Back with Kent!

I'm back again, connected but with no clue what has been happening in the last month or so...

As soon as my internet was put back on I decided to have a listen to Kent's new album En plats i solen. In the reviews I have been reading they get mostly 4 out of 5 and that gave me hope. Kent's last few albums has been a bit uninspiring, but this time they seem to have found back to a happier place, and a place you want to share with them :)

Kent will be touring Sweden during the summer, so if you happen to be here you should go see them. As one of Sweden's biggest bands they are relatively unknown outside of Sweden, although they made a couple of their albums in English as well [Isola and Hagnesta Hill]. Without any bigger success it seems, but their popularity in Sweden stays intact.

Kent will be spinning on my Spotify for the rest of the summer! If you want to find out more about Kent you should check out kent.nu, their official website or the Kent channel on Youtube.

90ties Nostalgia Day

I stumbled on a playlist on Spotify with some of our great 90ties pop classics. We had a great period of a lot of new music during the 90ties, the indie pop years :) It's a pretty good collection of the music that shaped me during my teenage years.

I could say a hundred things about it, but im gonna let the music speak for itself. If you have any questions, put them in the comments.

Pssst! I couldn't embed this one, but it should be in here too. Kent - Kräm [så nära får ingen gå]

Popsicle - Make Up


Pineforest Crunch - Cup Noodle Song


Cardigans - Sick and Tired


Atomic Swing - Stone me into the grove


Jumper - Tapetklister


The Wannadies - You & Me Song


Stonecake - Tuesday Afternoon


Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hon är så söt

Guest Writer | Five Swedish Songs on a Rainy Day

It doesn't sound much to ask for; some wistful music for when the
weather outside is setting a grey tone. But when I thought about it
most of the Swedish music I enjoy is usually warm and sunny pop, much
too full of cheerful vitality if I'm in the mood not to be. So what's
the solution? If its songs with introspective lyrics, a haunting voice
and a good selection of minor chords, then I will probably reach for
the album 'Halfway To Fivepoints' by Anna Ternheim every time. Even
the cover is cloudy.

Beyond that I had to dig a little deeper, and found that sunnier
Swedish bands have their rainy moments too. Occasionally.

1. The Radio Dept. - It's Personal
2. Kent - Before It All Ends [Innan Allting Tar Slut]
3. The Cardigans - Feathers and Down
4. Fredrik - 11 Years
5. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - In Your Veins

Here is a link for the Spotify playlist.

Guest writer
Paul

The Radio Dept. - It's Personal


Kent - Before It All Ends [Innan Allting Tar Slut]


The Cardigans - Feathers and Down


Fredrik - 11 Years


The Soundtrack of Our Lives - In Your Veins



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Would you like to contribute too? Maybe you want to tell us about the greatness of your favorite Swedish band, or give us your top 5 Swedish songs on Thursdays, or anything else that you can think of. Email me for more information.

Top 5 album list of 2009

This time of year I scan the music magazines and read their year-lists. Everyone is eager to make a list in the spirit of High Fidelity, to summarize yet another great musical year :) So here comes my top 5 list of Swedish albums that stood out from the crowd. At least for me.

Without any specific order:
* El Perro Del Mar - Love is Not Pop
* Anna Järvinen - Man var Bland Molnen
* Brothers of End - The End
* Fever Ray - Fever Ray
* Melissa Horn - Säg Ingenting till Mig

Other artist that has released albums that has been on my mind more or less during the year, has been: Hello Saferide, Asha Ali, Kent, [ingenting], Taken by Trees, A Camp, Maia Hirasawa and Markus Krunegård.

For the year 2010 I'm eagerly awaiting the albums of First Aid Kit, Hajen and The Radio Dept. Im also hoping for world peace and the spread of Spotify to the rest of the world, so more people can access great music :)

New Swedish Music

Brothers of End

Here comes a three new releases that i think you should check out right away if you haven't yet.

Brothers of End - What's Wrong with That
From the debut album The End, released in October, a well made slow-drive album. Check out more on their website!



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Melisssa Horn - Lät Du Henne Komma Närmre
Melissa is a huge success in Sweden and is doing her first solo tour with her second album Säg Ingenting Till Mig at the moment. Read more about Melissa her her website!



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Kent - Töntarna
Kent is back with their 9th album Röd and will probably turn it into a huge success. Find out for yourself! Check out their website for more details.




Pssst! All of these new releases is available at Spotify if you wanna have a listen!

Carolina Wallin Pérez

The wave of cover album is still over us, but this time there comes a discovery of a new talented singer with it. Her name is Carolina Wallin Pérez. A friend discovered her and told me to check it out [thanks Erik!]. It's an album with Kent covers.

Carolina is from the beginning a jazz singer and this album is her interpretation of Kent classics. Like so many of us, she has been listening to Kent since the start and made it her challenge to make their songs "her own" on this album.

Pssst! Carolina Wallin Pérez is playing live with my favorite sister-pair in First Aid Kit in the upcoming weeks. Listen to her at Myspace or Spotify.

Carolina Wallin Pérez - Pärlor [Kent cover]


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Check out Carolina's Myspace for more information.
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Kent | Töntarna

The biggest indie band in Sweden, Kent [which isn't that much "indie" anymore] released a new song earlier this week called Töntarna [the geeks]. Kent will always sound like Kent, but these days they sound like a Kent that flirts more than usual with electronic effects. The single is the first one from the new album Röd [Red] that will be released on November 6th [Sweden].

To understand Kent you have to start from the beginning, when they turned big in the mid 90ties. Back then they were young and hungry indie kids with passion. Today its high quality, good, but nothing spectacular. Still i always have a soft spot for Kent. Maybe its youth nostalgia coming over me again? ;)

You can listen to the new song Töntarna on Spotify and buy it at the usual download sites. On October 12th you can buy the single in stores [Sweden].

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Check out Kent's official website and Myspace for more information.
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Music in Swedish

Often I get the question Who is the best artist that sings in Swedish? The "Swedofiles" out there is very interested in listening to music sung in Swedish. I don't know why, since the lyrics must get lost in translation... [maybe it sounds exotic, like when I listen to French music]?

Well, if you are one of these people who enjoy an afternoon with some Swedish singing, you should look up the following artists.

Why do you like to listen to music sung in Swedish?

--> Anna Järvinen [video with Annika Norlin]


--> Håkan Hellström [official video for För En Lång Lång Tid]


--> Markus Krunegård [the song Jag Är En Vampyr]


--> Lars Winnerbäck [the song Elegi]


--> Säkert [the song Vi Kommer Att Dö Samtidigt]


--> Vapnet [the song Plötsligt Händer Det Inte]

Julklapp from Kent

Happy new year! 2009 will be a great year! Kent thought they should give their fans a Christmas gift, and thats why you can find På Drift? as a free download on their official website. [Get it while its hot!]

The song is made especially for the anti-bully organization Friends. And since Kent's music has helped generations of anxiety filled teens since the early 90ties so i think its a good choice for them to back up this organization.

Kent is one of the biggest indie bands in Sweden and has been since 1991 when the breakthrough came with the album Kent and the song Blåjeans that became a big hit. I have been following them since then, and i have all the albums like a true fan :] Although the teen anxiety has lifted i still get shivers when i listen to this.

Kent - På Drift? [commercial version from Swedish Television]


[More about Kent will surely come...]