Swedesplease – The Swedish Music Blog

A band called Tony Clifton. Come on! A swedish band as well. Give me a break! Tony Clifton the band is from a remote Island off of Sweden (now living/playing in Stockholm), Tony Clifton the man was the alter ego of comedian Andy Kaufman, an ass who did just about eveything Andy would never think of doing.

The band is a little too straight-ahead alternative rock for me. Nothing too unusual or interesting to hang your hat on. Decide for yourselves though, the band has three songs available and three eps for sale at their site.

No Venom
Skyscraper
Three

Kofi’s Hat has two more new songs from The Cardigan’s forthcoming record Super Extra Gravity. Visit her Cardigan’s post here.

I always wanted to write about the Swedish band Oh Sweet Music but had a hard time finding their mp3′s. They do have some excellent songs on their website but they’re streaming and I can’t download them. I’ve contacted the band so we’ll wait and see if I get a few songs soon.

In the meantime I did find a link to one song at Smashing Time’s site (thanks to Hello Surprise). The band is basically Magnus Nordstrum from Malmo. He also contributes to the music of Piotor. Piotor’s been described as Magus’ progressive electronic profect.

Here’s the ironic “Let’s Go To War” as well as a couple of instrumental songs from Piotor.

Let’s Go To War

Plus bonus tracks from Piotor

You Can’t Hug Your Children With Nuclear Arms
Public Surface
City Camoflage

Housewife Lovers is a Swedish band you’d have to search long and hard to dicover. But the search would be worth it. However as a reader of Swedeplease you’re exempt from having to look. Here they are in all their glory.

This is DIY for sure. This is one of the best photo’s of the band if that’s any indication of just how DIY. But the music is alive with energy and a throbbing beat. Guitars slash with just the right ferocity while the bass thumps along a little behind the drums which always propel these songs forward.

I know there’s been a lot of talk lately about comparing bands to Gang of Four but much like the Beatles before them and bands like Blur,Oasis and Coldplay after them Gang of Four created a smeinal sound that has been influential to hundreds of bands whether they know it or not. The band is working on a new single so hopefully we’ll be hearing that soon.

Olga
Laura
Heute

These songs may or may not be brand new. But I got an email from The German label Riptide announcing their availability on limited edition vintl so it’s a good excuse to share two short punchy swedish rock tracks from the bands Las Puertas and Torpedo. I’ve written about them both before here and here.

So without too much further ado here’s “Water” by Las Puertas (members of Tiger Lou and Firefox) and “Declare Despair” by Torpedo (members of Je Ne Sais Qui and Chrystal Committee).

Water

Declare Despair

Monastir is a mainstream sounding alternative rock band from Sweden. According to their Pure Volume site they were once dubbed “the future of Swedish indie-rock”. They record for the always excellent A West Side Fabrication (however A West Side has a horrible website which they just have to fix!). This little review has been riddled with some positves and some negatives about the band and it’s label. I guess I’m torn…what do you think of their new song from the forthcoming record Good Things Never Last.

Wasted

Homeland is a Swedish band I knew I would love just from reading some of their bio. Homeland is a place for the songs of Mikael Carlsson. Mikael has pots in many fires but has his most visible role as a member of Sweden’s top indie band David and The Citizens.

His own songs and the arrangements that surround them are a little more spartan than David and the Citizens but also at times more beautiful. Mikael is working on something new and has posted the song “Flood” from an upcoming release on his website.

Flood
All Nights Are Good When They End (Previousely Unreleased)

Two bonus tracks from side project Motel North

Detour To Happiness
December Revolution

SKWBN have a new record out soon on Labrador in Sweden. Labrador has just put up a full length mp3 from this new release titled #3. The song is “Loop Duplicate My Heart”. Wrote about `em first here, Said The Gramaphone wrote about `em here. That’s really enough said, you know the rest…

Loop Duplicate My Heart

Pre-order this release here.

Hello Saferide has placed another song from the new record, Introducing…Hello Saferide, online. It’s an ode to the Californian city of San Francisco. Also the record is now available as a digital download from Musicshop.se.

Download it below.

San Francisco

Your Place Or Mine are a twee band with punk energy but pop sensibilities. For instance on the song “Kill Me” from their new Atta Boy ep you hear blissfull trumpet over a bed of noise near the end of the song. All of the lyrics are simple boy meets girl, girl hates boy and they break up or some derivation of that. But that’s always a winning formula.

Buy Atta Boy here at Oh Popkonst.

Kill Me
She Said Pt.1

From Demo #1

All Of Our Instruments Are Broken
Another Lover of a Demo Pop Group

Peter Bjorn and John’s Falling Out is the American debut by this stockholm pop group. The new record has 10 driven pop tunes covering all your basic pop topics (ie falling in love and falling out of love). Falling Out features guest appearances by Calle Olson from Bear Quartet and Ellekari Larsson from Vega and The Tiny.

Here’s what should be the American single “Far Away, By My Side” (check out the Speak and Spell toy sample throughout the song) and a cover of fellow Swedes the Concrete’s “Teen Love”. But it here on Hidden Agenda.

Far Away, By My side
Teen Love

Tendervision is a cool little Swedish label. They’ve released some fine music but they are far from prolific. That may change though with their new mp3 single initiative. Fake Music is their new free mp3 release, you can download the song and artwork here. The music here is simple and sparse – fumbled guitar and naked vocals, the release notes say it was recorded in a bedroom. This is a little over a week old, so courtesy of the internet: here’s music fresh out of Sweden from Tendervision’s house to yours.

Smokes I’ve Had

Bonus mp3. The first mp3 single Tendervision released was a dark little piece of somber chamber folk. The bands name Kinesis Sonata and the song “Parts Undone”.

Parts Undone

Billie the Vision and Dancers is a Malmo based band that put out their debut record in May of 2004. The project was intended to be a solo band revolving around Lars Lindquist but according to the website the band simply grew and grew as mor efriends were added to the mix. Good thing too because the pop sound the band is going for is best achieved by sheer numbers.

The debut record is called I was so unpopular at school and now they’re giving me this beautiful bycicle. Here’s a couple of songs and a link to buy.

Summercat
Good and Bad
Noble Square