January 31, 2008

Thursday evening shorties...

Today was my last day at the old job and needless to say I'm really excited about what tomorrow will bring. Expect to hear more (good or bad) in a not so distant future.

Rasmus, who is a member of the "Richard Hawley til Danmark" Facebook group, reviews the Richard Hawley concert at Midem. He ends the review by stating the obvious that he hopes Mr. Hawley will soon cross "The Ocean" to play a concert in Denmark!

Swedish pop band Swedish For Beginners has released a promo video for the track Magical Machines. More info on the lovely video can be found at the YouTube page.


+ Magical Machines (It's been confirmed that this is an older version of the song. The song in the video is a re-recorded version produced by Ollie Olson)

Despotz Records
are about to release the self-titled debut album by Swedish artist Kaka (not THAT footballer/soccer player). First single/promo track The Hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go) was to begin with a bit confusing and perhaps even somewhat irritating (has some novelty sound to it), but after a few listens I got used to it and it turned out to be a really fascinating pop song.
+ The Hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)

Attention Now! - Oliver North Boy Choir Remix...

In a Danish/Norwegian collaboration Oliver North Boy Choir has remixed Don't Let It Slip Away by the indietronica duo Attention Now!. Ivan has more info.
+ Don't Let It Slip Away (Original version)
+ Don't Let It Slip Away (ONBC Remix)

January 30, 2008

J.A. recommends – Swedish edition...

In these busy days J.A. provides a much needed helping hand, by sending updates on this trio of fine Swedish bands.

Indie poppers Japan Air have made two lovely new tracks available for download.
+ Claire
+ Stars

Biker Boy is working on a project called “Calendar 2008 – One Year, Twelve Songs”. First output is appropriately named January Song and this instantly catchy pop song immediately raised the expectations for the rest of the year!
+ January Song
+ January Song (Sporty Fred remix)

Depeche Mode inspired electro pop duo Ostrich gives away another new track. I've mentioned the duo a few times before, and I'd really love to hear a full length release from these super cool guys!
+ Passion For Slaves

January 29, 2008

Best Kylie song ever...

and of course it was and remains (one of) her least successful singles!

Shorties...

Eardrums has an excellent post on the first EP by Celestial frontman Andreas Hagman's new project Northern Fields. I’m also the happy receiver of a copy of the EP and just as expected this is just fabulous Swedish indie pop.
+ Rye Fields

It hasn’t really snowed this winter, so you still have to wait for my traditional posting of Snow Fell (It’s Night) by The Consultants. That band is no more, but lead singer Marisha is in a brand new band charmingly named Rattus rattus (the Latin (?) name for Black Rat). Their stuff seems to be rougher and less melodic than The Consultants.
+ Wes Anderson

Emerald Park is sharing a lovely new track named Värnhem. Despite the Swedish title it’s in English, so rest assure.
+ Värnhem

Danish music blog Börneblogger is a new addition to the blogroll.

Today Peter introduces us to the completely unknown but nonetheless pretty darn good French indie rock band Skymobil.
+ For You

Lots of mails on various Keane covers went back and forth yesterday, and I honestly was surprised how busy the trio has been recording other artists' songs. Not all covers were as well-made as this one of She Sells Sanctuary (note: not a video; just some photos accompanying the song).

January 28, 2008

Why don't they...?

I'd really love to write a longer piece on this, but for now I'll leave you with this burning question (and please do feel free to add your answer, if you can enlighten me)...on the radio (P3) this morning I once again heard Slave To Your Charms by Kind of girl as well as Told Her I'm From Compton by The Floor Is Made Of Lava. Why don't they ever inform the listeners that the songs are actually legally available as free downloads at Myspace, Last.fm etc.? Wouldn't THAT be great service?
+ Slave To Your Charms
+ Told Her I'm From Compton

January 25, 2008

Friday whining (should have been Friday shorties)...

These are frustrating days. Physically I’m still here at my old job, but my brain hasn’t really been part of this since my resignation. Unfortunately I have plenty of work to do and expectations are that I should get lots of stuff completed before leaving, which certainly is quite a task, when you’re not motivated at all.
Perhaps more frustratingly is that my blog writing is suffering as well. No blog post yesterday and no Støj På Frekvensen post today.
At the same time my mailbox is getting completely cluttered (627 mails in the inbox) and the to-do list is constantly growing.
Now some of you will probably say that while I was writing the above, I could instead have posted a couple of shorties and my only comment is… you’re absolutely right!

Swedish psychedelic indie rock act Du Pacque covers The Soundtrack Of Our Lives track Sister Surround.
+ Sister Surround

The new album Nous Sommes the Tremolo Beer Gut. Qui Le Fuck Êtes-Vous? by The Tremolo Beer Gut will be out on Monday (January 28) on Crunchy Frog. This is an intriguing collection of instrumental surf/garage rock tracks that could be just perfect for the soundtrack of the next Tarantino movie.
+ Nosy Parker

One of the DAMPFBAHN! boys has started a project called One Weekly Gun, which is an "attempt to get people thinking, debating, reading, talking, reacting and dreaming", by once a week writing a song about a recent incident etc. All songs have been written and produced in no more than 3 hours. When the year is over the best songs will be chosen, reproduced and released on an album. Interesting concept!
+ Heath Ledger

January 23, 2008

Midweek musings...

I just don't get this! On my way home from work this Monday I (once again) heard Slave To Your Charms by Kind of girl on the radio (Danish P3). Well done! Last time I asked if the band was close to signing with a label the answer was negative. Not so well done I guess? But what exactly is preventing the labels from signing the band? One of their songs is played in primetime on the most popular radio station in Denmark! It's virtually impossible being more hyped than that; isn't it?
+ Slave To Your Charms (not the radio version)

The Airfields album Up All Night will be out on humblebee recordings on February 5.
+ Never See You Smile

US singer-songwriter Wil Deynes gives away his new EP Stay for free. This is nice, catchy and quite uncomplicated pop rock.
+ Super Wonderful
+ Stay EP (zip file)

This morning I’ve been listening over and over to the amazing indietronica track Just Impolite by Plushgun. I’m puzzled how I completely ignored this one in my 2007 in retrospect post. Amends made?
+ Just Impolite

Acoustic folk trio Navaro (the new band of HITC favorite Pete White) has recorded a beautiful version of PW's song For a While. Those harmonies are just lovely, lovely, lovely........
+ For a While

January 22, 2008

Boxstr. top 10...

I have a rather busy schedule ahead of me today, so all you'll get is this sorry excuse of a post...-...According to Boxstr. these are the 10 most downloaded/streamed/viewed/listened to tracks uploaded to this blog:

1. Andrew Boland - Bird On The Wire (Leonard Cohen cover) - 1,695 (+84)
2. Entakt - Kunsten At Slippe Taget - 1,414 (+52)
3. The Raveonettes - Aly, Walk With Me - 1,312 (+48)
4. Sunny Summer Day - Colours of Fantasy - 1,211 (+53)
5. Martin Sörensson - All Right - 1,199 (+41)
6. Indurain - The Moment - 1,079 (+47)
7. The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson - 1,037 (+45)
8. Magpie - Nightly Rain - 880 (+51)
9. Dear X - Must I Play This Game? - 868 (+57)
10. Sia - Electric Bird - 752 (+42)

UPDATE: 24 hours later and I have added the updated number of "views" as well as the growth since yesterday in brackets.

January 21, 2008

Monday shorties...

I certainly hope that the new Spleen United album Neanderthal is a grower, because after one listen I’m somewhat disappointed. But if I remember correctly I wasn’t really overwhelmed by the debut to begin with either.
Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet gives the album 3 out of 6 stars, but in the very same review they also talk about the album View From A Highwire by debuting Danish act The Romanian Empire, which gets 4 stars. First single Criminal is surprisingly cool and according to the band itself the music sounds like a hybrid of Flaming lips, Radiohead, Deus and Beck, but check them out and decide that for yourself.
+ Criminal
+ Now Becomes Now

The Papertiger Sound amazingly continues producing new music and yesterday the band released the magnificent online single magnetic north, which of course is available to download for free. It remains one big mystery why this band hasn’t been signed to a label.
+ magnetic north

First release of the year by Swedish label Sudd is a collection of remixes by Fujasaki called ReMixtape (download as zip file).
+ Familjen – Hög luft (Fujasaki Remix)

January 19, 2008

Saturday shorties...

Did you check the new Støj på Frekvensen post yesterday?

The Richard Hawley til Danmark Facebook group now has 38 members. Sorry but I won't stop blogging about it until a concert has been booked. So why not help spreading the word?

Excellent Copenhagen indie pop/rock act Passtime Poets (formerly known as Amazonair) have a string of new tracks up at Myspace. All of them are freebies so grab whatever song you like; it's brilliant stuff.
+ 69 ML

Canadian indie/new wave band Hinterland gives away a new and pretty good track over at Myspace.
+ Detwiller Pavilion

January 17, 2008

Club Thing...the video...

The new video for Club Thing by Yoav. It's just perfect for the song...


+ Club Thing

Shorties...

In its first 24 hours of existence 20 persons have joined the Richard Hawley til Danmark Facebook group. More than I expected, but not nearly enough to make an impact. Yesterday a The Divine Comedy til Danmark Facebook group surfaced as well.

My favorite Irish singer Andrew Boland covers Can't Help Falling In Love (with the subtitle - Drunk, Shit)! His cover version of Bird On The Wire is one of the most popular tracks in the history of this blog and has been downloaded/streamed 1,467 times.
+ Can't Help Falling In Love (Drunk, Shit)
+ Bird On The Wire

On their upcoming Denmark tour The Floor Is Made Of Lava will be supported by the young quartet Kiss Kiss Kiss. This is a very talented and very interesting band, which musically is closely related to TFIMOL.
+ Recorded Smiles

As much I'd love to go, it's probably not a good idea attending the Yoav concert at the end of the month. February 1 will be the first day at my new job, so showing up sober and well-rested could be a good idea!

Music Of The Moment promotes The Pastry Club.

I was quite surprised to find two Counting Crows promo tracks in the mailbox yesterday. Does this mean that even bigger bands (and their management/labels) are beginning to realize that music blogs are in fact an OK way to promote music? Both tracks are from the forthcoming Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings album (out March 25).
+ 1492
+ When I Dream of Michelangelo

The sophomore Pascal album Galgberget will be out on Novoton on January 22, and the first single/promo track Längtar Efter Dig is equally irritating and catchy.
+ Längtar Efter Dig

The new(?) video for the wonderful The Sound Of You by French/UK duo Mono Taxi.

January 15, 2008

Shorties...

Stereogum has posted it and so will I. This is the new video for The Air We Breathe by Figurines. Danish humor I suppose?


+ The Air We Breathe

The Raveonettes clones Death Valley Sleepers are giving away a new track. Even though it's tempting to start whining about the lack of originality, the track and band are nothing but awesome.
+ Girl Got Lost

Not sure that I'll ever get used to music sung in German, but the quite catchy Teil von Dir by Hamburg located indie pop band DALIEGTGOLD is one of the rare exceptions.
+ Teil von Dir

Indie rock band Sir Salvatore has a new EP out called Continental Breakfast. This "appetizer" sounds pretty good.
+ Ambalina

Finally I'm a registered user at the Richard Hawley Forum and will now start lobbying for a Copenhagen gig.

January 14, 2008

Us With Millions...

Probably no regular reader missed my promotion of the Us With Millions concert which took place this Saturday evening, so a kind of follow-up post would be appropriate I guess? The picture is really bad I know, but trust me - this IS Us With Millions!

The sound just wasn’t good. Far too often I have to write this following a concert and I just cannot help feeling that people must get the impression that I’m a grumpy old man putting on the same old record. But as my otherwise musical ignorant friend sarcastically uttered after a few minutes – “I love the vocals – I cannot understand a word he is singing”. The sound did get adjusted and got a little bit better during the gig, but sadly it never reached a level that did their music justice. Drums and bass are a huge part of their music (the drumming was excellent), but were far too dominant on stage in my opinion, which left the guitarist with an almost impossible mission (I was later told that the band normally gets live assistance from a second guitarist, who for some reason wasn't on hand this evening - this might explain some?). I assume most of the people showing up at Lades were there to see Waking Life, giving Us With Millions a chance to promote their music to some new music fans. But when I looked around most people were just sitting at tables drinking beers and small talking, instead of being captured by the music of Us With Millions. Quite a pity and a golden opportunity wasted.

Afterwards I spoke a few words with Bo (the lead singer) and had a longer conversation with Jeppe (the drummer), and both of them turned out to be likeable fellows. Despite the usual struggles with record labels (they claim to be interested, but…) the band seemed to be optimistic about the future and plans to record new songs for what might end up as a self-released album.

Unfortunately (though I didn’t really mind) my companion had been pouring drinks down my throat most of the evening, which meant that I at this point was turning into the talkative version of myself. So the aforementioned conversation was probably more of a monologue, but hopefully they didn’t think I was too much of an ass!

Since this probably will be the last post on one of this blog’s favorite bands for a while, I’ve decided to upload all available tracks by Us With Millions as a small "service".
+ Do You Blush?
+ Now That's Common
+ Rosebud
+ The Golden Coast (new version)
+ The Golden Coast (old version)
+ Shepherds Hour
+ Sailor Song
+ The Tactician

January 11, 2008

Even more shorties...

Check out my recent Støj På Frekvensen post.

A digital copy of Downhill, the DAYS debut EP, somehow fell into my lap the other day. As expected it contains 7 wonderful indie pop tunes, but also leaves me wondering what Shelflife are up to. According to their webpage the EP has been "coming soon" for several months. Peter has more info and one of the tracks.

In a cyclone of stones has turned into a very reliable source and for the second time this week I am passing on one of the recommendations found there. This time it's the damn fine new demo Nunca estás a la altura by Spanish indie-pop band Klaus&Kinski.
+ Nunca estás a la altura

Since I posted it, Kunsten At Slippe Taget by ENTAKT has been downloaded/streamed 878 times. Four digits are within reach, so please give it a listen!
+ Kunsten At Slippe Taget

Just in case you have foolishly ignored my previous pleas. Remember Us With Millions at Lades tomorrow!
+ Shepherds Hour

J.A. suggest that we all should listen to a few tracks from the forthcoming debut album The Fashionistas by Swedish electro-/synth-pop band Violet Elegy. Catchy stuff indeed!
+ The Fashionistas
+ Cold Hands

January 10, 2008

More shorties...

It really IS very nice of you to ask! My back is feeling much better today, thank you!

This is the way it should always be. Yesterday I posted about bakers at dawn and last night they sent me a short message saying thank you. This is how my oldest daughter would explain it: “Dad! It's a perfect example of a symbiosis! You need them and they need you.” Amazing what she picks up while watching Stanley and she's probably right I guess?
+ still not looking for (what i haven't found)

Last night I spent a little of my hard earned cash to upgrade my file host. So hopefully we'll experience no more of those dreaded “bandwidth limit exceeded” error messages. Now if only someone would click those ads to help me finance the upgrade (OK – in all honesty it wasn’t really that expensive).

In the car this morning (after all – this blog IS called Hits In The Car) I heard Dream Catch Me by Newton Faulkner for the first time. As one of the radio hosts described it: “that was one sensitive guy with a guitar”. It's absolutely lovely and you can download the track over at Wongie's Music World.

Now this is an international collaboration worth talking about! Spaniard J.A. recommends Danish 80's synth-pop inspired band Antilles to Swiss blogger Chris. Infectious stuff!
+A Different Place

Flashing my ignorance for the second time today. Peter has a nice post on the brilliant Danish The Raveonettes inspired band Death Valley Sleepers.
+ Black Pearl
+ White Noise

January 9, 2008

Shorties...

My body means serious business and it just won't let me forget my age. My back is still a painful mess!

I have too many CD’s - plain and simple. I spent half an hour last night searching for Godspeed Into The Mainstream, and although I found lots of CD's I had forgotten all about, I never did find that Spleen United debut. Perhaps the girls have swapped it for a pair of candy bags? Don’t forget that the sophomore album Neanderthal will be out later this month!
+ Streetfighter (Broken Spindles Remix)

The morning started with some seriously bad news. J.A. mailed the info that Danish The Smiths’ inspired quintet The Cupids has decided to split up, even though a single release seemed to be just around the corner.
+ Tonight
+ Sunday

The new Moto Boy single (to be released next week on Songs I wish I had written) is a gorgeous piece of sweet pop music.
+ Young Love

In A Cyclone Of Stones recommends lovely Swedish indie poppers bakers at dawn. The new 9 track EP anything in particular is up for grabs right here. This stuff is simply too good and too interesting to overlook.
+ hopeful

Flowers of Romance is the title of a brand new track by Green Concorde and it's arguably their best track to date. Stream only.

One event that you shouldn't miss - next Friday (January 18) a few of the Frekvens boys will be DJ'ing at the Beta Satan concert at Musikcafeen in Århus. Read more.
+ Great Moments of Pleasure

January 8, 2008

Floating in Purplespace...

US shoegazers Purplespace are currently in the studio recording the follow-up to the 2006 debut Broken Bells. The band hopes to have it finished and released early this year, but has already posted two of the album tracks as free downloads. Both songs successfully mix the dreampop/shoegaze sound with various electronic elements, and thus bode really well for the forthcoming release.
+ It Never Happened
+ Your Cursive

January 7, 2008

Us With Millions on Saturday...

It's no longer a "maybe" and barring any unexpected happenings, I'm going to be at Lades on Saturday evening watching/hearing Us With Millions. This will be my second Us With Millions live experience (the first time was this summer at Vesterbro Festival) and since the first concert the band has published three fine new tracks, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable evening with some excellent indierock! The band has recorded a new version of The Golden Coast which the boys (very timely) uploaded as a free download earlier today.
+ The Golden Coast

A grumpy morning...

I have a busy day ahead of me and my hurting back is killing me (update: it's FUCKING killing me!!!). Perhaps it's just my body sending a friendly reminder that I'm only a few days away from turning 39?

Despite being busy I'm not going to leave you completely empty handed, so here are two cool dancefloor filling remixes done by Californian DJ Jeff Barringer (actually I've posted both of them before, but don't tell anyone - ok?).
+ Cause and Effect - Into the Light (DJ Jeff Barringer & J-Star Remix)
+ Mighty Six Ninety - Keeping You In Mind (Club Mix)

January 4, 2008

This and That....

Another one of those posts, where I try to erase as many names as possible from my ever growing "to-do/pending/artists and stuff I have to write about"-list.

Tinkerbell from the not-so-often updated blog Pastries, Peppers and Canals has set-up/started/founded/established (what the heck is the right word here?) The Pastry Club in London. The first concert will take place on February 19 where Danish acts Jong Pang + EPO-555 will be playing live. Don't miss this great event if you happen to be in London on that date.
+ Jong Pang - A House in Heartbeats
+ EPO-555 - Centipede

As much as I'd love to be there, I unfortunately have no chance of attending, but instead I'm hoping that I'll be able to navigate to Lades on next Saturday, where Us With Millions and Waking Life will be playing. Drop me a line if you're planning to go and perhaps you could buy me a beer (though more likely it will be vice versa).
+ Us With Millions - Rosebud
+ Waking Life - The Truth and Me

Thursday, January 31 Yoav will be playing at Lille Vega in Copenhagen. I'm pretty confident that this guy will be huge in a not so distant future, so it might be a good idea marking the calendar.
+ Club Thing

In the car this morning when I was driving to work, I heard Slave To Your Charms by Kind of girl on the radio. Regular readers know that I've been blogging about this band a lot (and I was probably the first blogger to ever feature the band), so I cannot help being just a little bit excited every time the band gets some airplay.
+ Slave To Your Charms

Peter Schallgrenzen has already mentioned this, but it's certainly worth repeating that Danish 5-piece Late Night Venture has uploaded 3 (not 4 as previously mentioned) new tracks from their forthcoming album to Myspace (freebies of course!). The self-titled album was among my favorites of 2006 and my first impression of the new songs is very positive, though they do indicate that we shouldn't expect any major musical changes.
+ Drift in a Slipstream (from the debut album)
+ Love Respect Call

trashcan sinatras...

Anyone ever heard of these Scottish guys? I know I haven't (even though they have been around since 1987 and been featured on a few blogs), but their melancholic indie pop certainly sounds brilliant. There's plenty of free stuff to download from the band's webpage.
+ obscurity knocks (live acoustic)
+ leave me alone (remix)

UPDATE: And since Peter (how come I'm not surprised that he knows this band?) strongly recommends hayfever - here are two different versions of the track.
+ hayfever (kut radio version)
+ hayfever (live version)

January 3, 2008

As promised yesterday...

...another batch of music!

Swedish singer August Landelius has recorded an acoustic cover of the The Floor Is Made Of Lava track Told Her I'm From Compton.
+ Told Her I'm From Compton

Blog favorite Pete White is currently devoting most of his time to the recently formed trio Navaro. The acoustic folk trio has been signed to the label Halo Records and hopefully an album will be released this year. A few lovely demo tracks are yours to grab for free over at Myspace.
+ Orphans

Download the debut single Nettopigen by Starfighters 2007 winner Troels Boberg for free this week from his Myspace profile (as well as a remix of the same track). It's quite popular in Denmark right now and has received plenty of radio airplay. Personally I find it irritating and overrated, but an artist giving a single away for free is always an initiative worth supporting.

Manchester quartet Kni9hts still hold the title as "the best unsigned band in the world", but another UK act that just as easily could be considered for the same "honor", is the shoegaze/dreampop duo The Papertiger Sound. The excellent but (for whatever unbelievable reason) still unreleased album fujipop is free to download from Last.fm.
+ The alpha and the beta

RAC (RemixArtistCollective) has remixed the Tegan and Sara track Back In Your Head. As always his (André) remix is better than the original version.
+ Back In Your Head (RAC mix)

If everything works out as planned - expect another post like this one tomorrow...

January 2, 2008

Another year has started…

And hopefully an exciting one it will be. I have to “waste” one final month in my old job, before I can start the new one. Time will tell how this will affect the future of the blog, but obviously I’ll do my best to keep on updating it and finding new interesting stuff to post.

Despite having the impression that most of the world has been away on holiday the past couple of weeks, a few interesting things have still managed to catch my attention. This is the first batch and if everything works out as planned (no guarantee really), the next one should be posted tomorrow.

Ages ago (last year to be a little more exact) I wrote this about Danish duo Tetris = Therapy; “The music is an unpredictable blend of just about everything from noisy shoegaze guitars over grandiose post-rock to electronica, indiepop and heavy electronic beats”. Apparently the boys liked or agree with this description, because back then they asked if they could borrow it for their press material. Just before Christmas the duo published two brand new (and excellent) tracks and it didn't take many listens to realize that this description is still spot on.
+ It's A Secret to Everyone (But Me)
+ The End of the Season

Blog favorites The Holiday Show are busy in the studio recording songs for their debut album. As an appetizer the band is sharing the new version of I Love The Light. It certainly would be great if the band's debut would see a release in 2008.
+ I Love The Light

Ex-Budapest front man John Garrison is giving away this seasonal Nick Drake inspired track.
+ Here Goes Another Year

January 1, 2008

Happy New Year...

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and hope that all of you arrived safely in 2008.

In case you're hunged over, bored or simply want to kill a few hours, I recommend that you check out the Contrast Podcast Festive Top 50 assembled by Tim Young. I especially suggest that you wind forward and listen to the dude introducing the track finishing at number 3 (boy - that recording is really bad!)!!