Gold...

What has been a really great day started in the perhaps best possible way, when I found epic new track Gold by The Boombox Hearts in the mailbox this morning. Completely new to me it wasn’t, as I had heard it once before, when they played their debut concert at Copenhagen Popfest (pic), and I do remember thinking back then; “wow this is great”. And having heard the studio version I’m still thinking exactly the same, though using something more superlative than “great” is tempting. I’m having some difficulties catching the lyrics, but according to the band the song is a wee bit sad and dominated as it is by the twang guitar sound (reminiscing Chris Isaak) as well as getting support from a beautiful cello, it does indeed have a melancholic feel to it. Gold is the first appetizer from a 5-track EP that is said to be in the making and which hopefully will be out some time later this year.
+ Gold

Sweden's Irene shares a brand new demo track named The Catcher in the Rye. Found via the twitter account of Acid House Kings, so cannot really tell if it's a sign of more things to come! Hmmm - more information (in Swedish) and download link can be found here.

New Danish management & booking agency (and blog) Catching Paper Planes talks to Entakt frontman Jonas Villumsen about his new solo project as well as the future of the band. And quite a few other things as well!
+ Kunsten At Slippe Taget

Check out lovely new single Jimmy Had a Polaroid by Math and Physics Club. Taken from the forthcoming album I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do, which is now available for preordering from the Matinée shop.
+ Jimmy Had a Polaroid

All I want for...

Finally it’s December; the month of Christmas. And finally the day has arrived where it’s completely ok to start posting Christmas songs and (more importantly) share my wishlist for Christmas. And kicking off with the later, I do think my wishes are once again very modest and reasonable, as the list has been trimmed down to include just one thing; Keira Knightley! Who, when I think of it, has been the only “thing” on my yearly wishlist for the past many years! But despite my humble wish, I have a nagging feeling than I’m in for yet another disappointment. Oh well, you can’t get everything you wish for, I suppose?

So let’s stick to the Christmas tunes instead, and regarding the posting of those, it will be business as usual. Meaning that this will be the one and only Christmas post, which I intend to update (and bump to the top of the page) whenever there are some great Christmas tunes (old or new) to share. This hopefully means that other blogposts published during December will be without any Christmas content whatsoever! I do like Christmas, but too much of anything is never a good thing!

+ Liam and Me - Winter Paradise (I Miss You This Christmas)
The main reason for why I’ve been impatiently waiting for December to begin. I love this song and it’s a huge guilty pleasure, which always makes me feel terribly stupid, when I’m listening to it during the summer. But now, for the next 24 days, I can listen to it as much as I like (and that’s exactly what I intend to do), without feeling the slightest bit of guilt!

+ One Weekly Gun – One Xmas Song
Sadly the “gun” has been rather quiet this year, but last year did end with a serious “bang”, when this glorious track oozing of Christmas was published.

+ Tiger Baby – This Christmas
This chilly electro pop tune is another seasonal favorite despite being a somewhat depressing reminder that Christmas isn’t necessarily such a wonderful time for everyone.

+ Remington Super 60 - Here Comes Christmas
If the previous track made you loose the Christmas spirit, this indie pop gem should immediately get you back on track!

+ Irene - Christmas on the Beach
As I wrote last year; "Just imagine celebrating Christmas on the beach. This is probably what it would sound like!"

+ TIAC - It's Christmas But Not For You
Another beauty and another one to remind us all that Christmas can be a rough time for lots of people.

+ Champagne Riot - Xmas Safari
According to the duo they have tried to add a twist of Bach as well as some easy-listening Burt Bacharach to the typical Champagne Riot sound on this year's Christmas single. Die they succeed? Surprised by the number of not so cheerful Christmas tunes included in this mix!

+ Champagne Riot - December Slopes
Last year's Christmas track by Champagne Riot, which was recorded back when the duo was a one-man project. Originally included on the Cloudberry Records release Last Train To Christmas.

Stream if you like...

Andreas of blog favorite Celestial is in a new band/project called Northern Fields. Unfortunately it's only possible to stream the tracks, but the four songs all sound very promising.

Irene has uploaded their new single to myspace. It will be released August 1 as a free download single, but until then it's "streaming only". The band's new album will be released September 12 on Labrador (of course).

Labrador 100

Labrador (probably my favorite label) has made 4 tracks from the forthcoming 4 CD-box set Labrador 100 available as free downloads. You can see the entire tracklist and download a few more tracks as well over at Last.fm.
+ Club 8 - We're simple minds
+ Acid House Kings - Say yes if you love me
+ Tribeca - Her breasts were still small
+ Irene - Waterfront

Christmas on the Beach

Here it is. The short and sweet Christmas single from Swedish indie pop surfers Irene.
+ Christmas on the Beach

Du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du

The new single from Swedish band Irene called Little Things (That Tear Us Apart) is available from the Labrador webpage. Described as "Bob Dylan on a Surpremes diet"! 2 minutes long (or short) and very catchy!!
+ Little Things (That Tear Us Apart)

Last weekend Danish band The New Brand finished second in the Emergenza Music Festival (ending a measly 2 points behind the winner), but their song Highly Addictive was voted best original song.
+ Highly Addictive

Peter over at Schallgrenzen is pretty high on Irish band alternative rock band Suddyn. If you listen to Drowning Souls by the band, who in their own words sound like a blend of Muse, Radiohead and Foo Fighters, it's not that difficult to understand why!
+ Drowning Souls

Said the Gramophone has a fantastic post on Temptation by New Order. That song is at least a thousand years old, but still one of the very best!

I've just added a link in the right column to Hello! Surprise! a guide to Swedish pop music.