Copenhagen Noise

Waiting for a letter I know will never get here

2011-11-23T00:30:00.001+01:00

Falling in love is a difficult thing. Take Roxanne from Veronica Falls, she fell in love with a ghost on Found Love in a Graveyard. That can't be easy surely. And then there's me... I'm smitten with Roxanne, but she lives in London and... you know... doesn't know me and all (details details). But still, sheesh, how cool are you allowed to be?

Oh yeah, the music... The music's all kinds of great too with really strong tunes and that faded, ramshackle C86 feel that I'm so fond of (think Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, etc.). It's twee, but without being overly saccharine. So far Bad Feeling is my immediate favourite with the way-too-catchy chorus, the surf-y guitar and the fey almost apathetic delivery of the lines; "I've got a bad feeling and it's not going away". What's not to love?

Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling

... call me...

Let Me Tell You About This Country Shit

2011-06-08T01:26:00.000+02:00

The remix of Big K.R.I.T.'s Country Shit has somehow managed to be better than the original. A song that to start with was pretty great. There's a lot more bass in the remix, which makes it a lot bouncier and adds that extra bit of grit.

I'm also loving this couplet from Ludacris: "No insurance on these whips, tags all outdated/ I might not be shit to you, but my mamma thinks I made it"

Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada

2011-06-07T22:09:00.002+02:00

G-funk synths over crunked out snare hits this is a summer jam. Kreayshawn is bound to blow up soon and we’re all better for it.

Swag.

[I've started blogging at Sans Moustache, so this is a double post]

Me And Your Friends We Run This Town

2011-06-05T23:35:00.002+02:00

WU LYF (short for World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation) do tribal power pop and they sure do it well. Noisy and ugly yet somehow beautiful, this is what I imagine it would sound like if Yeasayer and SALEM got together and had a musical love (hate?) child.

"World Unite - Love You Forever"

WU LYF - DIRT

WU LYF - DIRT from LUCIFER YOUTH FOUNDATION on Vimeo.

Crunchy Frog Podcast #3

2011-06-05T00:40:00.007+02:00

The third installment of the Crunchy Frog Podcast hosted by yours truly. BAM!

From the Crunchy B-log

"It's podcasting time!, as we're back with our third episode. This time around it's an Icelandic special in the honour of our new signing: Apparat Organ Quartet. Crunchy Frog's resident Icelander, Thor, joins in and waxes poetic about some of Iceland's finest, while Johann Johannson from Apparat Organ Quartet also comes in for a chat about the group and their forthcoming album, Polýfónía.

Njótid Vel!

Intro: The Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy)
FM Belfast - Underwear
Sigur Rós - Flugufrelsarinn
S.H. Draumur - Öxnadalsheiði
Mugison - Murr Murr
Johann Johannson - The Cause of Labour is the Hope of the World
Apparat Organ Quartet - Romantika
Apparat Organ Quartet - Konami (Radio Edit)
Björk - Unravel
Outro: The Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy)

Don't Wanna Lose You

2011-05-26T01:31:00.004+02:00

Austra's album, Feel It Break, is synth pop at it's best. Full of the high drama that makes Zola Jesus interesting, but in a Knife-y setting. A setting that with its icy stabs of synth and rumbling bass perfectly matches Katie Stelmanis' incredible voice. The album is one great song after another, but the two singles, Lose It and The Beat and the Pulse, are along with opener Darken Her Horse definite high points, and in themselves more than reason enough for you to go out and buy the album. Great stuff.

Austra - The Beat and the Pulse

Austra The Beat & The Pulse

Austra - Lose It

Sidebar: Best looking band right now? I say yes.

I Don't Want To Lose Track

2011-05-24T00:09:00.000+02:00

Hawaii is the standout track on No Joy's album, Ghost Blonde, and sounds like a great mix of JAMC noise pop and Sonic Youth punk-ish indie rock. There's also something about the mix that really appeals to me. It's muddy in all the right ways with the drums all groovy and up in your face to begin with, but then almost completely drowned out once the fuzz and noise of the guitar kicks in. I love it.

No Joy - Hawaii

No Joy - Hawaii

Under a World of Sound, Hold Her and Hold Her

2011-05-23T23:58:00.002+02:00

I've been off my blogging game of late due to thesis, work and Big Oil, but I'll try to get back to my old blogging ways soon again. In the meantime, here are the best songs of the moment.

Hooray for Earth - True Loves

Hooray For Earth - True Loves from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.

Wild Beasts - End Come Too Soon

I cannot recommend the Wild Beasts' album enough by the way. It is without a doubt my favourite of the year so far and simply bursting with beauty. A fantastic album.

Olie Pop #2

2011-04-20T00:29:00.001+02:00

A more natural progression to the mix this time around, but with a similar sound and feel to Olie Pop #1. The songs all share a haunting yet beautiful sound, which I find compliments each other really well.

Olie Pop #2 by Oil Gang

Track-by-Track
Autechre - Altibzz
Grouper - Little Boat Bone Dance Audrey
Laura Drescher - MIDNIGHTDANCER
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX - Home
Radiohead - The Butcher
Cat's Eyes - The Best Person I Know

Choice Quote: Thom Yorke going "He's a warrior, a warrior/ He's a little bitch coming out of here" on The Butcher. Passive aggression really suits him.

Crunchy Frog Podcast #2

2011-04-19T00:08:00.001+02:00

Music of the crunchiest calibre and banter galore - The Frog is podcasting again! On our sophomore podcast yours truly talks pre-SXSW so you can hear it post- SXSW. There's also talks with none other than Mr. Ritchie Attack (of Thee Attacks of course) and the return of Yebo.

From the Crunchy B-log

"We're back! This podcast was actually recorded prior to teh SXSW festival in early march, but is just now available for your listenning pleasure!

This month Andreas welcomes Ritchie Attack and Yebo for discussions about SXSW - and as usual he plays a lot of sweet sweet music. Listen up!

The Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy) [Intro edit]
Lars and the Hands of Light - Hey My Love, Hey Love
Thee Attacks - Love in the City
Smith Westerns - Weekend
Twin Shadow - Slow
The Vaccines - Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)
The Flaming Lips - Race for the Prize
Junior Senior - Take My Time
The Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy) [Outro edit]"

Olie Pop #1

2011-04-13T13:28:00.002+02:00

Trying my hand at mixing again. It's been a while so not perfectly mixed, but it will improve (promise). In short, taste over technique.

Olie Pop #1 by oilgang

Track-by-Track
Washed Out - Track 07
Matthewdavid - Group Tea (feat. Flying Lotus)
John Maus - Do Your Best
[Snippet] Sleep ∞ Over - Casual Diamond (Laurel Halo Remix)
Flag White - Your Heart Beats Mine, My Heartbeat's Yours
Breton - Counter Balance
Radiohead - Lotus Flower
Britney Spears - How I Roll
Hodgy Beats - Mystery

Someone Is Always Late

2011-03-31T00:37:00.003+02:00

Dear Strokes,
Call Me Back is one of the most interesting and beautiful songs you have written in years. More of this please. Thanks.

The Strokes - Call Me Back

Sometimes Time's So Slow

2011-03-31T00:21:00.002+02:00

Just got back from SxSW and it was awesome. I mean, what is not to love about 32 degrees celsius, $2 margaritas and great music all over and all the time? Come to think about it, I don't know why I left.

Kinda sad I missed this though...

Twin Shadow - Slow

Then again, impossible to catch everything and I did get to see Wanda Jackson and she is awesome. 72 years old and still rocking it.

Wanda Jackson - Hard Headed Woman

Baloji Est Ton Nom

2011-03-03T02:06:00.002+01:00

Gritty and awesome. Funky and undeniably African. Great hiphop.

Baloji feat Konono n 1 - Karibu ya bintou

And what a video. Damn!

Jeg Har Det For Vildt

2011-03-03T01:55:00.002+01:00

"Narkoman Jeg stjæler dit lort
Stikker mig i halsen
Nu jeg herre syg
Jeg har det for sygt"

'nuff said.

ThunderChrist - Jeg Har Det For Vildt

The Crunchy Frog Podcast

2011-03-01T14:12:00.003+01:00

My podcasting debut has finally arrived! As part of my (awesome) day job at Crunchy Frog and Crunchy Tunes I have become host of their new monthly podcast. It was a blast making it, so hopefully that comes across.

Via the Crunchy Blog

"Yes sheople, the rumours are true! We are branching out in our quest for total airwave domination and now have a monthly podcast via the kind people at Euradio Nantes. Informative yet entertaining, the Crunchy Frog Podcast will bring you the finest in musical recordings and on- air banter.

The first episode can be streamed or downloaded below and is hosted by Andreas (the regular host and male prostitute) and guested by Yebo (the boss). So go ahead and listen to us wax poetic about the music we love, interview Powersolo at their release party and play some tracks we recorded at said release party. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Tracklist:
Intro: Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy)
Powersolo - Teach You Fun
The Fresh and Onlys - Waterfall
The Dirtbombs - Underdog
Earl Sweatshirt - EARL
The Malpractice - Boss Stallion
Lars and the Hands of Light - Me Me Me (Laidback Remix)
The Pixies - Bone Machine
Thee Attacks - Are You?
Powersolo - The Rither (Live at Bakken)
Powersolo - Hear My Plea (Live at Bakken)
Powersolo - I Love You But I Hate You (Live at Bakken)
Outro: Tremolo Beer Gut - Tahonga Lounge Baby (Most Groovy)"

Best Songs of 2010

2011-02-28T00:13:00.010+01:00

[Important note: As always, song titles link to video]

1. Glasser – Apply
Apply was the standout track from Glasser's debut album, Ring, and it still wins every time I hear it. The song opens with a huge sounding carnival drum rhythm and a deep imposing synth. It would be easy for a singer to get lost in this cacophony, but not here. Here it only serves as the perfect backdrop for Cameron Mesirow's siren-meets-jungle-queen vocals. She dominates the song and oozes the sort of confidence and strength that it demands, but at the same conveys a sense of intimacy and grace. The final result is a fantastic song that gets better for every listen.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;'&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

2. HEALTH - USA BOYS
Die Slow indicated a less nihilistic approach to crafting music and a greater focus on melody for HEALTH, and on USA BOYS the noisy pop sound is perfected. The song opens with a roar- like synth and then grooves along with a fantastic beat, consisting of hiphop- style programmed drums, a stuttering synth and a warm yet booming bass. On top of that you then have the trademark airy and shoegaze-y vocals, which gives the song an ethereal feel despite the loudness. Add it all together and you have one of the best pop (I use the term loosely) songs of 2010.

3. Here We Go Magic - Casual
Beautiful in its fragility, “Casual” grooves with a soft yet commanding drum and a propulsive bass that belies how breezy the song actually is. Constantly ascending, layer upon layer of synth, acoustic guitar and other effects are added on top as the song builds and finally peaks with a swirling guitar at the 3:45 mark. In the middle of all this lush orchestration you have Luke Temple softly singing “It’s Casual /Not Heartbreaking /Just Casual /Not Mind Shaking”, leaving it lyrically very open to interpretation. Is it about the end of a relationship or maybe even about abortion? I don't know, but whatever meaning you attach to the words, there is no doubt that this is a truly beautiful song.

4. Four Tet - Love Cry
Love Cry was the go- to song last year whenever I needed a mental break. The song is built around a pulsing and quite funky drum break yet possesses a very meditative quality. The song slowly builds over its 9 minutes and 13 seconds with small stabs of synth and acoustic guitar licks, but never wanders off course. It is this sense of perpetual motion that I find it incredibly relaxing. There is a fine art to sounding like something could just go on forever without being boring or aimless, and Four Tet hits the nail on the head with this gem of a song.

5. Fresh and Onlys - Waterfall
If there was to be made a manual on how to write a garage pop song, you need look no further than Waterfall. Once the song kicks off it never let’s go or even slows down, it just grooves along with the by far strongest melody of last year(in my humble opinion). A song so great you will never get tired of listening to it.

6. Caribou - Odessa
7. Drake - Karaoke
8. Beach House - Walk In the Park
9. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
10. Deerhunter - Desire Lines
11. Earl Sweatshirt - EARL
12. Janelle Monae - Faster
13. James Blake - Limit To Your Love
14. Kanye West - Monster (Feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)
15. Harlem - Someday Soon
16. Warpaint - Undertow
17. White Hinterland - Icarus
18. Gorillaz - Empire Ants
19. Gauntlet Hair - I Was Just Thinking
20. The Samps - F.N.X.C.

Honourable Mentions (Aplphabetic Order):
Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round, ARMS - Emily Sue, Pt 2, Big K.R.I.T. - Children of the World, Born Ruffians - Sole Brother, Broken Bells - The High Road, Count & Sinden - After Dark (feat. Mystery Jets), Diamond Rings - Something Else, Foals - Spanish Sahara, Gil Scott- Heron - New York Is Killing Me, Golden Triangle – Jinx, How to Dress Well & cokc dokc - Ready For the World, Japandroids - Younger Us, Jay Electronica - Exhibit C, Jessica Lea Mayfield - Our Hearts Are Wrong, Katy B - Katy On A Mission, Kenton Slash Demon – Sun, Laura Marling - Alpha Shallows, Les Savy Fav - Let's Get Out Of Here, Male Bonding - Year's Not Long, Owen Pallet - A Man With No Ankles, Robyn - Dancing On My Own, Society of Rockets – We, The Soft Pack – Answer to Yourself, Suckers - Black Sheep, Tame Impala - Solitude is Bliss, Tennis – Marathon, Tensnake - Coma Cat, The Mantles - Lily Never Married, These New Puritans - Hologram (Salem Remix), These New Puritans - Three Thousand, Twin Shadow – Slow, Twin Sister - All Around and Away We Go, Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work, Tyler, the Creator – Bastard, Wacka Flocka Flame - Hard in da Paint, Wavves - Post- Acid, Wild Nothing – Chinatown, Women – Eyesore, Woodsman – Serfer, Yeasayer – O.N.E., Zola Jesus - I Can't Stand

Jag Kommer

2011-02-27T18:19:00.001+01:00

Not to be one of those that get all up in arms over similarities in songs (who cares really?), but just as an observation the new Veronica Maggio single Jag Kommer sounds a lot like Reptilia (@ 1:14) by The Strokes. I'm a huge fan of the latter, so I can see why one would take inspiration from that song, and the Maggio single is quite decent - catchy and the sexual undertones are almost funny. But still, it's pretty darn close, right?

Veronica Maggio - Jag Kommer

The Strokes - Reptilia

Present Company, The Best That You Can Find

2011-02-25T12:21:00.001+01:00

This is just great. Not just another Muppets video for LCD Soundsystem, but a Muppets video to one of my favorite songs from last year. What is not to love here?

LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean

He's Lost Control

2011-02-23T20:12:00.000+01:00

As covers go this is pretty great. Strike that, as songs go this is pretty great. It's not exactly better than the original (really, what is?), but it does however bring something new to the table. It has that eerie and haunting tone, which is perfect for the lyrics, but in a new electronic almost dance-y setting. Couple that with the B/W video and you have something which is beautifully luring yet discomforting in the best way possible. Great stuff.

Spoek Mathambo - Control

Best Albums of 2010

2011-02-13T23:44:00.002+01:00

Another year has passed and it is time for a look back at what was a great year in musical terms. I've tried to list it in the order of what I've enjoyed the most over the course of the year, and what I imagine I will return to the most in the future.

Unfortunately, I can't listen to everything (hard as I may try), and there are a number of albums I know I will love once I get them, but have yet to get my filthy hands on. Specifically I’m thinking of Caribou's Swim, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's Before Today, These New Puritans' Hidden, Women’s Public Strain, and Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker. That said, it's been a great year and there will always be music that I'll miss out on, so enough on that and on to the important stuff…

Best Albums of 2010
1. Beach House - Teen Dream
On Teen Dream, Beach House perfected the hazy indie pop sound that they had shown on their first two albums, making my pick for number one easy. There had always been a dreamy quality to Beach House’s music, but on Teen Dream that quality is fleshed out and used to its full potential. Victoria Legrand’s vocals are as before soulful and intense like few others can, but here drawn to the front where it should be. Throughout the album she sounds at once fragile and strong among Alex Scala’s swirling guitars and her own reverb- drenched organ. The album was and is perfect for the quiet mornings, dreamy afternoons and late nights, where you can allow yourself to be transported to another place.

2. Harlem – Hippies
Hippies is simply put, great garage rock. Better yet, it is great songwriting made to sound effortless. That said, there is an incredible tightness to the careless sound, so it never seems lack effort. Someday Soon is the song that perfectly sums up the album, with lyrics about not wanting to put out a friend on fire, a great hook, and a breakdown that brilliantly features an almost stumbling guitar. It’s ramshackle in the best way possible, and that feel continues throughout making it, to me, the feel- good album of the year.

3. Four Tet - There Is Love In You
There Is Love In You is not your ordinary electronic album. The music sounds and feels organic, with its live drumming and great use of vocal samples. Love Cry is a brilliant example, as he builds the whole song around a pulsing drum break, onto which he adds a chopped vocal sample, synths, acoustic guitar and what appears to be the sound of an old 56k modem. The song has an almost zen- like quality, and in this way, TILIY has become my go-to album for taking breaks. The music is clean and perfect for moments where you need to clear your head.

4. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Quieter than Microcastle/ Weird Era Continued, but equally great, Halcyon Digest has underlined Deerhunter’s status as one of the best bands around right now. Bradford Cox has always been the leader, but here the best song – the fantastic Desire Lines - was written and sung by guitarist Lockett Pundt, showing that the group is all talent. In the end it comes down to the songs, and here they’re all great without exception.

5. Janelle Monae - The Arch Android
The Arch Android is both a brilliant r’n’b/soul album and the story of Cindi Merryweather - an android sent to the future city of Metropolis to save us all. Sci- fi storyline aside this is an album littered with great pop songs and it is beyond me that songs like Cold War, Faster and Tightrope did not make more of a chart impact. In any case, on The Arch Android Janelle Monae has managed to perfect the sound of modern funk and R’n’B, by clearly drawing on the old school á la James Brown (right down to the cape- wearing), and combined it with the more modern hiphop sound á la Outkast. A superb album.

6. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
7. Earl Sweatshirt - EARL
8. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
9. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
10. Warpaint - The Fool
11. Spoon - Transference
12. Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
13. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Nightmare
14. The Walkmen - Lisbon
15. Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz
16. Vampire Weekend - Contra
17. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
18. Gorillaz - Plastic Island
19. Foals - Total Life Forever
20. Tyler, the Creator - Bastard

Best Danish Album Of 2010

The Malpractice - Tectonics
Heavily biased on this one, but it really is excellent and, in my humble opinion, by far the best Danish album of 2010. If I were to put it in my overall list then it would definitely make the Top 10 - I just don't know who I would take out, so I'll chicken out and do this special mention instead.

Honourable Mentions (Alphabetic Order)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today, Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot, Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils, Caribou – Swim, CFCF - The River, Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II), Girl Talk - All Day, Glasser – Ring, Good Shoes - No Hope No Future, Gonjasufi - A Sufi & A Killer, MGMT – Congratulations, Mystery Jets – Serotonin, The National - High Violet, No Age - Everything In Between, Tame Impala – Innerspeaker, Twin Shadow – Forget, Women - Public Strain, Yeasayer - Odd Blood

We Tried Each Other, Let's Try Another

2011-02-13T20:08:00.001+01:00

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have developed their sound and I love it. Gone is the C86 sound, and instead we get noisy rock that sounds like everything that was great about 90's grunge and post- grunge. I love how underneith the heavily distorted and really quite heavy riff there's a beautiful melody and a chorus just made for singing (/shouting) along to.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong by Slumberland Records

This is just perfect in every single way.

January Lag Is Almost Over

2011-01-30T21:42:00.000+01:00

A bit of a hectic January is soon over and I will (finally) post my Best of 2010 lists in the coming week. In the meantime I bid you a bit of Vacuum Boogie. It is music that fits somewhere in the spectrum between deep house, chilled out dubstep and pure awesomeness.

Floating Points - Vacuum Boogie

I Used To Think That The Day Would Never Come

2011-01-09T01:43:00.001+01:00

One of the best decisions I've made recently was to buy Human League's Dare and New Order's Substance. Jam- packed with some of the best pop ever, these records really are must- haves. Buy them - your life will be better for it. Fact.

Human League - Love Action (I Believe In Love)

New Order - True Faith

And Then They Drop

2011-01-02T00:01:00.000+01:00

I know I've already talked way too much about Odd Future and Earl Sweatshirt, but seriously they are pretty awesome:

"Tell your bitch to stop complaining about her achy tits/ Her body is a temple - well, I don't give a fuck I'm atheist"

Swag.

Earl Sweatshirt - Drop

Sound of 2011

2010-12-30T17:11:00.010+01:00

It is the end of the year and as always I scramble towards the goal line with my predictions for the next big thing(s). I've completely missed my deadline (read: damn you BBC!), but then again that seems to happen every year – an unfortunate side- effect from being slow. Therefore, this time around I present more of rundown of what I think could do well next year critically, chart- wise or even both. So without further ado…

THE CPHNOISE SOUND OF 2011

Jessie J
Clare Maguire
James Blake

The Vaccines

Sky Ferreira

Starsmith
MNDR
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
Jai Paul
Yadi

The order is arbritrary, but by all accounts it seems as if Jessie J and Clare Maguire are the ones whom the most believe in, thus they top mine as well – like a lemming one has to follow the masses.

James Blake, Jessie J, Clare Maguire, The Vaccines and Jai Paul all figure on the BBC list, for obvious reasons: They're either pretty damn good (Jai Paul, James Blake), have lots of hype (The Vaccines) or they have the hits in the wings (Jessie J, Clare Maguire).

I'm surprised, though, that the BBC- list didn't feature MNDR, Sky Ferreira and Starsmith as they're all artists showing tons of promise and have great pop sensibilities. MNDR has already had chart success featuring on Mark Ronson's latest album (the stand- out Bang Bang Bang) and has solid songs in her catalogue already like I Go Away. Then there’s Sky Ferreira, who is backed by such super producers as Bloodshy & Avant (Britney Spears' Toxic and of Miike Snow- fame) and her single Obsession could be a hit (at least that's what me thinks) - the video sure has enough weirdness to grab people's attention. Finally, Starsmith produced most of Ellie Goulding’s debut album (including her hit Starry Eyed) and has been the subject of much hype since. Really, they all seemed like shoo-ins.

Finally there's OFWGKTA and Yadi. Odd Future released some the best hip hop music, if not best music, last year, and Tyler, the Creator - head producer and leader of the gang - is expected to drop his first real album (not counting Bastard) next year. With their track- record from this year, I have high expectations from this bunch of mostly 18-19 year-olds. Yadi, on the other hand, produces great massive pop songs and is backed by Neon Gold, who have a knack and proven track- record of uncovering the stars of tomorrow (from Passion Pit to Ellie Goulding). Thus these are my picks for the sound of 2011.

And for just for the hell of it, here are the rest...

THE TOO LONG LIST
Bright Light Bright Light
Esben and the Witch
Fiction
Egyptian Hip Hop
The Naked and the Famous
Cults
DOM
MEN
Starslinger
Hooray for Earth
Sunday Girl
Alex Winston
Kimbra
Jamie Woon

Sidebar: I’ve left out Warpaint on purpose, because – really – they have already released their debut album (featured on many Best of 2010 lists) and been on the cover of NME. For me they are a 2010 band – a great one too -, and I just don't see 2011 being much bigger for them.

So Much To Give, So Much We'll Never Hear

2010-12-07T00:28:00.000+01:00

I've been criticesed for having the tenacity to dare to write about music that people have already heard off. I have let my core audience down and I'm terribly sorry for this neglect. Worry not though, I present you with a choice selection of three wilfully obscure songs and one with a whiff of being on the cusp of indie- stardom (I dapple in oxymorons too). Basically, I'm saying that Twin Shadow are on the doorstep of the garden path to the house of near-obscurity to the greater public, but near to the hearts of the select indie-navel-gazing-pitchfork-reading few - I heart you Twin Shadow!

The New Division - Starfield

Starfield is an instant winner, with its sharp trickling synth and melodramatic yet distant vocals. More than anything though, it is carried by the heavy and meaty bass - a bass that will echo in your head for days. There really isn't that much else to say. Enjoy.

Chad Valley - Ensoniq Funk

Looping wood- block sounds opens Ensoniq Funk and from then on it explodes into full chill- wave goodness. It somehow manages to sound like the perfect song for a summer barbecue, but also like a warm hug of a pop song during these wintery cold months. Listening to it is like hearing a fantastic 80's pop song (full of synth horn- and string stabs) played through a broken car speaker far away. It's that magic quality of chill wave, where you instantly invoke a nostalgic sound and feeling even though you have no real previous ties to the music.

Fiction - Phyllis

Trustworthy sources tell me that Fiction have consistently been one of the best live band in London over the past year, so no faint praise there. Their music nods heavily in the direction of Talking Heads, but with a bit of the synth-y weirdness that made Late of the Pier interesting. Phyllis is a playful little tune with an afro- beat guitar, a bouncing bass- line, lots of rim taps and some of that previously mentioned synth-y weirdness. FUN!

Twin Shadow & Hooray For Earth - A Place We Like

By all means this should be a pop smash. First of all there is the bass and kick drum combo, which screams dance (dance!), on top of that there are flute-y synths, hand claps and Spanish guitar (!). Everything that should be cheesy and wrong is put together and just works. However, what really gets me is the blissfully happy chorus. If you don't smile when you hear this, then you're dead inside. Literally (figuratively).

There Is Something In My Mind

2010-11-28T02:42:00.004+01:00

Glasser - Apply

Apply is the standout track from Glasser's debut album, Ring, and is without a doubt one of this year's best songs. It all boils down to how the tribal drum rhythm perfectly matches Cameron Mesirow's siren-meets-jungle-queen vocals. I was hooked from the very first listen.

Picture Plane - Goth Star

I've known Pictureplane for a while, but never really listened to his music. Big mistake on my part. His music is noisy and poppy in the best possible way, so no wonder HEALTH are fans (they actually covered this song the last time they played in Copenhagen). The mashing of Fleetwood Mac's Seven Wonders with the pulsing synth and hard marching drums all combines to this beast of a song. I simply can't get enough of it.

Earl Sweatshirt - Couch (feat. Tyler, The Creator)

The beat is swag and the lyrics are crass. Definitely not for the sensitive and/or political correct, these are teenagers rapping about rape, murder, drugs and everything in between. There's a really sinister (and slightly juvenile) sense of humor and a hell of lot of creativity going on with these guys. My favorite bits are when the piano sample and distorted bass kick in (first time at 0:34), the "clitoris of Kelly Clarkson's dick"- line, and the pitched- down "stab him" at 3:04. It's so wrong that it's... well, still wrong, but also kind of funny and pretty damn great.

Keeping It Classy

2010-11-28T01:38:00.001+01:00

I just thought I'd introduce you to the background on my desktop. Classy.

Sidebar: Gaga puts phone on head, Perry lactates... Bieber, your move.

030

2010-09-30T21:49:00.002+02:00

Incredibly NSFW, but definitely worth it.

The Good The Bad - 030

... The song is pretty damn great too.

She Painted Pictures With The Tips Of Her Fingers

2010-09-28T00:58:00.002+02:00

Tokyo Police Club - Bambi

The synth, with its distorted yet organic sound, is a real show stealer here. It's pure ear candy, and when combined with TPC's knack for making catchy-as-heck songs, you have a real winner. Never ones to do Sigúr Ros- style epics, they keep the song at the perfect pop song length of less than three minutes and, as the saying goes, the best things come in small packages.

Let Me Love You Down, Even If It Takes All Nite

2010-09-26T23:43:00.002+02:00

Summer blogging hiatus / holiday ended up a bit longer than expected, but I'm back in business. To start things off here are two songs that represent everything that can be great about R'n'B. A little negative space goes a long way.

Me'Shell N'degeocello - Love You Down [via Nehru Jackets]

Aaliyah - We Need A Resolution (feat. Timberland)

I'm Just Having Fun With You

2010-06-10T17:35:00.003+02:00

I have a feeling that Wavves' King of the Beach will be the soundtrack of this summer (or at least a big part of it)... Like Cool Jumper before it, new single, Post Acid, is hella good!*

Wavves - Post Acid

* Get it? Get it?

Hell Is Around The Corner

2010-06-10T01:36:00.001+02:00

With an exam coming up friday (yikes!), my playlist of late has been dominated by music with a relaxing quality to it. Two songs in particular have been on near- constant rotation over past few days, and they are Hell Is Around The Corner and Electric Relaxation. They are the sort of songs that make you sit back, relax and, for a brief moment, forget about everything else around you. Fantastic songs with great lyrics and even better production.

Tricky - Hell Is Around The Corner

A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

With Your Voice My Belly Sunk

2010-05-29T01:27:00.002+02:00

There is a great expressive quality to Taylor Kirk’s (Timber Timbre) voice and the way he enunciates every word carefully on Demon Host. His voice conveys a palpable sense of vulnerability with the trembles and the soft moans of oh. Throughout the song he is accompanied only by acoustic guitar and piano, which makes the song a very intimate listening experience, while also complimenting the eerie ghostly feel that permeates the song.

"Oh reverend please, can I chew your ear? I have become what I most fear
and I know there is no such thing as ghosts, but I have seen the demon host"

Timber Timbre - Demon Host

Talking Like Jerk Except You Are An Actual Jerk

2010-05-20T01:29:00.009+02:00

Melancholy really suits Future Islands. The weathered and characteristic vocals of Sam Herring, oft resembled to Tom Waits, adds a lot of weight to the words. He sounds like a man who has been through the rough, and therefore, the sentiment conveyed is much stronger when he sings lyrics such as the opening line "you couldn't possibly know how much you mean to me" and the repeated "I am the tin man" on the chorus.

... I am also a sucker for the sound of steel drums.

Future Islands - Tin Man

Dance Yrself Clean surely has to be one of the best album openers of the year. Slowly grinding away for the first three minutes, with no indication of living up to the word dance in the title, it suddenly kicks you in the gut with a massive synth. It is surprising in the best possible way, and serves brilliantly to emphasise the narrative of the song. Lyrically, the song seems to deal with the experience of growing older. The feeling of somehow being past your prime and the frustration that comes along with that feeling. The lyrics are ever so well written (extract below video) and really shows what great a lyricist James Murphy is - although, we already knew that with songs like All My Friends and Someone Great.

LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean

Extract from lyrics:
(...)
Don't you want me to wake up?
Then give me just a bit of your time.
Arguments are made for make-ups,
So give it just a little more time.

We've got to bring the resources,
I'm gonna play until the time comes,
Forget your string of divorces,
Just go and throw your little hands up.

It's late, I miss the way the night comes
My friends know how to make it feel good
The basement has a cold glow,
Though better than a bunch of others…

So go and dance yourself clean,
Go and dance yourself clean, yeah,
You're blowing marxism to pieces,
Their little arguments to pieces,
(...)

I Know That You're Not Here

2010-05-18T02:04:00.001+02:00

There's an almost Beth Gibbons-like quality to the vocals on Warpaint's Elephant. It is like a shoegaze croon, which also fits extremely well with the hypnotically spiralling guitarplay. This all blends to great effect with the hazy psychedelia of the song, which, combined with the almost frenetic drumming, gives the song a striking immediacy and sexiness.

Warpaint - Elephants

Wonder What Your Boyfriend Thinks About Your Braces

2010-05-17T01:44:00.004+02:00

It has been said before, but Sleigh Bells have taken loudness to a whole new level. The mix of hardcore riffs with hiphop beats, as a concept, at first sounded like something which could be horrible, but they pull it off brilliantly. From Crown on the Ground to Rill Rill (below), Treats is going to be the loudest feel- good album of the year (or any year).

Sleigh Bells - Slayer Intro/ Tell 'Em (Live at Ridgewood Masonic Temple 11/5/10)

Slayer really is the perfect intro for this band... and now for this year's summer jam.

Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill

Dance 101: Percussions

2010-05-05T01:23:00.002+02:00

In dance music the drums are paramount as the beat is what drives the song. Too many dance artists build their songs around nothing but a repetitive bass drum, and predictably the results are horrible. Skillful programming of the beat makes a world of difference and the three songs below are great examples of just that.

Fake Blood - Fix Your Accent

Kicking off with the bongo- drum sample, which instantly makes me think of the legendary The Incredible Bongo Band, is a great way to start a fantastically fun house song. Fix Your Accent is all grooves and funk, making it a joyfully vivrant listening experience and great for the dance floor.

Another track off the Fix Your Accent EP is I Think Like It, which is definitely also worth checking out. Why? It samples '70s German all-girl disco trio Arabesque's song In the heat of a disco night. Cue awesomeness.

BURNS - So Many Nights

I was introduced to So Many Nights as bringing a new meaning to the word "funky", and it could not be any more true. There is the funky bassline, the mellow guitar sample - which just somehow works in a very uptempo song -, and then there is the drums. The percussioning is wonderfully crisp and has a great live feel to it, which just lifts the whole song.

Kenton Slash Demon - Khattabi

Kenton Slash Demon are masters of percussion and building rhythm. The bass drum is there, but instead of relying solely on it for rhythm, they have added several layers of percussion. This gives Khattabi a very organic feel, which ties in excellently with the arabian sample used.

We Are Water

2010-04-17T02:21:00.006+02:00

Having made what was ostensibly last years best video in Die Slow, HEALTH have followed up with We Are Water. A video full of blood and gore, yet stunningly beautiful in the way it is shot and edited. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth watching.

HEALTH - We Are Water

The contrast of soft-spoken vocals on top of brutal noise is so effective. Add in their knack for having actual tunes underneath all the noise, and you have the reason for why HEALTH is one of the most interesting yet oddly approachable noise bands.

And in case you have missed it (boo!)...

HEALTH - Die Slow

Are they good live?, you ask. Definitely looks like it, I say.

My Basketball Team's Name Is Gay Human Bones

2010-04-11T03:04:00.004+02:00

There is something strangely addictive about the loose almost sloppy guitarplay in Harlem's songs. It has a really happy feel to it and is perfectly suited to the nonchalant delivery of the lyrics. It sounds like they were having a lot of fun doing the song and that feeling really transcends the music. The shout-along chorus and loose-yet-tight drumming makes for great songs. Case in point; Gay Human Bones (below) and personal favorite Someday Soon.

Sidebar: Look out for a cameo from Hunx from Hunx and his Punx in the video.

Harlem - Gay Human Bones

Golden Triangle is an all- girl group, and, much in the same vein as the excellent Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls, they play garage rock with a punk and surf twist. The off- key harmonies and the apathy with which the lyrics are sung (lyrics about "hanging heads" no less) makes this an unlikely call to arms, but at the same time gives off a vibe of effortless cool.

Golden Triangle - Neon Noose

Best Albums of 2009

2010-04-07T03:18:00.012+02:00

1. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
In a year of many great albums, Two Dancers was the one that really stood out. Wild Beasts caught my attention with their debut album, but it was with this, their sophomore, that I became a fan. Admittedly, the band is very much an acquired taste with the extensive – but never excessive – use of Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto. However, I personally find that it adds both quirkiness and a lot expression to the music. Over the ten songs on the album you get the finest indie rock of 2009, with one of the best rhythm sections I have heard in a while. The bass is always sharp and bubbly, while the drumming is simply fantastic (case in point; This Is Our Lot). Wild Beasts may be an acquired taste, but what fantastic taste it is.

Wild Beasts - This Is Our Lot

2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear was all over the place this year and was – along with Phoenix – the indie break-out of the year. When you have got Jay-Z and Beyoncé singing your praises, then you know you have made it (yes, you have). This acclaim could come to no more deserving band, as the music really is fantastic. Veckatimest has no weak points and to top it off contains three of the best songs released in 2009 with While You Wait For The Others, Two Weeks and Ready, Able.

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

3 The Horrors - Primary Colours
When Sea Within A Sea was released as the first single off The Horrors' second album, Primary Colours, it was a very pleasant surprise. Gone was the horror-punk schtick of their first album and instead they treated us with some of the finest krautrock heard in years. Even better, the rest of Primary Colours did not disappoint either. The album mixes psych-rock with post-punk with brilliant results and shows a band that has matured immensely since their debut. Musically, without a doubt the best surprise of 2009.

The Horrors - Who Can Say

4 Au Revoir Simone - Still Night Still Light
Personally, I have a bit of a soft spot for Au Revoir Simone (I am smitten). There is just something so great about seeing and hearing three girls, each with their own keyboard, sing about love and love lost. But it is not just that, they also write brilliant songs with great melodies and beautiful harmonies (smitten, I tell ya). Every single song on the Still Night Still Light is a great pop song from the lush synths on opener Another Likely Story to the very organic and sparse Take Me As I Am to album closer Tell Me. From beginning to end a great album (so very smitten).

Au Revoir Simone - Shadows

5 The xx – xx
The xx draw on a lot of contemporary genres in their music, but somehow manage to sound like nothing else. The music is minimalistic indie rock with a definite R’n’B influence carrying through (underlined by their cover of Aaliyah’s Hot Like Fire). What makes the music so interesting, though, is the band's use of space in their songs. The songs are sparse and very restrained in their instrumentation, which allows for the music to sink in. It is this, which makes xx such a great and personal listening experience. In 2009 there were a lot of great debuts – several on this list even – but one was just a cut above the rest.

The xx - Basic Space

6. Micachu and the Shapes - Jewellery
7. Japandroids - Post- Nothing
8. Lushlife - Cassette City
9. Washed Out - Life of Leisure
10. Girls - Album
11. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
12. Antlers - Hospice
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
14. The Thermals - Now We Can See
15. Snake and Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band – Peace Boat
16. Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health
17. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
18. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
19. Taken By Trees - East of Eden
20. tUnE-yArDs - BiRd-BrAiNs

Honourable Mentions:
Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth, Staff Benda Bilili - Très Très Fort, Jim Callahan - Sometimes I wish I were an Eagle, Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeues Phoenix, Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms, YACHT - See Mystery Lights, Fever Ray - Fever Ray, Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part II, Oh No Ono – Eggs, Crystal Antlers – Tentacles, HEALTH – Get Color, Doom - Born Like This, Cass McCombs - Catacombs

We're Breaking Out This Time

2010-03-24T17:55:00.000+01:00

Before I come with my best albums of 2009 post (I know, it's been a long time coming) I just had to blog this song. It just makes me happy.

Free Energy are the least DFA-like band on DFA and that is great. This song is sounds like the great stadium rock songs of the 70's and I love it.

Fun fact: Two of the band's members used to be in the equally great (and very Pavement- inspired) Hockey Night.

This song (/album) is going to be great for the summer...

Free Energy - Free Energy

Best Songs of 2009

2010-03-05T00:31:00.023+01:00

2009 was a great year in music. There was new music from great new bands (The xx, Japandroids, etc.), bands we already knew and loved (Grizzly Bear, YYY's, etc.) and surprisingly great music from bands that some of us had almost written off (The Horrors, The Maccabees, etc.). People keep saying that the album format is dying or, more drastically, that the whole music business is dying, but from the evidence of the past few years it is only getting better.

This year there is simply a Top 15 list for songs, a Top 20 for albums and a newly added Top 3 for remixes. The lists have been split into to two posts, one for songs and one for albums. The reasoning is simple and obvious. The greatest songs do not always come from the greatest albums and vice versa.

Disclaimer: A song does not have to have been released as a single to make the list. Rather, it is a list of my favourite individual songs of the year.

1. The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea

There was never any doubt in my mind when I had to choose a favourite song of the year. That this song comes courtesy of The Horrors is surprising, to say the least, considering that their debut album was decent at best. But lo and behold, the band has matured (immensely) and produced a revelation of an album in Primary Colours. Sea Within A Sea was the first single and what a single it is. The song clocks in at 7:57, but at no point do you feel like it is too long. The song sounds like a great long lost Can or NEU! (with vocals) song and is easily the best krautrock in years. What really makes this the best song of 2009, though, is how it climaxes. When they break it down at around the 3:30 mark and the synth line kicks in, you know something great is about to happen. And it only gets better from then... I don't know if it is more Geoff Barrow than The Horrors, but I know for sure that this is the best song of the year.

2. Wavves - Cool Jumper

This was a tricky one. At first listen the song struck me as being too cluttered and chaotic. Then I gave it a second listen and for some reason everything clicked and it just made sense. There is a lot going on in the song and taking it all in takes a listen or two. But this is exactly what is the strength of the song, as each listen unravels another layer of chaos and in the end you have a really f'ng great song. I am not a big fan of Wavves’ other songs (too stoned for my liking), but adding Zach Hill's ADD drumming takes the song to a whole new level. The laid back 60s surf vocals of Wavves mixed with the distorted guitar, synths and the aforementioned drumming all combines to make a wonderfully vibrant yet dark 'pop' song.

3. Vivian Girls - Lake House

This is simply C86 and surf combined to perfection. I was a fan of the Vivian Girl's self titled debut from 2008, but I always had a feeling that their songs could be a little bit more. Lake House has that little bit more – that extra magic. To me the song is one long chorus, kicking off at full speed with a change of pace midway through before powering on again after about a minute of soloing. Clocking in at 2:05, it is the perfect little 'pop' song. Just long enough for you to love it, but also short enough for you to want to hear it over and over again. The song even came out early '09, so it is a testament to it that I still love it to this day (what can I say, I move fast). It is simple stuff, but it just works so well.

4. Tiny Vipers - Dreamer

This song is all about the intensity and sincerity with which it is sung. Jesy Fontino has a great voice and puts it to such hauntingly beautiful use in Dreamer. It is the little things that make this song work and stand out. It is the care with which she pronounces each word and the way she changes pitch at the end to startling effect. You really feel her pain.

"I'm going to live, but I'm living far away/ I'm going to die. I'm dying for a way out"

I do not normally care much for singer-songwriters, but Tiny Vipers get me. It is intense and I feel it deep deep down. It touches me and I love that (I swear I'll cut back on the cheese from now on).

5. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others

Grizzly Bear really had a break out year in 2009 (in indie terms) and understandably so. Veckatemist was song for song an incredible album that can compare with best of any year. In my humble opinion, the album had two stand out songs: While You Wait For The Others and Ready, Able. To be honest I had this #5 down as a tie, but forced to pick one I went for WYWFTO. The song displays what it is that makes Grizzly Bear such a great band and Veckatimest such a fantastic album. Everything, from the slow build to the immaculate harmonies in the choruses, is so perfectly crafted and wonderfully executed.

6 VEGA - No Reasons

7 Micachu and the Shapes - Lips

8 Wild Beasts - Hooting and Howling

9 Golden Filter - Thunderbird

10 YACHT - The Afterlife

11 Lushlife - The Kindness

12 Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

13 The Big Pink - Velvet

14 The xx - Islands

15 Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Honourable Mentions:

Beach Fossils - Vacation, Ellie Goulding - Under the Sheets, Siriusmo - High Together, The Thermals - When We Were Alive, Phoenix - Lizstomania, Sleigh Bells - Crown to the Ground, Staff Benda Bilili - Polio, Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart, Fuck Buttons - Olympians, The Decemberists - The Rake Song, Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game, Port O'Brien - My Will is Good, Marina and the Diamonds - Obsessions, Atlas Sound - Logos, Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension, Lars and the Hands of Light - Hey Lover (Hey Love!), Snake And Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Smiling Makes Bitter, Oh No Ono - Hoplessly Young, Delorean - Deli, Hospitality - Betty Wang, Dead Man's Bones - Pa Pa Power

Best Remixes of 2009

The remix Top 3 was added mainly due to the brilliance of the Top 2. The remixes of You've Got The Love and In For The Kill took the respective songs and turned them on their head. Even more so, though, the remixers managed to take songs that were good, but not spectacular, and make something much better (read: great) of them, and that is something to be applauded.

1. Florence and the Machine - You've Got The Love (XX Remix)

2. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Remix)

3. The Gossip - Heavy Cross (BURNS Remix)

This Means Nothing To Me...

2010-01-31T22:33:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the long break in posting. I have been busy being important and doing what important people do. Travelling, relaxing and other hardships. But I'm back (!) and soon I'll post my long- long- list addedum to the "Sound of 2010" post and then my recap of the best releases (songs, remixes and albums) of 2009.

Are you excited? Good. You should be.

In the meantime...

Ultravox - Vienna

You'll never guess where I went on my travels...

BBC Sound of 2010

2009-12-12T00:55:00.010+01:00

The BBC ‘Sound of 2010’ long list is up and we can now all breathe easy knowing who and what will be big in the coming year. The list is 15 acts long and is a good indicator of the coming year in music (or at least the first six months). Looking at it and comparing to my own (which is essentially why I did my own in the first place), then 6 out of my 10 made the long list. A ratio of 60%, which is acceptable.

The Long List (in alpabetical order)

Daisy Dares You
Delphic [got it]
Devlin
The Drums [got it]
Everything Everything
Giggs
Gold Panda
Ellie Goulding [got it]
Hurts
Joy Orbison [got it]
Marina and the Diamonds [got it]
Owl City
Rox
Stornoway [got it]
Two Door Cinema Club

The list is pretty much the usual mix of landfill- indie rockers (The Drums and Two Door Cinema Club), token rapper (Giggs), post-punkers á la Joy Division (Delphic), new folkers (Stornoway), synth poppers (Hurts and Ellie Goulding), etc.. This time though, they have thrown in a few leftfield electronic acts who probably won’t be huge commercial successes, but will probably strike a chord critically (Gold Panda and Joy Orbison). Still, to be honest, some of the acts featured are kinda… well, shit. Three in particular are really shit.

First off, there is Owl City. Owl City is a guy called Adam Young, and, to be honest, I thought of putting him on my list so fair play. But it is not really much of a bet as he already has an album out and a #1 single in the states. Really a non- prediction like Lady Gaga last year… And, oh yeah, his music is shit. Sorry, but it is. According to BBC Mr Young was " inspired by the boredom of his home town and the twinkling laptop-made beats and soft, innocent vocals evoke faraway fantasies and innocent daydreams". In reality it is just a subpar poor man's version of the Postal Service. Owl City manages to get that ethereal feel to the music, which the Postal Service nailed, but instead of making it sound loving it just sounds cheap. Worse are the lyrics… middle- school ‘tween’-ish navel gazing nonsense.

Owl City - Fireflies [embedding disabled so you will have to click the link... or better yet don't...]

Second, there is Giggs, who is just plain bad. Case in point Slow Songs. How many times can you rhyme down with down? You are a rapper, mix it up a bit. While you are at it, try mixing up your rhyme scheme a bit as well. Surprise me... and then there is the delivery... so incredibly slow. Mike Skinner’s verse steals the song, which is no surprise. It is a simple matter of talent.

Giggs - Slow Songs (feat. The Streets)

Finally, there is Daisy Dares You. Daisy dares me to do what? Throw up in my mouth? Because that is what I did when I heard her for the first time (oh snap!). At least Owl City decided to be a subpar poor man's version of something good, but a subpar poor man’s version of Avril Lavigne? They say hate is a strong, but it seems just about right here.

Daisy Dares You - Daisy Dares You [creative, right? ed.]

On the positive side, the addition of Hurts and Everything Everything is great. I considered them too, but did not think they had enough going for them. Pleased to see that they made the list though.

Noticable absentees? Well, I was dead sure that by forgetting Wolf Gang and Fenech-Soler I had missed out on two sure- fire additions. Guess I was wrong. These are probably the two most obvious ones, though I'm hearing shouts for Frankie and the Heartstrings.

Fenech-Soler - Lies [Just to have some good music too ed.]

Wolf Gang - The King And All Of His Men [and some more of that good stuff ed.]

Wolf Gang | MySpace Music Videos

All in all though, I think it's a good list and judging by the results of previous years it will no doubt turn out to have predicted correctly. Congratulations are therefore in order to the lucky fifteen... and there are after all some genuinely interesting artists on the list. I'm looking at you Ellie Goulding, Everything Everything, Marina and the Diamonds, Joy Orbison, and Gold Panda.

Sound of 2010

2009-11-22T14:06:00.014+01:00

It is that time of year again. The leaves are falling off the trees, the weather is getting cold(er) and soon all kinds of music magazines, blogs and the like will publish their end-of-year lists as well as their predictions for what is going to make it big in the next year. Trying to predict what is going to be big "next year" is always going to be sketchy business, especially as most lists act as selffulfilling prophecies as the journalists themselves have much to say in who will "make it". Luckily, my blog is small and insignificant so I have no such worries. I win again! No? Damn...

Without further ado, I present...

The Sound of 2010.

Ellie Goulding
This one is a safe bet. She has a great single in Under the Sheets and major label backing. This is great pop and she will definitely be big 2010. You can bet your house on it.
Delphic
Delphic have been hyped for a while and they look set to become 2010's White Lies. Or rather, they will be 2010's Friendly Fires, but with the commercial success of White Lies.
The Drums
Have you heard of The Strokes and The Libertines? Well so have these Americans. They check all the right boxes for landfill indie, but still do enough to sound interesting. I like their single and they will no doubt feature on many other lists. Easy.
Drake
Rapper and singer (who can actually sing). He's written for Dr. Dre's forthcoming forever-in-the-making album and has debut coming out as well. He's talented and backed by the right people. 2010's Kid Cudi... but more technically gifted on the mic.
Marina and the Diamonds
She is Welsh and she has a flair for the dramatic. A modern Kate Bush anyone?
Stornoway
Listen to their single Zorbing and you will know why. Fleet Foxes with pop appeal. I see teenage girls swooning.
Local Natives
A mix of Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend. Need I say more?
Bluey Robinson
Stevie Wonder inspired soul/R'n'B. His first single is well produced and sounds very radio friendly. Oddly enough, despite this being the most immediately radio-friendly of the bunch, it is also the one I am most unsure about. Pop is a strange business.
Joy Orbison
Compared to Burial, but draws from more genres. Joy Orbison takes dubstep and throws in elements from UK Garage, drum'n'bass, glitch and much more. Not the most commercially appealing artist, but definitely someone who is hotly tipped to "break through" in 2010.
Yes Giantess
Synth pop is all the rage and these guys take it to the cheesy extreme. There is a certain ironic distance, but the songs are catchy and the hooks are great.

...now bring it on BBC!

The Sound of Denmark 2010
On the Danish side of things there are five bands and artists that I think will be "big" in 2010. That does not necessarily mean that an international break is imminent, but the early signs from their forthcoming debuts are very promising.

Lars and the Hands of Light
Disclaimer: I am heavily biased through my Crunchy affiliations on this one. Still, LATHOL has a brilliant album on the way and with plenty of airplay already for the first two singles, the future looks bright.
Falullah
She already has one catchy single in her bag and I think more is to come. Furthermore, she has a topnotch producer in Fridolin.
Giana Factory
Great and haunting indie pop. They have all the right friends to make them both hip and cool... and really, that is all that matters. Yes.
Rumour Said Fire
They released an EP earlier this year to much acclaim and look set to produce a quality album in 2010.
Shout Wellington Airforce
Intricate indie rock. More ambitiuos than your average indie band and judging from live-performance they look very interesting

It's A Life That I Can't Believe

2009-11-21T23:57:00.001+01:00

This year has seen some excellent hiphop releases with personal hightlights being Mos Def’s The Ecstatic, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part II and Lushlife’s Cassette City. The latter has especially struck a chord with me, mixing chamber pop with old school early 90’s east coast hiphop influences. Taking influence as much from DJ Premier as Burt Bacharach. The album has an impressively cohesive feel and it is obvious that a lot of thought and heart has gone in to the making of the record. A great album that really deserves wider recognition.

The song that ignited my interest for Lushlife was The Kindness. The song sounds like a J Dilla production – which is quite a compliment in my book – and immediately caught my attention. From the weaving soul sample to the chopped strings and harp, it is extremely well produced and executed.

Lushlife – The Kindness

Another song that really deserves a mention is Meridian Sound [Part Three], which combines a Beach Boys sample with a drum beat heavily influenced by The Ronettes' Be My Baby. Your average piece of hiphop it is not. What it is though is really clever and I love it.

Buy the album. Now.

Songs of Euphoria

2009-11-01T01:47:00.006+01:00

My two favorite songs at the moment are both songs of overblown proportions. Songs that are drenched in massive big synth, bubbly bass and soft-the-hard-way drums. I don't know if it says something about my current state of mind, but these songs are just on constant repeat at the moment.

VEGA - No Reasons

VEGA (spelled all capitals) is Alan Palomo. VEGA is great. Succinct and to the point.

VEGA is also the guy behind the first of my two current favorite songs. No Reasons is unashamedly catchy and just bounces happily along. I love how it sounds like the french touch house of yore, such as Mojo and Stardust (and more recently The Phantom's Revenge and Louis la Roché), but in an edgier post-Justice less polished sort of way. It sounds like an old soul song has been sampled and chopped for the song (the gorgeous and so-simple-yet-so-effective "can't live without you"), and yet it blends so well with his own voice that I'm not sure. The song in itself is not too complex with the bass and drums pretty much just bouncing along together, but that is also what I love about it. It does not try to hide the fact that in essence it's just a great pop song. The sort of song that just makes you smile.

Siriusmo - High Together

Similarly, but even more explicit, High Together is clearly new wave french touch house. I love french touch, because it's such a feel-good genre. Most of the music (bar Justice) is filled with these great warm sounds, which feels like being hugged by this big blanket of synth.

Siriusmo (a name I was always forget how to spell) has thus far gone under my radar in favor of other acts such as MSTRKRFT, Yuksek, LifeLike, Pilooski, etc., but this song just grabbed my attention instantly. How could it not? The way it opens up with the faded and chopped salsa beat, which suddenly breaks and explodes into an amazingly lush sounding synth and bass. Once it explodes, it does not pause for a break - it just goes on and on. It is relentless. It is euphoric. I have no idea what the voice says and I really do not care. Just listen to that synth. Can you say aural orgasm?

Turn It Loose, Alright!

2009-10-11T22:51:00.001+02:00

Some Sunday Night Funk (SNF).

James Brown & The JB's - Give It Up, Turn It Loose

That is so tight. Damn! Kinda makes you wish you were alive back then so you could have danced along. Then again, what's stopping you from dancing now? Turn it loose!

... and loving the pose he cuts at 1:39. Badass.

Z-O-M-B-I-E... ZOMBIE!

2009-10-11T22:38:00.002+02:00

Sounding like a cross between Arcade Fire and Langley School Music Project (great music and great story) this is the perfect song for Halloween. My Body Is A Zombie For You (song title of the year?) is just one of those great songs that remind you that music does not have to be complicated to be great.

Dead Man's Bones is a band consisting of Ryan Gosling (yup... that guy) and Zach Shields. Two guys who actually can't play instruments. This is not hard to hear, but that has not stopped from making great songs. The music is simple yet very effectful. Some of it is down to Gosling's great trembling voice, but what really does it is L.A.’s Silverlake Conservatory Childrens Choir. There is just something endeeringly creepy about a whole choir of children singing about zombies. A gem of a song.

Dead Man's Bones - My Body Is A Zombie For You

I'll Ask You Kindly To Make Your Way

2009-09-14T01:06:00.006+02:00

Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest has been universally lauded since its release and rightly so. It's a terrific album with great melodies, harmonies and pretty everything you could want. Definitely one of the albums of the year, but that is really not a surprise.

Having had the album for a while now I'm glad to see that the choice for second single is also my personal favorite track (well, one of two fav's with Ready, Able being the other). Good on you, Grizzly Bear.

While You Wait For The Others is a true break-up song filled with heartbreak and big emotions. The song builds terrifically and hits you right where it hurts. Right where you want it to hurt. Something we all can relate to now and then.

... and you gotta love a song that has a version with Michael McDonald doing the vocals. Pure genius.

Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others

Death Is Not The End of This Song

2009-09-14T00:34:00.004+02:00

“YACHT is about group consciousness. YACHT is about the individual man or woman. If you believe these assertions to be contradictory, consider the Triangle: it is both a collection of points and a shape.” (YACHT mission statement)

YACHT makes electronic dance-y music in the classic DFA vein (which incidentally also happens to be their label). Their songs have the spoken vocals over dance-y music á la LCD Soundsystem, which just seems to work really well and projects a sort of effortless cool.

The Afterlife is, to me, their best song to date. The song is jampacked with little details and really showcase their ability to mix all kinds of weird (for lack of better words) sounds to create what is essentially a party/pop song. Not your conventional pop song, but a pop song nonetheless. I am particularly partial to the lyrics of the song as, with a subject such as death, it could easily become cheesy and contrived. Rather, on this song the lyrics come off almost, well, insightful. Sample lyric:

"It's not a place you go
It's a place that comes to you
And it's not about who you know
or who is in your heart
It may come as a surprise,
but you are not alone
All that you have is not what you own"

Not something you expect from a dance song.

YACHT - The Afterlife

I've Softened Shipwrecks Right From The Start

2009-08-18T21:50:00.004+02:00

Internet hype is a weird thing. Bands seem to come out of nowhere to be the next OMFG-this-is-better-than-if-Jesus-played-in-the-Beatles. The XX are one of those bands and who am I not to rave about them? Exactly. So I'm just gonna go ahead and jump on the bandwagon. They are awesome! Like like like... like Jesus featuring Hot Chip doing indie-ish rock with an R'n'B twist. Now strike the Jesus-reference. Better.

I haven't actually heard the full album yet - creatively titled XX - , but judging from reviews then it looks really interesting. Not being one to jump the gun (right) I'm just gonna go out on a limb and claim this to be one of my favorite albums so far this year... sometimes you just know, okay. Presumptious as I clearly am.

I've had a really hard time (read: scratched my head a few times) trying to pick between their two singles/videos so I took an executive decision and now I'm posting both. Yup, that's a class in Decision-Making 101 for you there.

The songs are called Crystallised and Basic Space, and they're minimalistic pieces of indie-pop brilliance. It's bare-bones kind of stuff with no superfluous effects or anything. Timid voices singing deeply intimate lyrics, sterile sampled drums played live and then great warmth from the weaving dual guitar play. Suffice to say that on the evidence of these songs, I like this band. *Hype Alert*

The XX - Crystallised

The XX - Basic Space

A Crude Art, A Bovver Boot Ballet - Equally Elegant And Ugly

2009-08-10T22:54:00.002+02:00

Wild Beasts released one of last years best albums in Limbo, Panto and they seemed to have followed it up with an even better one in Two Dancers. Marvelous. The first single of the album is called Hooting and Howling and it is truly one of the best songs of the year so far.

Personally I'm big lyrics kind'o'guy, and in the case of this song the lyrics are mindblowingly good. Hayden Thorpe not only possesses a great voice and impressively nuanced falsetto (which he puts to great and often use), but also some serious writing chops. Every line is genius, beautifully describing a late night brawl as if it were - to quote the song - "a bovver boot ballet".

It's like reading something by Fitzgerald - simply awesome. Enjoy the lyrics in their entirity below the video.

Wild Beasts - Hooting and Howling

Carry me hooting and howling
to the river to wash off my hands
of the hot blood, the sweat and the sand
Any rival who goes for our girls will be left thumb sucking in terror
and bereft of all coffin bearers

A crude art, a bovver boot ballet - equally elegant and ugly
I was as thrilled as I was appalled, courting him in fisticuffing waltz.
Now I'm not saying the lads always deserve a braying.
And I'm not saying the girls are worth the fines I'm paying.

We're just brutes bored in our bovver boots.
We're just brutes clowning 'round in cahoots.
We're just brutes looking for shops to loot.
We're just brutes hoping to have a hoot

Hooting, hooting and howling

Today Was A Good Day

2009-08-10T22:40:00.003+02:00

Nike knows a thing or two about shoes, athletics wear... and ads. I recently saw the full ad for Nike SB (Nike Skateboarding for those not in the know... aka moi until, uhm, recently...), which I immediately fell for. Well, as much as you can fall for an ad. Hard.

Anywho, the ad features some great panoramic shots and a skateboarder called P-Rod (yeah, I don't know him either), but most importantly it evokes memories of Mike Mills awesome video for Air's All I Need. It's that great feeling of serenity that the skating freely and the laidback music gives off. In the case of the ad, Ice Cube's classic Today Was A Good Day (re-mixed to fit the ad... leaving out the AK47 reference was probably wise) provides the musical and storytelling backdrop, which works marvelously. Kudos Nike... now, do I get a free pair of sneakers for this? Pretty please.

Everyone'll Be There At The Burial In Your Head

2009-07-18T01:53:00.003+02:00

Going away on holiday without phone or internet so this will be the last post for the next three or four weeks... Gonna get my tan on [and the crowd goes wild].

Anywho, on to more serious matters. The music.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson not only has the longest name in music ever (it is so long that you actually remember it just because it is so long), but also writes great songs. Buriedfed is a dramatic and rousing song that builds and builds in a really captivating manner. It starts out slowly with just the guitar and his raspy-ish voice (great voice too). Slowly and steadily more instruments and other effects are added and it becomes this great big song. It really drags you in.

If I was to do a comparison - and I have to - then I'd say that it sounds a bit like if Bright Eyes and Grizzly Bear had a love child... not only a great visual, but sonically amazing too. I really like this song, and I'm sure you will too.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed

The song is available for free and legal download here.

Some Say We Walk Alone

2009-07-18T01:32:00.002+02:00

The Horrors released their sophmore album, Primary Colours, this spring and it really surprised me (as it did most others, I suspect). I liked their first album (read: tolerated... I mean, it wasn't great), but this second album is really truly great. From beginning to end a great album, and one I'm quite sure will end up ranking very high on my end-of-year list (my beloved list... Mmmmmm).

I realize this post is slightly (read: very) belated and overdue, but I forgot to write back when I first heard the album (cue: sympathy). I could have just not written anything, but I haven't been able to stop listening to the album since I got it... so naturally a post was needed (yes, life is full of hard choices).

Sea Within A Sea was the first single from the album and still very much a standout track for me. It is one of the best songs, if not the best, I've heard all year and I just can't get enough. The song reminds me of krautrock á la NEU! (which is a massive compliment), while also borrowing from one of last years best songs; The Rip (by Portishead). This is probably much down to Geoff Barrows (of Portishead) producing the album.

Longwinded ramblings aside, this is a great great song which I love love. Yes yes.

The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea

I also heavily recommend listening to second single Who Can Say, which draws a bit more on personal fave's Joy Division. Again, awesome song.

Summer Is Here... This Is It (What!)

2009-06-30T01:54:00.004+02:00

Summer is here! Which means that it is time to pause with winter records for a while and start listening to some happy and summer-y music... well, at least to some extent... Right now there are two songs that, for me, really sum up that summer is here. Those two are; Camp Lo's Luchini and The Very Best's Warm Heart of Africa.

How can you fail with a beat like this? Luchini has that breezy Dynasty "Adventures In The Land Of Music"-sample that to me just screams summer. I just want to lay back with something cold in my hand and chill in the sun... yup, I chill. [Stop laughing...]

I really really really really like this song.

Camp Lo - Luchini aka. This Is It (What?)

Next song...

The Very Best released a mixtape-y sort of thing last year ( FYI, it is free and legal here) where they did semi-covers... that is, they rearranged, remixed and re-did songs, such as their cover of Architecture in Helsinki's Heart it Races called Kamphoho (one word; awesome). The group consists of Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and French- Swedish electronic duo Radioclit and have in my opinion made one of the best songs of the summer so far. The beat actually surprised the first time I heard it and I had to hear it twice before I really got it. But then it really got me. I'm already a sucker for Esau's voice so with the sunny and happy backdrop it was sure be an instant hit avec moi... oh yeah, the song also features Monsieur Koenig from Vampire Weekend (we like his voice too...).

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig)

Wouldn't It Be Sweet If She Could Die Of A Broken Heart

2009-06-30T01:44:00.003+02:00

I really like this song. The simple use of the keyboard obviously does it for the song, but I have to say that the video really helps me along too. The whole aloofness of the singer (Morrissey fan much?) really adds to the lyrics and the whole feeling of the song. The sepia-tinged colours also says all you need to know about what decade these guys want to look/sound like they're from... I'm still confused by the leadsinger's hair though... but maybe that's just me.

... finally, I really like the backing vocals. Especially the "Zoooh Zoooh"s (or is it "Sue Sue"?), which makes me think of Sympathy for Devil.

Catchy tune. Lovely lyrics. Great song.

Golden Silvers - Arrows of Eros

I Promise That I'll Run Away With You

2009-06-25T01:35:00.003+02:00

Speaking of all time favorite songs... I could write endlessly about why this is one of the best songs ever, but I'll just let the song speak for itself. Love it.

The Cure - Just Like Heaven

The Cure - Just Like Heaven

Je Ne Veux Plus Pleurer, Je Ne Veux Plus Parler

2009-06-25T01:19:00.007+02:00

I recently bought Jacques Brel's 4 on vinyl and it's been on pretty much constant rotation ever since. The undying classic on the album is of course Ne Me Quitte Pas, which is one of my all time favorite songs. The song is intense and - despite the actual meaning behind the song - very romantic. Really one of my all time favorite songs...

Jacques Brel is cooler than cool. His croon is unlike most others and you can definitely see how others like Scott Walker took inspiration from him.

Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas

Pardon me I must say, I'm kinda like a big deal...

2009-06-25T01:08:00.003+02:00

New video from The Clipse featuring Kanye West from their forthcoming album. I gotta say I love this. The video is pretty bleh, but the song is awesome. The Clipse are lyrically always vicious, but Kanye actually kills on this song. Great stuff... and the beat is lovely too (yup, am down with the ghetto terminology).

The Clipse - I'm Kinda Like A Big Deal (feat. Kanye West)

To Hell with Poverty

2009-05-18T22:56:00.006+02:00

In this time of financial crisis there can be no song more fitting than this...

Gang of Four - To Hell with Poverty

Now isn't that an awesome song? The noisy guitar, the bubbly bass and groovy drums... Makes me want to do my best "white man"-dance...

We're all handicapped people, ain't we?

2009-05-18T21:50:00.005+02:00

Staff Benda Bilili are from Kinshasa, Congo, and they make some of the most beautiful music around at the moment. It's like a blues-y afrobeat with lovely soulful harmonies. Their story is quite special too, as they're basically a group of paraplegic street musicians... which only makes me like them more.

A personal favorite of mine is their song Polio (video below). The song has a great melody with that previously mentioned mix of soulfulness and harmonies. Enjoy!

Staff Benda Bilili - Polio

A movie about the band will be out sometime soon and you can see the trailer below...

Their myspace can be found here and their album Trés Trés Fort is out on Crammed Discs/Belle Kinoise.

I grew up on the crimeside... the NY Times side

2009-05-13T02:03:00.003+02:00

A classic... the laidback piano loop sample over the beat is - to me - RZA at his very best. Hiphop fan or not, it's just great.

Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M

Choice Quote:

"But I'm still depressed, and I ask what's it worth?
Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth
Who explained working hard may help you maintain
to learn to overcome the heartaches and pain"

From their debut and absolute classic Enter the Wu (36 Chambers)

We used to dream, now we worry about dying

2009-05-13T01:50:00.005+02:00

Your new favorite band is called Japandroids and here's why you're going to love them...

1. They're called Japandroids for crying out loud.

2. They make awesome lo-fi noisy garage rock.

3. This is how they describe themselves on their myspace; "imagine GUNS N ROSES meets IGGY & THE STOOGES meets THE SONICS meets THE ROLLING STONES!!!! that's the band we wish we were. we're not though. not even close." So you know they're cool guys too...

4. They might be lo-fi and only two, but they're not minimal... they're maximal.

5. Watch the video below and then love them...

Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

Post- Nothing is out now on Unfamiliar Records

I love the Power Glove... it's so bad!

2009-05-13T01:41:00.005+02:00

Video game themes in metal versions... gotta love it!

Powerglove - Mario Minor

Check out their myspace here...

The stuff of legends...

The Bats

2009-05-13T01:16:00.004+02:00

The Bats - North by North

This should be a huge song... you know, U2 huge with that almost stadium rock sound (definitely not MOR though). It reminds of all that was great of 80's indie rock (which is a sentence I don't say often). It has that Siouxsie and The Banshees/ The Cure pop sensibility and sounds eerily a lot like Arcade Fire (maybe they're fans). Great song.

Better Late Than Never?

2009-04-16T00:54:00.003+02:00

So about a year ago French Kicks made their single Abandon available for download and now (yes, now... 1 year later) the video is out.... Better late than never, I guess.

The song was one of my definite favorites from last year and it was pretty much a constant feature on my iPod. The only reason it didn't make my year-end list was that I wasn't sure it was from 2008 (how cool am I?). Definitely one of the very best indie rock songs 0f 2008.

French Kicks - Abandon

The song can still be downloaded (legally) from stereogum here. Do it!

Love Is A Boat And We're Sinking

2009-04-15T02:10:00.006+02:00

I've been loving Dinosaur Pile- Up for a while now and I thought it was about time that I gave them some bloglove too. Their music is a mix of the indie rock á la The Strokes and grunge. Remember grunge? Yeah, it's become a much maligned term, but who cares when the music sounds great... and worry not, I haven't seen any flannel shirts. Yet.

"Love is a Boat and We're Sinking" is great indie rock (almost poppy), while "My Rock'n'Roll" is very reminiscent of Foo Fighters circa The Color and The Shape (an album I'm especially partial to). Enjoy!

Dinosaur Pile- Up - Love Is a Boat and We're Sinking

Dinosaur Pile- Up - My Rock'n'Roll

Now We Can See

2009-04-15T02:08:00.003+02:00

So simple. So good. 'nuff said.

The Thermals - Now We Can See

I Need Wheels!

2009-04-11T22:20:00.004+02:00

Best rap song ever (ever!). A 13-year-old kid rapping about needing a car so he can see his girls... how can something so wrong seem so right?

Lil' Mac - I Need Wheels

April Fools

2009-04-01T19:12:00.006+02:00

The best joke I've seen this year's april fools has got to be the one done by Qualcomm. Wireless Convergence has been taken to the next level!

The site is also well worth a visit. Someone has really put an effort in to it... I love it.

Vlad the Impaler

2009-04-01T19:04:00.004+02:00

The first song and video from Kasabian's forthcoming album has just been revealed and it's quite something. The song is a return to the more electronic- feel of the first album. Heavy bass-y sound (as on both their albums), but less of a indie rock sound - which you sort of had on the last album. I really like this song, but you can't really say that it's a radio hit pop song.

... the excellent video with Noel Fielding (Mighty Boosh remains one of my favorite tv shows... eels eels!) should however give them plenty of views.

You can download the song for free at Kasabian's website... in exchange for your email... here!

Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler

Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler from Kasabian on Vimeo.

Epic! Simply Epic

2009-03-27T18:23:00.003+01:00

A masterpiece...

Village People - Sex Over The Phone

A natural follow-up to Beta Satan's 666?

... and why do people feel the need to write malicious things under videos on youtube? They're a bunch of eff's and cee's those people, if you ask me...

Current Favorites

2009-03-24T01:35:00.003+01:00

Great Music. 'nuff said.

Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game

Just that synth-y fuzz and the lovely swirling guitar riff alone make it brilliant. Love it!

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Loving Erika Wennerström's great voice and the way it becomes increasingly intense. I'm also really partial to the pace of the song. Great song.

Winter Gloves - Let Me Drive

Reminds me of Elle s'appelle who I really really liked... why do great bands have to split so early? Not to take anything away from this song... just another reason why I like it.

Pop Gone Afro

2009-03-24T01:07:00.006+01:00

Afropop and afrobeat have been around ever since Fela Kuti and Tony Allen sat down together and produced those wonderful songs way back when... Talking Heads and Paul Simon then took influence from it and created some fantastic music on their respective albums Remain in Light and Graceland album. However, since then there have been scant with pop bands referencing afrobeat. Yes, Manu Chao and Amadou & Mariam* have had a fair amount of success, but it wasn't really until Vampire Weekend last year - and to some extent TV on the Radio, The Foals and Yeasayer - that there were succesful indie bands who explicitly pointed to afrobeat as a direct influence.

* Amadou & Mariam's Damon Albarn produced Sabali is by the way one of 2008's definite highlights

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Lo and behold, now it seems that afrobeat influences are cropping up in pop and it's great. Afrobeat has such a happy sound to it which really fits pop and makes for great infectious happy music. Two recent examples - and personal favorites, of course - are Slow Club and Jack Peñate's recent singles.

Sidebar: Knowing Peñate's last output this new direction is markedly different and so much better than the Wham!-inspired pop he did before (Wham! as inspiration... Wtf?).

Anywho, enjoy these bits of afrobeat-tinged pop:

Slow Club - Because We're Dead

Jack Peñate - Tonight's Today

Kool Kovers

2009-03-24T00:57:00.007+01:00

Sonic Youth - Eternal (left) and Choir of Young Believers - Burn the Flag EP (right)

Now chances are very slight that Sonic Youth was inspired by Choir of Young Believers, but you have to agree with me that the concepts of the album art are not entirely dissimilar. Actually, the concepts are close to identical - the fonts even look the same... so maaaaaybe...

...naaah...

This is as good an excuse as any to put this up though:

Sonic Youth - Kool Thing ("on post-modern MTV"... simply brilliant)

Best single of 2009?

2009-03-23T01:30:00.005+01:00

Micachu and the Shapes - Lips

Michael Hann of the Guardian thinks so... and I see his point (though I like my pop songs longer than 1:20... but that's just me). It is great intricate pop, without sounding contrived or pretentious. I couldn't even start to try and deconstruct the song to tell what instruments (or household-items-turned-instrument) have been used. It's just lovely... and short.

First single, of the Jewellery (Rough Trade) album, Golden Phone is equally brilliant by the way (and 2:49 long, hooray!).

Micachu - Golden Phone

Other gems (get it? get it?) include Calculator, Just In Case and Curly Teeth... actually, just go out and buy the album! It's the best pop you'll hear all year.

When the World Gets Dark, Baby

2009-03-23T01:10:00.003+01:00

You know when you hear a song for the first time and you're just blown away by how great it is? So great that it makes you sit down and just listen. Bliss... well, I got that with The Entrance Band (or according to some, Entrance). I was listening to the always excellent NPR All Song Considered podcast when Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater Kinney fame) recommended them as one to see at SXSW.

The Entrance Band - Grim Reaper Blues

That opening of the song immediately caught me and from then on it's sheer awesomeness. The sound is old hard blues-y psych rock - there can be no doubt about that. Reminiscent of fellow revivalists Wolfmother, but much more psych. The leadsinger's voice is perfect and if someone had told me that it was actually a song from the 1970's I would have believed it.

And don't get me started on the song title, Grim Reaper Blues... You have to love that.

I haven't actually listened to more of their stuff, but if it's as good as this then I'm a fan... actually, strike that. I'm already a fan.

Feel like dancing

2009-03-23T00:43:00.005+01:00

Dancing is good excersise - Fact - and having been out all weekend for better or for worse I've had my fair share of it. Now, enough about me... There's a lot of good electronic music being made at the moment, which might mostly be down to me being a fan of french touch house and anything with distortion, heavy bass and/or tons of synth. In any case, I like it.

So here are three videos with some of the latest and greatest for you to bust a move to on the dancefloor or simply pull a muscle to in your bedroom. Whatever tickles your fancy.

Simian Mobile Disco - 10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong

Simian Mobile Disco's debut album was jam packed with great songs and the signs are that the next will equally great. However, while the last one was more soft-ish house-ish (eg. Believe) this next one sounds more like Berlin minimal (I guess the signs were there with Sleep Deprivation). An odd, yet awesome move, seeing as the rest of the electronic scene seems to be favoring french touch house at the moment. In any case I'm loving this song. Also check out Synthesise while you're at it, which has an almost identical video (lazy buggers) and features a Todd Rundgren sample (awesome). Born to synthesise since 1975.

Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

Now I'm not a huge fan of this song, but I've put it up mostly because it's as obvious a dancefloor smash hit as any. You just know that kids all over the place will be dancing away to this one. And why not? It has a sweeping sort of synth (lovely filter on it) and some very cheesy lyrics that are easy to remember. I predict: Summer hit. Easy... okay, so maybe I do kinda like it as a guilty pleasure.

AC Slater - Rock It Out

I said I liked bass, right? AC Slater has been around for a while now and joining the Trouble & Bass crew is a perfect match. I quite like this song (even though it is very bassline-y, which can get a bit much sometimes admittedly) and from what I hear people have been litterally rocking out to on the dancefloor when he plays it. Fact.

Going to bed

2009-02-27T02:20:00.002+01:00

I am a huge fan of this band and this is a particular favorite. I realise it's old by now, but I've loved it for too long not to post it... The song, "Heart of Chambers", is perfect for that time just before you fall asleep. A soothing and relaxing song with a great melody. Lovely.

... I also have a slight crush on Ms. Legrand, but that's another thing... and who wouldn't?

It's all about Money

2009-02-27T02:16:00.003+01:00

This new one from Maskinen sounds a bit like MSTRKRFT and Justice - if they were Swedish... not bad at all. More money, less rapists.

SXSW '09 Coming Soon

2009-02-25T01:27:00.007+01:00

The SXSW festival is just around the corner and final details about the line-up of bands playing official showcases has been released. Among the many fine artists and bands that will attend SXSW this year are The Sonics, GoldieLocks, Abe Vigoda, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Snake and Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band, Soft Pack, School of Seven Bells, Vetiver, Vivian Girls and many many more... heck, I don't even know half.

One of the coolthings about the SXSW festival is that every year, simultaneously with announcing the full list of performing artists and bands, they make a song available for download for many of the bands. It’s a great way of getting new and free songs for your collection as well discovering some of the many up and coming acts.

Here are a few of my select favorites of the available downloads... and since they're all free I don't see why you shouldn't give them all a listen.

GoldieLocks – Cold Sweat (here), Abe Vigoda – Don’t Lie (here), School of Seven Bells - Half Asleep (here), PowerSolo - Pirates of the Oblivion (here), Hatcham Social – So So Happy Making (here), Au Revoir Simone – A Violent Yet Flammable World (here), We Have Band – Hear It In Cans (here), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday (here), Port O’Brien – I Woke Up Today (here), Dananananaykroyd - Pink Sabbath (here), The Von Bondies - This Is Our Perfect Crime (here), Futurecop! - NASA (here), HEALTH - Crimewave (here), The Forms - Red Gun (here), Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Ten Cities Beyond (here), and many many more (all here)… you should really check them all out. So much great music, so little time.

Feel Like Dancing?

2009-02-25T01:18:00.005+01:00

Dance Area - AA/247 (feat. Austin Boston)

I love the fast and repetitive vocals on this one. The voice and the early '90s-ish electro work really well together. A really great track with an early-90's arcade game inspired video to match.

Filthy Dukes – This Rhythm (feat. Sam Eastgate)

Sam Eastgate from Late of the Pier fills in on vocals, which sort of makes it sound like a "simple" and danceable song LotP just made after hearing some Daft Punk... I like it.

Ra Ra Riot – Ghost Under Rocks (Passion Pit Remix)

By themselves Ra Ra Riot and Passion Pit are two very hyped up'n'coming indie bands. Put them together and you get an awesome synth-house indie anthem. Something for your next hipster-party DJ set. (You can get it at Stereogum.com)

Perfect match of song and video

2009-02-07T00:45:00.004+01:00

Circlesquare - Fight Sounds Part 1

This is just one of those cases where the audio and the visual blend perfectly. The two compliment each other so well and just sets the mood excellently... It's redundant to say that I like it, right?

Drenched in fuzz and all good

2009-02-04T01:44:00.005+01:00

Two current favorites are Salem and School of Seven Bells. They each represent a brand of electro-shoegaze meets distorted psych meets noisepop, but with very different results. For reasons unknow I see these two bands as related despite their obvious differences in sound. Then again, who cares when the music is this great?

School of Seven Bells features sisters and identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines. They're by far the most accessible of the two and make lovely pop bliss (within the organic electro-shoegaze-whatchmacall it). Their songs fit all moods and should be a mandatory listen for these cold times.

Peek School of Seven Bells:

Salem on the other hand make evil and twisted electro-shoegaze that is far less accessible, but equally lovely. Distorted vocals over distorted bass with stabbing synths and southern hip hop style beats makes for something completely new and all great. It's definitely not for everyone, but in any case it should be checked out just so you know how evil music really sounds... that's "good" evil of course.

Peek Salem (NSFW by the way... slight nudity involved):

SALEM - DIRT from ACEPHALE on Vimeo.

Feel like dancing?

2009-01-11T02:32:00.008+01:00

Filur - 20 Lashes (feat. Prins Nitram)

The guys in Filur have a great song here... awesome video too.

We Have Band - OH!

A bit of IDM- post-punk-what'chu'ma'call'it... it's great that's all.

Fagget Fairies - Feed the Horse

A hit if I've ever heard any... and it's dirty too. Mmmmmmm.

Big in 2009

2008-12-10T22:55:00.018+01:00

Having covered the best of 2008 it's time to look forward to what will be big in 2009. Trying to guess what will be big in music is one of my favourite things to do, and when you get it right then it's even more fun. BBC does a brilliant list at the beginning of each year, where they manage to spot those who will make an impact each and every year (if you don't believe me then check out the one they did for 2008 here... impressive, eh?). What do I hope to get out of this? Well, nothing really. Just a bit of fun... however, I am of course hoping that I hit five or more from the coming BBC list (knew all but one, but only got three last year... hoping for more this time!) and vicariously then that the mentioned bands also actually make it.

Enough talking... Let's get to it!

The bands I think will be big in '09:

1. Empire of the sun
2. Little Boots
3. Florence and the Machine
4. White Lies
5. La Roux
6. Boy Crisis
7. We Have Band
8. Chairlift
9. Amazing Baby
10. Passion Pit

And in no particular order the "rest":

Fan Death
Asher Roth
Vivian Girls
Tame Impala
FM Belfast
Micachu
The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims - why change such an awesome name in the first place?!)

Now all that's left to do is wait!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE (20-12-08): Sooo... just saw that the Beeb's 2009 list is up. The good thing is that I got 6 out of 15! Whoop whoop and yay for me!... bad thing is that the list was up a whole five days before I posted (so yay for me and my brilliant research!)... Anywho, despite my inability to be up to date I still got 6 of 15, which is something. It is... Check out the BBC's list for 2009 here.

2008's Best Singles

2008-12-10T01:20:00.007+01:00

International Singles:
1. Yeasayer - 2080
2. Seawolf - You're A Wolf
3. Portishead - The Rip
4. MGMT - Time to pretend
5. The Dodos - Fools
6. Beach House - Gila
7. Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat
8. Late of the Pier - The Bears are coming
9. Torche - Healer
10. Ponytail - Celebrate the Body Electric

Honourable Mentions: The Foals - Red Socks Pugie, Crystal Castles - Crimewave, Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (2009 material), Amadou & Mariam - Sabali, These New Puritans - Elvis, Late of the Pier - Focker, Micachu - Golden Phone, No Age - Eraser, Hot Chip - Ready for the floor, Midnight Juggernaughts - Into the Galaxy, Vivian Girls - I Believe in Nothing, White Denim - Let's Talk About It, Vampire Weekend - A-Punk, Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)

Danish Singles:
1. Beta Satan - 666
2. Spleen United - Suburbia
3. Veto - You Say Yes, I Say Yes
4. Choir of Young Believers - Riot
5. William Blakes - Secrets of state

Honourable mentions: Wong Boys - GIT UR FUK ON, The Raveonettes - Dead Sound, Lucy Love - No VIP, 18th Dye - Soft the Hard Way

2008's Best Albums

2008-12-10T00:40:00.012+01:00

As always it's really hard to pick the best of a whole year, but after several changes and re-thinks I think this is about as close as I'll get to having a final list (it will always change according to time, place and mood). Here we go...

International Albums:
1. The Dodos - Visiter
2. Why? - Alopecia
3. Portishead - Third
4. Mystery Jets - 21
5. The Foals - Antidotes
6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7. No Age - Nouns
8. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
9. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
10. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
11. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
12. Yeasayer - Yeasayer
13. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
14. Beach House - Devotion
15. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
16. Deerhunter - Microcastle
17. Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls
18. Shearwater - Rook
19. Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs
20. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

Honourable mentions: Torche, TV on the Radio, Wild Beasts, Jay Reatard, Cadence Weapon, Midnight Juggernaughts, Blood Red Shoes, Ponytail

Danish Albums:
1. Beta Satan - Girls
2. Veto - Crushing Digits
3.Choir of Young Believers - Burn the flag EP
4. Spleen United - Neanderthal
5. 18th Dye - Amorine Queen

Honourable mentions: Messy Shelters (came out too late to add to top 5), Kim and the Cinders - S/T, Lily Electric - You're In the Painting You Saw

Rock my empiricism! Survey!

2008-05-10T12:08:00.004+02:00

So I'm writing a really cool thesis on the music industry in the digital age with a friend and fellow IB student of mine...

We've made a survey for it, so go ahead do it! (just click on the word survey...)

Rock on for the sake of empiricism! (you don't get to hear that often)

Cheers

BV Lightspeed Champion Interview

2008-01-18T21:46:00.000+01:00

Over on BrooklynVegan there's an interview with Devonte Hynes of Lightspeed Champion about his upcoming album and his previous band Test Icicles. I really liked Test Icicles and I really like Lightspeed Champion. I thought it was really sad when Test Icicles called it quits as they had made some really great tunes (eg. Circle Square Triangle), but I'm happy to see Dev moving on and doing good stuff on his own (and also hearing him talk about Rory).

Anywho, it's a really good interview and well worth a read. There's a lot about Test Icicles, but also a lot about how it was doing the album as well as how it was working with Mike Mogis of Saddle Creek;

"I had been speaking to Mike [Mogis, Saddle Creek producer] for months before we decided to work together. The idea was to get the guitar out of these songs, to see if they could stand on their own. It's kind of crazy. I'm glad I made this album."

So head over to BrooklynVegan and read the full interview... and whilst there you should definitely download the Lightspeed Champion song also posted there.

Current obsessions

2008-01-18T20:45:00.000+01:00

Current obsessions aka. what's on the iPod...

- The Floor is Made of Lava (DK) http://www.myspace.com/thelava
- Turboweekend (DK) http://www.myspace.com/turboweekend
- The Foals http://www.myspace.com/foals
- Vampire Weekend (eagerly awaiting album) http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
- Bat For Lashes http://www.myspace.com/batforlashes
- Elle S'appelle http://www.myspace.com/ellesappelleband
- Bon Iver (beautiful beautiful voice) http://www.myspace.com/boniver
- The Gallows (a little punk for the road) http://www.myspace.com/gallows
- Lily Electric (DK... with bucket loads of potential) http://www.lilyelectric.com/

Perenial favorites aka. almost almost on the iPod...

- Veto (DK) http://www.myspace.com/vetosite
- Good Shoes http://www.myspace.com/goodshoes
- Death From Above 1979 (R.I.P.) http://www.myspace.com/deathfromabove1979
- Blood Red Shoes http://www.myspace.com/bloodredshoes

- We Are Scientists http://www.myspace.com/wearescientists

Welcome

2008-01-18T20:28:00.001+01:00

Goodevening ladies and gent's,
this blog is the result of many years of passion for music. Keeping up to date on everything musical is an arduous task, but also great fun. The aim of this blog is simply to write about what excites me musically, up- and- coming band (danish and foreign) as well as keeping up to date with the latest gigs in Copenhagen.

I've long been an avid reader of the many blogs out there on music and I thought that I myself wanted to contribute with a blog featuring Danish bands and the Copenhagen music scene in english. I hope you like it.

Now, let's get to it...