All of my carping about the greatness of the Swedish electronic duo Val Venosta has paid off with an exclusive sneak peak of their upcoming EP Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolf.

“I Think Billy Wilder Would Like This” expands on the earlier songs of Val Venosta. The robotic synthesized vocals and thumping beats are still present but now the melody is a little more present and the indecipherable chorus is pushed to the front of the song. All in all a great song to get 2009 off on the right foot.

I Think Billy Wilder Would Like This!

P.S. Songs:Illinois is back with an exclusive first listen to a track from the Brooklyn based gypsy punk group Luminscent Orchestrii here.

Ghostpony went live on Myspace yesterday. They have no comments yet and only a couple friends (influential ones though like Lykke Li, Juvelen, and Rigas). Needless to say the band (one guy?) doesn’t have much of a biography/discography yet, which is good because I don’t have any time to parse it (I’ve got to work out and then pick up the kids at school). What I do know for sure is that these two songs below are on a 5 song EP that’s due out in November. Contact the band through MySpace for more info.

“Love To Hate” isn’t mindless techno. It tells a cute little story of a relationship gone bad. The synthesized guitar solos and groovy beats are a nice addition. Think a more deranged Depeche Mode, Prince in his Black Album period, or a subtler, more refined NIN. So what do you think? Don’t leave me hangin’ in the comments section.

Love To Hate
32-22-34

Here’s some more electro pop trash from the Swedish based duo Klassfest. This song is taken from the new EP Pure which you can pick up for free over at the band’s MySpace page.

Prieure De Sion

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If Robyn is the princess of Swedish disco than Sophie Rimheden is it’s queen. How cool is it that someone of Sophie’s age can out do any and all younger up and comers in a field dominated by twenty-somethings; let alone the fact that she’s a woman in a man’s business (dj, producer, remixer etc.) Here’s a remix of a track off her new record Traveller.

Go Away (Rimheden mix)

“Go Away” video feat. Adam Tensta

This post fits into the “if at first you don’t succeed” category. I wrote about the robotic funk of Swedish group Val Venosta the other week and was soundly ignored. Listen to “Got To Go Home” or go back and check out this earlier post of the songs “Kaleidescope” and “Union” and tell me this group doesn’t deserve your full attention.

Got To Go Home

Bonus:

Carlo In Q Minor

Alright, hold up. Sit down. I never say I’ve discovered the next best thing, do I? I never say I’ve found that one Swedish band that can break out and be adored by Stereogum, GVB, Pitchfork and Discobelle. I usually just present the music and let you decide. Until now. Val Venosta is all that and a bag of chips. They’re all daftpunkblocpartylcdsoundsystemed.

The band’s been a member of MySpace since July 6, 2008. I’m guessing they didn’t expect any press for at least a couple more days. So excuse them for not having their act together (photo, bio, agent, etc, etc). However in only a few days they’ve made their mark and added a number of illustrious friends to their page (Sophie Rimheden, Svart, Oh No Miriam!, Daft Punk, Kent, Hot Chip, Chromeo etc). Sure they may not be the complete package yet, but two of the four songs they have up are marvelous examples of euro electro (f)punk.

The band says they sound like a dry martyini. Sounds more like robots on Ambien chased by tequila with Red Bull.

Anyway here’s “Kaleidoscope” and “Union”.

Kaleidoscope
Union