Swedesplease

I was on a Malmö kick a few weeks back and one of the bands I sneaked in with little comment was the group The Argument. As I said at the time the band is made up of members of Big Strong Union and Bakers At Dawn. These guys are all part of the unofficial Canarie Records co-op. The sound is either unstructured pop or tightly controlled experimental rock, pick your poison.

The new record Summer/Winter Nights is pretty rough production wise, but the energy and the songs on there point to good things in the future from this band

The Argument’s new record is now available in full from here.

The Air I Breathe

It seems that way with all the collaborations and cross polination that’s going on. For instance there is a new record from experimental pop group Bakers At Dawn, as well as something from a new group comprised of Marcus from Bakers At Dawn and Niklas from Big Strong Union. That group is called The Argument.

You can download a .zip of the new Bakers at Dawn record here or listen to a new song at their Myspace page. Here are the songs I like from each group.

First You See Me, First You Don’t

The Argument

Forget About The Politics

What do Bela Lugosi, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Alice Coltrane have in common? Not much I wouldn’t think but they are all listed as influences of the Malmo based group Death and Vanilla. This is the only song up on the band’s Myspace page but it’s a pretty good indication of what the band is capable of, as well as being an amalgamation of all their other influences (Nico, VU, Suicide, Current 93 and Sun Ra).

Run Rabbit Run

Brrrr!

There were a couple of big developments when I was away last week. I wrote about the biggest yesterday (Hello Saferide anyone!?). And today I write about the most amusing. Adventure Kid released his remix/re-imagination of the new I’m From Barcelona song Music Almost Killed Me. Like his earlier work he has a knack for combing video game blips and beeps with disco beats and some pretty fine remixing.

Music Almost Killed Me (Adventure Kid Remix)

Detektivbyrån used to be the best under discovered band in Sweden. Anything this good (regardless of its lack of mass appeal, limited commercial potential or even the fact that it lacks lyrics) will find a place in the world. Whether this gets discovered through placement in advertisements, film soundtracks, or hopefully written about on countless blogs, Myspace profiles or Twitter updates (I’m looking at you James Gunn, and don’t try to hide Alexandra I can see you too) is up to you. All it should take is a little bump to put this band into the consciousness of the right people that will enable them to reach a broader audience.

I’ve been writing about the band for years, but amazingly their upcoming release, Wermland, is their debut LP. So this is not one of those bands that comes from nowhere only partially formed (Cold War Kids, Vampire Weekend). The songs on Wermland don’t stray far from what got them here. And that is a combination of traditional folk, gypsy, circus and world sounds combined with modern (and not so modern) electronics (often home rigged). It’s so hard not to compare this band’s music to film so I won’t bother restraining myself. “Om Du Moter Värg” starts out like music from the next Tim Burton production, but rather quickly becomes something you’d expect to hear in a Wim Wenders or Werner Herzog film. And that’s because it’s music of dreams. And dreams are what the films of those three visionaries are closest to.

A release date of September 3rd has been set for Wermland, but you can pre-order the record now here (Sweden) or here (Int’l).

Om Du Moter Värg

P.S. If you liked this there’s an ever so slight chance that you’ll be smitten with Kirsty McGee’s “vaudebilly” over at Songs:Illinois (sorry for the shameless cross promotion).

Even if the new shoegazey EP by the Greecoats didn’t sound at all like The Jesus And Mary Chain I’d still make the comparison since the band’s first single is called “Honey”. Remember all those J&MC songs about honey, at first it was cool but after a half dozen or so it was kinda like “what’s so great about f#@king honey?”

Anyway this “honey” starts and ends with a blast of distortion. The rhythm guitar is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Over it all soars the lead vocals of Ramo Spatalovic. Buy the new EP here.

Honey

Esaias Orchestra from Lund describes their music as Alternative/Rockabilly/Pop but in the States I think it’d be thrown in the gothic-emo category (if that even exists). It’s pretty over the top stuff emotionally, causing the band to occasionally veer into Coldplay like howls and high pitched squeels. But here I like it (with Coldplay not so much!).

“Do You Clap Your Hands” is a new song and will be on an upcoming 2008 T.B.A. release on the Swedish label BaBa Records. “Her Hands Again” is from an earlier EP called But Hey Take A Cookie Instead.

Do you Clap Your Hands
Her Hands Again

I first heard of the Malmö based band Houses In Motion when Hans from the band collaborated with Vit Päls. It’s taken me a while to track the band down, but it looks like I had good timing since two new songs have just been added to their MySpace page.

“Pass This Season” is a low key indie rock song (until the horns kick in!) about trying to get through a bad spell.

Pass This Season

For a while it seemed like male duos of the electronic pop bent was all that Sweden could produce. Perhaps the tides are turning with First Aid Kit. The duo is made up of sisters Klara and Johanna. The girls are young, still teenagers. Demos on their MySpace page drew the attention of Rabid Records (AKA The Knife). And the rest is history.

The debut ep came out in Sweden on April 9th. It’s called Drunken Trees. Buy it here.

Cross Oceans

Folke is the not quite ready for mainstream project of jazz bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg. The new record features members of The Tiny, Laakso, Loney, Dear and Tape. This info is all via It’s A Trap. Don’t thank me for any of it. In fact, the mp3 is from the Swedish language alt-rock publication Panda.

Compare to The Flaming Lips, The Radar Bros, Mercury Rev or fill in the ________. I think the self-titled record is out now on Finest Quality. You should be able to find it on KlickTrack.

Stuck On A Dirty Sole

The video for the single “Foolish Boy”

New video from Anna Järvinen for her single “Kom Hem”

At any given time Lothar may have as many as 5 guitars up on stage. You can hear the result on these two demo’s. Swirling, buzzy, chunky, fuzzy, slashing guitars fight for dominance against Nathaly’s vocals. Think a heavier Cranberries or a more abrasive sound than The concretes.

Our Days Will Pass
Montgolfier

The making of the debut album from Detekivbyrän, Pt. 2:

The Higher Elevations have released their new single called “Breaking The News”. This song has a slight 60’s garage sound but also brings to mind the grandeur of the euro-rock of The Chameleons and The Stranglers.

The album from which it comes, The Protestant Work Ethic, is out digitally on But is it Art? and physically on Time For Action.

Breaking The News

Welcome visitors from Australia. Like the article in the Courier Mail said, you won’t find much in the way of popular Swedish pop or rock here. Instead what you’ll find here at Swedesplease is some of the plethora of undiscovered independent artists that Sweden produces. We link to only free and legal music, so no guilt involved (and no we didn’t break the band Shout Out Louds).

Anyway, just wanted to welcome you in person. Check out my other mp3 blog - the rootsy Americana site Songs:Illinois.

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Paper’s been around for years as a side project but they claim to be finally getting their act together. Through an arrangement with Novoton their new ep will be released through that label and digitally through the Swedish digital store - Klicktrak.

The new 4-track EP is called This Is To Her and is available this week. The band used to stick primarily to the garage rock of the 60’s but of late they have a more shoegazey/late 80’s Europunk sound (reminiscent of early Gang of Four, The Fall, Echo and The Bunneymen etc). I’m liking the single “To Her”; hope you enjoy it as well.

To Her

I just watched this piece on human sex trafficking between the Czech Republic and England. It’s pretty depressing. There are elements in the song “Easy Heart” from Sebastian Fors that remind me of that piece. For instance the line…..”if the price is right, can I be yours tonight” delivered in a very Wilcoesque way seems to hint at this very idea (even if its unintentional).

I’ve been a booster of Sebastian Fors since I first wrote about him back in 2006 (here and here) but it’s been months since I’ve heard from him. The good news is he’s just back from a trip to Egypt and he has just released his new EP.

“Easy Heart” is the centerpiece with its dynamic shifts and its at times warbled vocals and at times screamed vocals. The story of a man with a whole lot of shit in his life hoping to escape his troubles and flee with the girl he loves is fairly rote, but here, with Sebastian’s emotive vocals and lyrics, it works wonders.

There are more songs from the new EP online at Sebastian’s MySpace and news of the EP’s official release should come soon.

Easy Heart

Baby Blond And The Downs have made the difficult move from a netlabel to an actual label. They have just released their new CD, Hope Is Dope, on the Spanish label Moonpalace Records and it’s a limited run of 100 copies. I’m hard-pressed to give you an accurate description of the band’s music as they mix electronics with brooding vocals and organic instrumentation and distorted stray guitar riffs. The key element in the band’s future success is the quality of the duets between the two lead vocalists - Anders and Erica. The band is based in the musical hotbed of Malmö.

RIYL Nick Cave, Cocteau Twins, and moody krautrock. Buy the new ep here.

Amish

In case you missed it, the new video from Ida Maria for the song “Drive Away My Heart”. Plus a preview of her next video for “Stella”.

To me the video for “Drive Away…” is too linear, I’d rather have something more along the lines of a live concert or something more abstract. The song too seems over-written as well. But it’s Ida Maria for God’s sake!

“Drive Away My Heart”

“Stella”

I’ve been a pretty vocal, adamant and unrelenting proponent of Ida Maria’s music since the first time I heard it. But this takes the cake. To share with you her new video for her “hit” song “Oh My God” I had to create a You Tube account and upload it myself. Problem was the .mov file I had of the single wouldn’t upload so I’ve been checking You Tube off and on for two weeks waiting for the video for “Oh My God!” to pop and it finally has. The video’s pretty simple but certainly hints at the raw live energy Ida Maria is said to deliver live. Enjoy below!

But first, the original demo version of “Forgive Me”

Forgive Me

“Oh My God!”

How’s this for rather innocuous indie rock from Sweden. Will these guys light the world on fire with this insipid, generic, indie-rock light? The BlueKicks are a 4 piece from Gothenberg, these two songs are from their brand new single. Although it may seem like I don’t like them from that introductory sentence, after several listens I’ve found the single to be quite catchy.

Louise
Deep In The Snow

Do they surf in Sweden? Apparently they do, but it sure looks cold. Anyway they do have surf music and for my 2 cents Maeds Dominos may be the pre-eminent Swedish surf rock band. Maybe that’s not saying much, but from the number of surfy bands listed in their MySpace friends section it may be a surprising compliment.

These two instrumentals capture the cascading wave action of the ocean as well as any I’ve heard from Dick Dale and company. Enjoy these two and hang ten!

La Strada de Muerte
Puto Camello de Mierde

Surfing In Sweden - A Dramadocumentary

If all else fails click here.