Junior Bloomsday at The Enright House...

Two from the usual source...the inbox!

Darkwave = MC Squared was the name of a track received from New Zeeland quartet The Enright House and with a title like that you've already been given some indication of what to expect from the band's new album A Maze and Amazement. But nonetheless I've been listening to the albums a few times and it is quite dark and complicated (not in an Albert Einstein kind of way) with references to bands like Sigur Ros, Mogwai etc. Labelled by the band itself as "a rather uneasy mixture of indie-pop, post-rock and electronica", which is a much better expression than I ever could come up with! The album as a whole might be a little too complex for my taste, but if you're a fan of the aforementioned bands and the post-rock genre, you should seriously consider giving The Enright House a listen!
+ Darkwave = MC Squared

Swans To Greet You by Junior Bloomsday was described in the mail as "a well-marbled pop gem laden with hooks aplenty", which certainly was enough to initiate my interest. The track taken from the band's debut album Nervous Habitats (out November 13 on Roast Records) is probably more alternative rock than actually pop; but it's a nice up-tempo and catchy piece, and sure worth a right click!
+ Swans To Greet You

Band of Horses...

will be playing live at Vega in Copenhagen on March 4 next year and I've just bought two tickets. Anyone seen them live? Any good?
+ The Funeral
+ Is There a Ghost

Sudd mixtape vol. 2...

In the inbox this morning I found the following message from the generous Swedish independent label Sudd:
"Finally, Sudd's largest project this autumn is released. Sudd has a new double-disc mixtape posted for free download. Disc #1 is dance music, #2 is all 8bit pop. Sudd mixtape vol. 2 is pure nintendo happiness mixed with electro pulse."
I've just downloaded all 18 tracks and expect to spend a few entertaining hours listening my way through all songs and mixes. Why don't you do the same?

+ Sudd mixtape vol. 2 (Dance edition) (zip file) (track list)
+ Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle (Cat Burglar Remix) (sample MP3)

+ Sudd mixtape vol. 2 (8-bit edition) (zip file) (track list)
+ Boys vs. Bacteria - Waiting for that feeling (sample MP3)

And speaking of Sudd. Does anyone remember this fantastic collaboration between Fujasaki and Björn Kleinhenz that I wrote about in December 2005?
+ Stay

This, That and a Whole Lot More...

The other day I posted the video for the new single, My Tribe by Spleen United and according to the band's label the sophomore album will be out January 14 next year. I don't believe that the title of the album has been revealed just yet, but since I immediately liked the new single, my expectations are growing fast (no matter what they decide to call it). My Tribe doesn't exactly indicate that the band is planning any major changes to their electronic soundscape and I find absolutely no reason to complain about this, as the debut Godspeed Into The Mainstream was one of my favorite albums of 2005. As a small "appetizer" I guess, the band has decided to give away Heroin Unltd. from the debut for free.
+ Heroin Unltd.

US jazz-pop and somewhat Steely Dan inspired trio Layabout will embark on a small German tour in December playing the following dates:
14.12 - Berlin (at ACUD kantina)
17.12 - Dortmund (at Q-Bar)
19.12 - Bremen (at No-OK)
If I was living anywhere close to the venues I'd most certainly go, as I really enjoy the jazzy and quite laid-back sound of the band.
+ Arms Around The City
+ Like kin

The fine 2005 demo album Kun En Elektrisk Summen Fra En Neonreklame Der Skulle Have Forestillet Solen (I won't even try to translate this) by ENTAKT has been reissued and you can buy it here, here or here.

A string of blogs have been added to the blogroll. Be a sport and pay them a visit!
* Busted Up Bulldozers
* Can You See The Sunset From The Southside?
* Captain Obvious
* Hate Something Beautiful
* JPs Blog
* PrettyMuchAmazing!
* quick before it melts
* Raised on Indie
* Small Things Stupid Packages

Danish trio Sensommersne (Late Summer Snow) sings in Danish and plays a very catchy kind of acoustic pop/rock. The melodies and instrumental parts are really great, but unfortunately the lead singer needs to practice his singing a bit (or perhaps they should even think of recruiting a new frontman), which sadly makes this far less enjoyable than it could have been!
+ Engle Taarer

Slow...

I know things are a bit slow around here these days, but I promise to be back posting again tomorrow!

Emptying the Mailbox...

Yep - once again my mailbox is flooded and tonight it's my intention to do something about it. So for the next two hours I'll be reading mails and messages, and hopefully be listening to some great music as well!

J.A. recommends US shoegaze trio Shields (obviously this band must be named after Kevin Shields). How he does it, I don't know, but J.A. certainly is an expert in finding new and interesting bands!
+ Love Like You

Speaking of shoegaze...The Panda Riot debut album She Dares All Things has finally been released. You can order it from the band's webpage.
+ She Dares All Things

I think Fanatic Promotion sends out the best promo mails. Unfortunately more than often the music is garbage, but the mails are well structured and contain useful information and (this is the best part) links for 1 or 2 mp3's.

The jury is still out on this track by Alabama rock 5-piece Wild Sweet Orange, taken from the band's forthcoming self-released EP Nervous Blood. Parts of the song work really well, but at times it sound as if they had too many ideas they wanted to include in the track.
+ Wrestle With God

New single by Spleen United...

It's awesome and I cannot wait for the album...(stream)

All this steam...

The happy lads in the Danish duo DAMPFBAHN! have been in the studio recording a new track called All This Time, which, as they always do, are giving away for free. In a bulletin posted earlier today the boys wrote "this time, we've gone stadium-rock. Hope you like it?"; and of course I do, though I'm not really sure whether I agree with that stadium-rock description or not. Anyway I hope you like it as well? Finally I won't miss the opportunity to once again recommend the band's ambitious and quite impressive remix project.
+ All This Time

Sleeping Lessons at the Slowmotion Club...

Yesterday I was contacted by Swedish indie pop trio Slowmotion Club asking me politely (in Swedish) to listen to their recently recorded 4-track EP Tiny Dots. And who can resist an offer like that? I couldn't because, as we all know, I have quite a passion for Swedish indie pop. So off I went to the band's myspace profile and gave them a good listen, which then lead me to send a message back to the band asking for permission to post one of the new tracks. The Gun In God's Hand is, despite its dark lyrics, yet another charming and catchy pop song coming out of Sweden (how many times have I written this before?) and I guess the real surprise here is that Slowmotion Club does not come from the "indie pop capital" Gothenburg.
+ The Gun In God's Hand

It has happened more than once that I've been wondering why certain songs were remixed, because the so-called remixes have completely ruined the track and made it almost unrecognizable. So the reason why I've recently posted a few mixes created by RAC (Remix Artist Collective) is probably the exact opposite. I like the way new dimensions are being added to the tracks, while still being true to the original versions. As is the case with this lovely remix of (the already wonderful) Sleeping Lessons by The Shins.
+ Sleeping Lessons (RAC Mix)

Finally lots of thanks to all of you who posted comments yesterday or sent an e-mail wishing me good luck. It was (and still is) much appreciated!

Time to move on...

After a few days of consideration, I've decided to resign from my job. It has given me plenty of time to maintain this blog, but when you wake up in the morning and feel that you'd much rather jump in front of a train than go to work, something has to be done! What the future will bring I don't know yet, but I'll keep you posted...
+ Morning Runner - Work