm Tired - The coffee is cold - I cannot upload any files - I'm not broke, but I still cannot stop whining........

You get my point - don't you?

I wanted to upload a new track by cool Danish trio Oliver North Boy Choir, sent to me by the band, but I cannot make FileDen work. The track is also available at Myspace, but in the usual bad quality, so I asked the band to send me the track in a better quality and I received it within minutes. But the poorer version will have to do for now, until I figure out how to upload files again. The track is (apparently) "just" going to be a b-side, but like everything else I've heard from this band it's very good. Perhaps this track shows the band trying to distance itself a bit more from the sound of EPO-555, though the band manage to do it without loosing the charm and the catchy melody.
+ Cobra
And if you didn't download them the first time around, here are two older ones:
+ Something New
+ Albertino

Chris has been so kind to upload the file for me, so here is the track in a better quality.
+ Cobra

And a couple of nice Last.fm recommendations from FALK:
+ Seagull Strange - Sulla's Return
+ Roenik - Leave That Something (mentioned a few times by Chris as well)

Rodolfo is a busy man these days, but nonetheless he has found the time to recommend this rather nice one by UK powerpop band Blackflower.
+ Won't Feel a Thing

I've just received the album Lanzafame by Tap Tap that I ordered last week. It's absolutely brilliant and sounds like Arcade Fire meeting Neutral Milk Hotel. No horns or violins though.....but (quoting Rough Trade) it's packed with noisy guitars and crashy drums!
+ Here Cometh
+ Way To Go, Boy

I just found these two really nice ones by Liverpudlians Clinic in the mailbox. The band's fourth album called Visitations is released tomorrow.
+ Harvest Within You
+ Jigsaw Man

January 20, 2007

Murder....

The album Stockholm Syndrome by Danish indie/folk/acoustic duo Murder, was among my favorites of last year, but I never did feature the album in the blog, because I couldn't receive permission to post a track. Now (to celebrate a string of things) the band has made it possible to download the fine When The Bees Are Sleeping for free from their Myspace profile. I'm not going to add further except that I still think it's a great and very beautiful album.
+ When The Bees Are Sleeping

January 19, 2007

Shakin' The Tree....

In his fine post on the Labrador label the other day, Chris forgot to post this beautiful one by Laurel Music.
+ Dreams and Lies

And I found another nice one by the same band over at Last.fm.
+ Sacred Heart

Another fine one from the Labrador back-catalogue" overlooked" by Chris is Everything That's You by Airliner. It should be obvious to everyone by now that I'm a big fan of Labrador, but their webpage could easily be a bit (or rather a lot) more informative. The track is from the album The Last Days of August that I believe must be at least 3 years old (catalogue no. is LAB030 and they have just reached no. 100), but I'm not certain. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter, when the song is as wonderful as this one.
+ Everything That's You

Entakt entered the Danish album chart at no. 28. Nice to know that I wasn't the only one who bought Træerne Vokser Ind i Himlen.

The Bishops from the UK has mailed another new track.
+Higher Now

My German is really bad these days (my last exam in German was in 1987), so to me the band name (Clickclickdecker) and the song title (Wer hat mir auf die Schuhe gekotzt) pretty much sound like jokes. The music is some kind of electronica/pop, and this track is surprisingly catchy.
+ Wer hat mir auf die Schuhe gekotzt

FALK recommends French female electronica artist Grace Valhalla. Really nice stuff and I especially enjoyed this one, even though the title could shy some men away from listening!
+ Ungrateful Men

Too Young To Die....

I strongly recommend that you watch the video for the new (and second) single by Phonovectra called Too Young To Die. Amazingly the band has been allowed to use and edit the excellent (and very powerful) short movie De Nåede Færgen (They Caught The Ferry) by legendary Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (originally filmed in 1948 as a campaign movie for the Danish Road Safety Council). Did they catch the ferry? Indeed they did - but certainly not the one they expected! By the way; Too Young To Die is a really great song, which makes this an almost perfect symbiosis.

January 18, 2007

Ronderlin - Aside/Closed Eyes

As promised by Chris in his post today, here are two more tracks by Swedish indie pop band Ronderlin. Both tracks are taken from the vinyl 7" released on Tomt Recordings in February last year. The single is not sold out, but nonetheless the label has made both tracks available for free. Aside is a wonderful up-tempo pop song that sounds the way I imagine Pet Shop Boys would sound, if they ever tried to play indie pop (perhaps with a little help from New Order). Closed Eyes is a quiet and beautiful track that probably is enjoyed the best with your, ahem, eyes closed! Apparently not even the label knows for sure, whether the band is in the studio recording or not!?
+ Aside
+ Closed Eyes

January 17, 2007

Myspace stuff...

Various stuff found at Myspace tonight. Beware of the quality (not of the songs, but the bitrate)!

+ E.Z. Basics - Architect
Brand new track from this Hungarian band.

+ Ceremony - Seconds & Nothing Inside
Two new (and really fine) tracks from the US shoegaze/new wave inspired band.

+ Inhaler - Tranquilized
This fantastic pop song is once again available for free.

+ Ronderlin - Wake Up & Aside & Reflected
Another superb sounding Swedish indie pop band. The two first tracks are (I believe/hope) from a forthcoming album to be released on Tomt Recordings. The third track is found on the band's 2002 debut album Wave Another Day Goodbye that was released on Labrador.

January 16, 2007

Another State of Mind...

Danish electro pop/rock 5-piece Port Largo has made the excellent track Another State of Mind available for free download over at Myspace and at MyMusic.dk. The song sounds like New Order meeting Spleen United in the Kling Klang Studio, with Jonas of Mew taking care of the vocals.
+ Another State of Mind

The Eames Era - New Website...

The Eames Era website has received a "facelift" and the occasion is the release of the band's second album Heroes and Sheroes. Three tracks from the forthcoming album (the exact release date has yet to be announced) are generously available as free downloads...
+ Both Hands Full
+ Last To Know
+ When You were a Millionaire

January 15, 2007

Got them........

two tickets to see Arcade Fire when the band visits VEGA in Copenhagen, March 25. Sold out in less than 30 minutes! Sweet :)
+ Wake Up
+ More Arcade Fire stuff can be found over at *Sixeyes

January 14, 2007

The Cupids - Revisited...

Yesterday I was contacted by a visitor to the blog, who had stumbled upon this older post on Danish band The Cupids. He asked about news, official releases etc., and to be able to answer his questions I contacted one of the band members. He replied, informing me that the band is very much alive, and has recently been spending a lot of time rehearsing. The best news, however, is that the band will soon start recording and chances should be fine that more information will flow this way very soon. Back then I thought the band reminded me of The Smiths and it certainly still does!
+ Tonight
+ Hand In Hand
+ My Blurry Day

January 13, 2007

Saturday Smorgasbord...

Volvoe are quite productive these days. Today the band has uploaded another new track (called Places) and (once again) it's a really great one!
+ Places (Myspace "quality)

Via the Myspace profile of Volvoe I came across another interesting Danish band called The Latitudes. The band is less than a year old, but apparently several band members used to be in another band called The Mayfairs. The band lists The The among the influences and it's probably not completely incorrect comparing the music of The Latitudes to this UK band!?
+ Any Given Night
+ Curtains Drawn

J.A. recommends the track Talk To Me by Norwegian electro pop 5-piece Melophonia. If you enjoy the electronic and danceable tunes of bands like Goldfrapp, Tiger Baby etc. (and I have to admit that I do) this is definitely something for you.
+ Talk To Me

I know that UK band Pete and The Pirates should be classified as old news, but the nice and charming (quoting Indie MP3, who mentioned the band a year ago) songs of this indie folk rock/pop band, probably can survive "another round in the spotlight"!
+ This Thyme
+ Ill Love

Lead singer Tom Sanders of Pete and The Pirates and a few musical friends has a side project (?) called Tap Tap and I personally find this band even more interesting. Several reviewers are really high on the band's debut album Lanzafame and more than once the band has been compared to Arcade Fire.
+ 100,000 Thoughts
+ Little Match (Big Fire)

January 12, 2007

Tonight I'm listening to...

the new track called Organized Faults by Danish electro/indie pop act Volvoe. Just like every other output we've heard from the band so far, this one is really catchy, very danceable (with some 80's influences) and immediately leaves a positive impression. These guys are (for some reason) still unsigned, but I believe a Demo EP is currently being recorded.
+ Organized Faults (myspace "quality")

Petit Fours.....

Peter enjoys 3 bands mentioned in this blog.

Chris has (finally) bought the album No One Wins by Windermere. Unfortunately too late to be mentioned in his 2006 year end post.

Peter Schallgrenzen recommends German alternative rock band Exit Inside. Not bad.
+ Blueprint

I've added Swedish blog We Say Disco to the blogroll.

Falk sent me a link to this great page, with lots of free (and legal) downloads.

I'm currently working on a post on the Entakt debut. Won't finish it today though.

I'm also trying to get into Through The Windowpane by Guillemots. It's a whole lot tougher than I thought it would be!

January 11, 2007

Knoxville....

J.A. has been "missing in action" the past month, but last night he sent a mail recommending unsigned Danish band Knoxville. As always it's a bit strange having a Danish band recommended to me by a foreigner, but I guess it just proves how small the world really is these days? But I'm always interested in hearing new Danish bands, so the first thing I did this morning was to download the 3 (what turned out to be) great songs that can be found at the band's webpage. The best way to describe the band and the music is probably by using the band's own words: "Somewhere between the frolicsome tunes of Franz Ferdinand, the cocky coolness of Interpol and the raw rock songs from the Foo Fighters you'll find the band Knoxville." Further information is very limited, so I have no idea whether this is a new or old band. But since the band is capable of writing songs like these, I feel pretty certain that we'll hear a lot more from these guys in the future!
+ Fireworks
+ Friday Night
+ Restless

January 10, 2007

New single by The Orders

The first single from the forthcoming debut album Guilt & Confusion by Finnish band The Orders is available as a free download over at PIAAF.com. The track is called No Safe Place and it will be possible to grab the track for free until the album is released on January 17. The music year 2007 already looks very interesting!
+ No Safe Place

January 9, 2007

Tonight I'm listening to...

Swedish 6-piece Fontainebleau. This 80's inspired band sounds like a mix of Joy Division and The Cure, with a front man singing in Swedish. So you could easily be critical and say that you've heard it all before, but this is dark, depressive, emotional, infectious and really, really cool, so I honestly don't care! Like almost every other interesting Swedish band these days, Fontainebleau hails from Gothenburg...
+ Lustmord
+ Svenska fåglar

The Last.fm free downloads chart...

has been updated, so this morning I've been busy listening to several artists/tracks tagged as "indie pop". Below some of the better or perhaps more interesting ones that (until this morning) were completely unknown to me:

+ The Eames Era - Could Be Anything & Listen for the Sun
It's probably a huge mistake that I haven't checked out this band before. Especially since Powerpopulist had a nice post on the band a month and a half ago! 2 wonderful and catchy songs that definitely make you forget these are cold and rainy days.

+ Strip Squad - Down And Out And Away & Unreliable Narrator
Don't know how serious this is meant to be, but this Swedish band reminds me of The Hidden Cameras.

+ The Mendoza Line - Catch a Collapsing Star & Mysterious in Black
No! It's not Bob Dylan singing on Collapsing Star!

+ The Zebras - Car of Idiots
Probably the same aussie band as Peter mentioned a while back!!

I found a few more bands worth checking out, but work is calling, so I won't add to the list. Instead I strongly suggest that you visit Last.fm and do a little search yourself, because there certainly is a lot of great stuff to find there.

BREUM...

I mentioned promising Danish duo BREUM a while ago, and this week the duo is picked as band of the week over at Mymusic.dk. The two tracks I mentioned back then are now available for free at Mymusic, but in a much better quality than at Myspace. But since you have to be a registered member to be able to download the tracks, I've taken the liberty to upload the songs, thus making them easier to download (if anyone object to this, please let me know). The songs are in Danish, but don't let that prevent you from giving them a listen!!
+ Ikke bange
+ SOS i sommer

January 8, 2007

Entakt - Træerne Vokser Ind I Himlen

The highly anticipated debut album by Danish band Entakt is released today and hopefully I'll be able to pick up my copy later this week. The album has received mixed reviews, but it's quite noteworthy that Soundvenue generously hands out 6 out of 6 stars. Watch the video for the excellent first single Fyrværkeri (Fireworks) below or stream some album tracks over at Myspace.

Help needed!

Help Green Concorde to reach the Danish Radio chart - Tjeklisten, by voting for The Anthem To Which We Fall. Just follow these two (really easy) steps:

1. Check the list (Ugens liste) and pick your 5 favorite tracks.
2. Write your 5 favorites and your name/address in a mail and send it to tjeklisten@dr.dk

Deadline is Tuesday, 2 PM (CET).

I admit that it was really difficult finding 5 songs worth voting for, but despite that I hope that you'll give the "Concorde boys" a helping hand.

+ The Anthem To Which We Fall

January 5, 2007

Tonight I'm listening to....

the Italian indie pop/folk band Warm Morning. The band released an album called Feather last year, and judging from the songs you can stream over at Myspace this band could be a real gem. Retrophobic offers the title track of the album as free download, and that one is definitely a "must". Cannot figure out how to order the album, but I guess this means that I'll have to drop the band a line. According to plans the band will release an EP on the rejuvenated Shelflife Records later this year...
+ Feather

The Village Idiot - Demo of the Month!...

Gaffa's demo CD of the month (January) is by acoustic/folk/country influenced one-man project The Village Idiot. Especially two things caught my attention when I read the review (read it here in Danish). For the first time ever a demo received 6 out of 6 stars, which for obvious reasons made me curious and wanting to check it out. But equally remarkable (in my opinion) is that Kenni (the man behind it all) and I share the same hometown. And since I'm having a hard time recalling any other interesting artists or bands from "around here", it was quite a (pleasant) surprise to learn that this month's top pick was a "local hero". The songs I've listened to so far do indeed find some inspiration in legendary artists like Nick Drake, Lou Reed and Johnny Cash, though he's definitely not a "copy-cat" (have to quote Gaffa on this). But far more important is that the songs sound really, really great, so it's quite easy to hear why Gaffa was impressed! Wouldn't it be sweat if he was playing live somewhere "downtown" in the near future??
+ Let Her Go
+ Couch Fishing

January 4, 2007

This and that on a Thursday.......

I've just pre-ordered a copy of the forthcoming album Before We Could Sing by Ether Aura (released February 17). Stream tracks of the album over at the band's Myspace profile.

A few other albums I'm looking forward to are:
Entakt - Træerne vokser ind i himlen (January 8)
Green Concorde - Ten Cities (January 15 or 22)
The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail (January 22)

My current favorite song is the fab new single by Puressence called Palisades. If you haven't listened to it yet, you really should, but so far I haven't been able to find anywhere to stream it or watch the video. Can anyone help??

Snowden has uploaded the album track Sisters to their Myspace profile, urging everyone to download and share it.
+ Sisters

Thanks to Falk/Darkerradio (don't know what he prefers) for recommending Canadian indie pop/rock band Red Orkestra. This Ontario based band is definitely inspired by the British music scene listing bands like The Manics, The Smiths, Suede etc. among the influences, though I do hear a lot of Budapest, Embrace, Haven and even Coldplay inspiration in the music. A total of 7 tracks are generously available from either the band's webpage or Last.fm, and all of the songs are pretty nice and catchy. Even though some might claim that this is not the most groundbreaking/innovative band you'll ever listen to, the songs are certainly worth a spin (or two).
+ Radio Towers
+ One by One
+ Still Waters
+ After The War

January 3, 2007

A Little Place in the Wilderness

The album A Little Place in the Wilderness by Canadian indie pop band Memphis was a late arrival in my collection last year, but it still made a good enough impression to end up as no. 11 on my list of favorite albums of 2006. The album is the second output from this duo consisting of Chris Dumont and Torquil Campbell; the later probably more known as the front man/lead singer in the more well-known and much loved Stars. Rob Mitchum over at Pitchfork wasn't all that crazy about the album at the time of the release (August 15), but unlike him, I really enjoy spending the 40 minutes in company with this album, listening to the duo's blend of dreamy indie/twee/chamber-pop. Despite owning two of their albums, I've never really been a fan of Stars, which probably is why I have no problems listening to A Little Place in the Wilderness, without constantly comparing it to Torquil's "other band". I've received permission to upload these two tracks, which I believe are very representative of the album.
+ I'll Do Whatever You Want
+ Incredibly Drunk on Whiskey

January 2, 2007

Tonight I'm listening to...

the absolutely gorgeous Ballad Of A Bitter End by Scottish indie pop band The Poems. The track is from the 2006 album Young America (released by Minty Fresh Records) and I found the song by checking the Last.fm profile of Starsgoneout, who's a writer over at the South American blog Mira el Péndulo.
+ Ballad Of A Bitter End

and the new 5 track EP by French 60's inspired/electro pop piece Prototypes that Minty Fresh Records are giving away for free.
+ Je Ne Te Connais Pas
+ Exister
+ The Full EP (Zip file)

The Kissaway Trail "Smother + Evil = Hurt"

This highly interesting Danish band was brought to my attention a long, long time ago by emodreng og indiepige. The self-titled debut album will be released on the 22nd this month and it will be interesting to hear if the rest of the album is as inspired by The Arcade Fire as this! You can stream a few more tracks at the band's Myspace profile.

The Steadies...

I mentioned UK band The Steadies in the blog a while back, and since then the band has been so kind to send me a copy of their Demo EP. Equally generous the band given me permission to upload and post the songs in a decent quality for you to download and enjoy. If you missed The Steadies the first time around, you should hurry up and check them out, because (as I wrote back then) this band writes simply beautiful and lovely indie pop/folk songs.
+ The Hopefuls
+ Happier for knowing her
+ Two time Champion