Summary of what I liked in Swedish music this past year My favourite album of the year: SOVIAC - Back album My nine other fav records of the year: 2. BRING ME THE FUCKING RIOT… MAN – Solidarity died ... Continue reading
My “best of 2012″ is coming to its end. Last words to some Swedish artists I love. All of them answered three questions from mine about: What they liked in music this year, especially within Sweden. What they did ... Continue reading
You hate lists, you love lists. Surely you have time for them regardless Here are my favorite songs or albums of the year. No real order here. Remix Amanda Mair - House (Club 8 Remix) The angelic voice of Amanda Mair gets mixed by Swedish twee group Club 8 and the results are sublime. House is a sad song about a relationship at it's end. The original piano arrangements are replaced by the much lighter synthesizer, which makes it completely danceable. What obsessive minded girl doesn't want [...]
Today I present to you the first in a series of posts covering our top 50 albums of 2012. These lists take a long time to compile, so, to save my sanity, I've split it into a five-part countdown, beginning with 50 through 41. As these things go, it's all subjective - best-of lists are compiled based on what we feel at this particular moment in time. Case in point: At this time last year, my top three albums were: 3. Dream Diary by Jeremy Jay, 2. Music Sounds Better With You [...]
2012 was not a good year for Swedish music. I actually enjoyed few records, few artists and met few surprises. In addition, the great blog It's a trap closed and the "old" Swedesplease is not very productive, to say ... Continue reading
Best of 2012, my favourite songs. Episode 2. : from number 11 to number 1. Precision : only one song for each band/artist. 10. SKATAN – Control My previous post about Skatan. Download Skatan - Control There is no ... Continue reading
Another year, another great crop of songs. Some of you might be surprised to see a handful of radio smash hits on here, but I'd be lying to myself and you if I didn't include them in a list of my favorite songs of 2012. There's a Spotify playlist (with a few extra songs) to [...]
Labrador As predisposed as I am towards things Swedish, melancholic, and anthemic, it took me a little bit to warm to Jönköping's Mary Onettes because, well, their name is pretty awful; thankfully, their music is most definitely not. Their 2009 album Islands was a glorious thing , all Cure-meets-Bunnymen '80s romantic angst in stadium dress. And as happy as I'd have been to have more of the same, the band has other ideas. Their Love Forever EP released back in February [...]
I'm not going to talk about my October 19 radio show, other than this sentence and noting the playlist is below. Instead, I'm going to pump up the forthcoming October 26 show. But first, a little history behind next week's show. When I first moved to Mount Vernon, I purchased a 73 single on eBay of a Seattle band called Tullycraft. After winning the auction, I received a message from one Brett Sandstrom, who noted that he lived in the neighboring town of Sedro-Woolley. We were both a [...]
Frank Yang It would have been nice to think that the many well-dressed folks milling about on King West Saturday evening were winding their way to The Hoxton, where New Zealand's Pip Browne - aka Ladyhawke - was set to make her first Toronto appearance in almost three years exactly. But no, they were probably just out taking in the final night of TIFF , because The Hoxton was basically empty when I got there. Being an early show with a curfew, waiting around for the more fashionably late wasn't an option [...]
Kristen Lidell Many adjectives can and have been used to describe the songwriting of Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman - wry, witty, classic, charming, hilarious, to list but a very few - but "personal" is not necessarily one of the first you'd use. He's a masterful storyteller in song, and no doubt the seeds of many of his songs come from his own life experiences or observations, but in crafting his perfect little narratives he's usually able to distance himself from them, always a character whether he's operating in the third person or the first. This isn't [...]
Ottilia is still one of the brightest young stars in independent music. Still a teenager, perhaps the best metric of this future success is the conspicuous disappearance of her most infectious track , "40 Million Light Years" from the Internet. This is the empty space that signals an arrival, a reverse dramatic irony where the people on stage know something profound that is hidden from the audience. The joke is on us. On latest demo, "Heartless," Ottilia pursues a more meditative aesthetic, channeling Lykke Li , Amanda Mair and others. The song muddles [...]
The much hyped about and vocally endowed singer Amanda Mair has released her next single (which will be officially released on September 11th) titled 'Doubt' (which is taken from her self-titled debut album). The 'Doubt' single makes for an 80's tinged yet modern hybrid of every catchy female lead based band/artist that you like or don't know that you like. You can listen to the track below, alongside her newly announced UK tour dates. September 2 - Cambridge - Lodestar Festival 3 - Edinburgh [...]
Swedish teenage pop hype Amanda Mair is heading to the UK in September: 09/02 - Lodestar Festival, Cambridge 09/03 - Sneak Petes, Edinburgh 09/04 - Captains Rest, Glasgow 09/05 - The Castle, Manchester 09/06 - Clash Magazine Night @ The Lexington, London
All it takes sometimes is one listen and you get hooked. Coastal Cities will be releasing their single "Relief" on July 30, and since this could mean the beginning of something bigger, we suggest you head to their Facebook page , Like them if you like this track below, and we'll make sure to keep you in step with their moves. Prison for Kids and Glass Vaults both sent us some chill tunes this week, and we caught the alarmingly 80s schtick of Cygnets . The Weekly [...]
Filed under: Video of the Day Artist: Amanda Mair Video: "House" Highlight: "I had a great time while recording the video for 'House,'" Amanda Mair tells Spinner. "The weather though was extremely bad and freezing! The idea of someone carrying me around made me laugh. A lot. The carrying was Philip Ekströms idea and in the beginning I got stunned, it turned out to be perfect!" [...]
Let's offset this morning's depressing post with the latest Swedish pop darling. Amanda Mair has followed in the footsteps of the impossible not to love pop stars like Lykke Li, Oh Land, Jenny Abrahamson, Robyn and many others. It's straight forward pop with a beautiful girl and her beautiful voice. What else did you expect? Amanda Mair - House Amanda Mair - Doubt Connect: Site // [...]
This song has been repeat for me all weekend. Swedish act Amanda Mair 's wise-beyond-her-years self titled debut was a mature and catchy affair and one of the singles off the record - House was given the remix treatment by label mates Club 8 and it's amazing. Why haven't Club 8 remixed more records? This could be a good gig. The remix replaces the tender piano notes from the original with an 80s synth line and a disco vibe. Paired with Amanda Mair's incredible voice, this tale of regret and abandonment becomes one [...]
Amanda Mair is next in line in the Swedish pop invasion. Her sweet voice perfectly matches the cascading piano hook on her new single, “House.” It’s a lovely meditation on a broken relationship. (“You should know I’m only waiting for the times we never had” is a standout lyric.) Like what you hear? Mair’s eponymous [...]
Really busy at work these days so no time at all for typing. Have to share these two pretty fine remixes...
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