Blog: It's a trap!

Stick a fork in me, I'm done. After 10 years of near-daily blogging I have decided to walk away from It's a Trap!, a decision that I have weighed for quite some time and one that did not come easily. This site has been a major part of my life the past decade and while I treasure that time greatly, both via the music and all of the absolutely lovely people I've met along the way, I've become increasingly tired, burnt-out and simply far too busy to give it the attention it truly deserves. So, rather than let you bear [...]

"Elsewhen" finds longtime Swedish audio terrorist Henrik Nordvargr Björkk ( MZ.412 , Nordvargr , etc.) taking on the esoteric industrial sound of "Last rights" -era Skinny Puppy , a period defined more by abstract sonic skull-fuckery than direct songwriting. This approach definitely raises the barrier of entry, but hardy listeners will be rewarded by a rich and complex tapestry of sound, one that's far more concerned with mood and texture than anything resembling typical verses or choruses. Definitely not for everyone, but strongly recommended for fans of the genre and/or anyone seeking out more [...]

The camera work in this live clip is totally obnoxious, but thankfully the performance by I Break Horses far outshines it.

Spiders have always had a great sound and a killer frontwoman, but the quality of their first few releases was hampered by mediocre songwriting. "Flash point" , the band's debut full-length, thankfully makes marked improvement in that department, though it still falls short of the band's surface potential. A few solid jammers to be sure, just not enough to keep me coming back for repeat listens. - Avi Roig Rating: 6

The Last Massacre by Suffer The Pain Should have posted this days ago, but it got lost in the shuffle. Raw metal/punk from Sweden released on cassette, just as it should be. Look for a split 7" with fellow crust-metallers Bombs of Hades in the near future.

Pitchfork finally gets hip to the amazing Susanne Sundfør , bestowing their "Best New Music" tag on the single "White foxes" : http://pitchfork.com/reviews/t racks/14304-white-foxes/

The young jazz piano trio Moskus is Listen to Norway's latest band of the week: http://www.listento.no/mic.nsf /doc/art2012092512363985846646

New visuals from Terrible Feelings filmed while on tour in Europe.

The new Taken By Trees album "Other worlds" is currently streaming in its entirety as a YouTube playlist .

Swedish powerpop act The Sweet Serenades now have a video for their latest single "Can't get enough" .

Tobias Hellkvist makes such lovely drone music. I tend to listen to so much stuff in a more "dark ambient" style that I forget just how pretty this kind of music can be, but Tobias is always there to remind me. "Everything is connected" is his fourth full-length I believe and probably his most abstract to date -- I keep listening to it in an effort to single out highlights or pick out individual melodies, but the compositions always manage to escape me, float on by and lull me into a blissful meditative state. Bear in mind, [...]

New music from Dinner aka Danish artist/producer Anders Rhedin , probably best known for his work behind the scenes with Choir of Young Believers and also as an ex-member of Jong Pang . "You are like LA" is the title track of the first of two EPs to be released via Tigerspring Records .

• yes-yes-yes - Dinner - You Are Like LA

Swedish music distributor Border Music is finally up on SoundCloud and the first thing they have posted in the excellent new track from Swedish goth/postpunk/shoegazers Then Comes Silence .

• bordermusic - Then Comes Silence-Slowly Dragging You Down

Old school Swedish death metal is the order of day from this Swedish four-piece. It's all simple enough stuff, quite reminiscent of a less-tech Tribulation in places. "The serpent's redemption" likes to groove a lot and it makes this album sound something along the lines of old school thrash meets old school death 'n' roll. It's nothing really to write home about, but at the same time it's littered with cool parts from start to finish. Sadly, those cool parts are too short-lived and strewn between endless average sequences that often outstay their welcome. The title [...]

New epic dark and heavy rock from a band called Vibracula featuring members of other acts I've talked up over the years but whose identities I'll leave up to you to discover on your own.

• vibracula - Coda Blast

Nomethod has announced that they'll be doing a number of digital re-releases from the old Chalksounds archive via the new imprint Faux Pas . First up on October 15 will be Soviac 's albums "GMC out in the fields" and "Trilogy sexlife rodeo friscotti" plus The Price of Ink 's self-titled EP.

The Swedish Institute has launched a new video interview series and guests so far include Tiger Bell and Azure Blue . More at FB: https://www.facebook.com/Swedi shMusic

A live version of Artymove performing their new single "One of these days" . Obviously not as ecstatic as the regular version , but still dece.

Allvaret is a new band from Göteborg, debut LP soon via Erste Theke Tonträger Records / P.Trash .

• Allvaret - Bittert/Ljuvt

Another video clip from quality Danish psychrock act Halasan Bazar .