Garage revival times!

Every now and every then, I have a week or a few where I scrap all the synths and fancy-schmanzy studio productions in favor of some old fashioned guitars. This time around, this period has been foremostly spurred by my getting a hold of The Kooks' very well-acclaimed album Inside In/Inside Out, from 2006. Of course, everyone knows 'Naïve' and 'Seaside', both of which are awesome tracks, but also 'She Moves In Her Own Way', 'See The World' and 'Match Box' are very enjoyable parts of a good album.

Another thing that has happened the last few weeks is that I've finally embraced Is This It by The Strokes. Ever after NME named it the top most influential album of the 00's, I've somehow pushed forward the fact, that I would eventually have to make up my mind on this album. It is perhaps less hit-laden than it's younger brother, Room On Fire, which features both '12.51' and the catchiest riff in the world, 'Reptilia', but it is really a thorough package. Songs like 'Someday', 'Barely Legal', 'Take It or Leave It' and the title track all stand out, but the album's strength is really the simplicity and genuineness that runs through its entirety.

I have had an Arctic Monkeys flip for months, but lately it has turned, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, towards the second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. I am amazed at how 'Only Ones Who Know' and 'Do Me A Favour' work together around the panicky nexus of the album. The latter is a highly powerful tune, especially when you bring the spot-on lyrics into the mix. I might cook up some sort of comparative discourse of the three Arctic Monkeys albums soon enough.

Tokyo Police Club and Cut Off Your Hands are peripherical parts of this garage-revival period, both chipping in with instrumental tracks such as 'Your English Is Good' and 'Turn Cold'.

I'm finally getting a decent salary next month, and I'll definitely spend some of it on some new records. More on that soon.

Things are happening.

Alright, except from the Roskilde-announce last week (which was topped by the addition of Prince today, whoa!?), these have been a few quiet weeks. I've however finally assembled a collection of stuff that's worth a listen.

Things are happening for James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem, with third and, supposedly, final album This Is Happening due in the immediate future. It was available for streaming at his website a few days ago, and I really liked what I heard. 'All I Want', which seems to be the next single off the album, is really likeable, and very recognizable.

Roskilde-bound The National are out with a new single too, 'Bloodbuzz Ohio', and I must admit I am really impressed. Here's a band that have always hovered slightly below my radar, but that may well change. I love the energetic approach to the otherwise sometimes rather dire post-punk-revival sound (think White Lies, Editors).

In the more electronic spectrum, quite a few interesting remixes have appeared the last few days. 'Beach', my favourite track off Mew's latest album, has been remixed by none other than Trentemøller. I can't find it on YouTube yet, but it's available off Soundvenue's High 5, whereupon it is a contender this week. It's really awesome! In the alley of star DJs, Tiësto has had a go at Turboweekend's 'Trouble Is'. It's just humongous! Hot Chip have released a re-fix of 'I Feel Better', now titled 'I Feel Bonnie', and featuring Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. Also in the electronic alley, albeit not a remix, Crystal Castles are on their way with their second album, which is eponymous - as the first one was. Retarded. Anyway, 'Celestica' here is quite a nice track!

Finally, I went and saw Kashmir last Thursday, and it was really good. They, as nearly always, had tremendous gusto, and the set was pretty good. I don't remember the tracks in order, but they played the following selection of songs:

From Trespassers: Mouthful of Wasps, Intruder, Mantaray, Pallas Athena, Still Boy and Bewildered in the City.
From No Balance Palace: Kalifornia, The Cynic, The Curse of Being A Girl, She's Made of Chalk and Ether.
From Zitilites: Rocket Brothers, Surfing The Warm Industry, The Aftermath, Melpomene, In The Sand and Big Fresh.
From Travelogue: Leathercrane (an epic closer!)

I missed Petite Machine and Lampshade, which they've played on some of the earlier dates of the tour, but all in all a good gig!

Preliminary thoughts on the Roskilde line-up.

... And Thursday came and went, with Roskilde Festival now 60 names richer on the line-up, and even though, as I wrote the other day, other names will doubtlessly still be added to the poster right through June, we've now got a pretty good picture on what to expect.

I must say, I've never had as crowded an upper echelon on my must-see list. Given that many metal-heads and hip hoppers especially might righteously feel that this year's line-up doesn't fulfill their wettest dreams, I sure am pretty satisfied. It's still early, and a lot is gonna happen through the next few months, as I get to dig further through the acts, but these are my preliminary thoughts on what the 8 days at the Animal Showgrounds are gonna have in store for me.

Headliners
The big three in question this year in my book are the UK threesome of Muse, The Prodigy and Gorillaz, and I'm probably gonna prioritize them in that particular order. Yes, I saw Muse in 2007, and thus part of me argues to go see something else this time around, but it is also a fact that Muse's '07 show still ranks just below Trentemøller '09 on my top Roskilde-concerts' list. I'll never forget that afternoon, but I hope this years show will provide a different experience, namely a slot in the dark (the 1am slot would be awesome). Regardless, there's a good chance the Teignmouth trio will be atop my list come June. The Prodigy is gonna be an awesome party. I envision it as this years ball-buster of a lights-and-music show, in lieu of Björk ('07), The Chemical Brothers ('08) and Trentemøller ('09). Gorillaz is all gonna depend on how they choose to come forth live. If they do it all in 3D, it's gonna be quite unique. Else, I might not be desperate to see them, although they'll probably kick ass. Jack Johnson deserves a mention, although given the strength of this year's line-up, he's gonna be a fair ways down the list. A sunny Saturday afternoon with Mr. Johnson at Orange does sound appealing though.

Indie abundance

Last year, Roskilde somewhat slumped the indie audience, with the absence of acts such as Phoenix, La Roux, Bon Iver and Animal Collective. This year, the festival full-fledgedly takes revenge. Trying to somehow sort the abundance of interesting names in some sort of priority, five names appear atop my list. Vampire Weekend is gonna be very, very hard for me to miss this year. I really need to get a hold of their newest record Contra, from January, but their eponymous debut is really enough for me to go see them. Kings of Convenience are gonna be extremely high on my list as well, although I've only ever heard their two first albums. I need to get a hold of at least the newest one. I am already looking forward to a hot afternoon with a beer at Odeon and Erlend Øye soothing my ears with his moony voice. The Temper Trap are gonna be massive too. We heard them a fair lot in Australia, and I really hope they get to play Arena, which would be an amazing stage for their music. They're probably gonna have to settle for Odeon though. LCD Soundsystem is another name I'm looking very much forward to. I just heard his new album for the first time the other day, and it's much better than the lead single, 'Drunk Girls', would lead one to expect. Combined with the sheer quality of his second album, Sound of Silver, this is gonna be an epic gig. Florence + The Machine rounds off the important five - another very interesting name.

A few other names sound very appealing, but are gonna be dependent on how the schedule is gonna come out. Beach House especially, but also FM Belfast, Casiokids, Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts and The National.

Electronic emphasis?
Last year, my program ended up being pretty packed with electronic names (Fever Ray, Röyksopp, Trentemøller, 2ManyDJs, Pet Shop Boys), to the point that it really ended up being almost too much. I'm gonna pick my poison carefully this year, but there are a few names I'm very likely to attend. Highest on my list will probably be Moderat, who are likely to throw off an anything but moderate party. I also hope to find room especially for Pendulum and French elite-turntablists Beat Torrent. Other interesting names include Miike Snow, Schlachthofbronx, Fontän and Lindstrøm & Christabelle, but they're honestly gonna have a tough time in a year like this.

The yearly world-complex
Roskilde Festival always somehow manage to dig up a few decent names from around the globe, to cater for the curious music enthusiast. I always try to see at least part of a few concerts with a distinctively different feel, but it's hard to know what to expect. I do however expect Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar to throw an awesome party, which I'd like to attend. Some other interesting names that might be worth checking out are Mexican Institute of Sound, as well as the yearly act from The DR Congo, Staff Benda Bilili, who are not only Congolese, but also homeless and paraplegic. Oh, the poor souls. Finally, why not check out Narasirato Pan Pipers from a country as interesting as the Solomon Islands? Jeez, Roskilde haven't even come up with an abbreviation for that (they haven't for Mali either, but then again, there isn't much to abbreviate).

Denmark ye beautiful
I group the Danish acts together across genres mainly because they always present an irritating dilemma. As good as they might be, they're bound to be around the country at some point, and as such they aren't as exclusive to Roskilde. I do manage to fit a few of them into my schedule every year, and I'm rarely disappointed (Oh No Ono, Trentemøller and Tim Christensen '09, VETO '08 and Nephew '07, to mention a few). The three main Danish acts this year are Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Kashmir and Nephew, and I'd like to fit in all three of them. Dizzy Mizz Lizzy are of the highest importance, as I've never seen them live, so it will hopefully be legendary. I saw Kashmir last night, but they are an awesome band, and I'd really like to experience them at Roskilde. Nephew are gonna be hard pressed to top their epic gig in 2007, but they're good in any case. Den Sorte Skole are beginning to look like a recurring fixture at the Animal Showgrounds, showing up for the third year running, counting their surprise bash at Skate in 2008. This year, they're gonna mash up tunes from the first 40 years of Roskilde, and it's gonna be one fat hell of a party. I hope to attend, and to be drunk while doing so. Two Danish bands I have heard way too little are When Saints Go Machine and The Kissaway Trail, but they are at the mercy of the schedule. Same goes for The Asteroids Galaxy Tour.

And for the first four days...
The Pavilion Junior line-up looks really interesting this year. I haven't really gotten around to checking out much of it yet, but Kill Screen Music, Sleep Party People and Eim Ick will be interesting. And I might go check out Thee Attacks, just because they're from Aalborg, and there are gonna be a lot of known faces among the audience.

An outline of a top 15
Order will certainly change, but:
Muse (UK)
Kings of Convenience (N)
Vampire Weekend (US)
The Prodigy (UK)
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (DK)
The Temper Trap (AUS)
LCD Soundsystem (US)
Den Sorte Skole (DK)
Moderat (DE)
Gorillaz (UK)
Florence + The Machine (UK)
Kashmir (DK)
Nephew (DK)
Beat Torrent (FR)
Pendulum (AUS)

What to expect tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the 15th of April, which means that Roskilde will announce the majority of the yet-to-be-announced acts of this festival. And eventhough a few names will continue to trickle onto the list through the rest of April, May and June, tomorrow will see the general shape and look of this years festival revealed. There are still a lot of questions, guessing and wishes, but here's my take on what to expect.

The Headliners
As opposed to earlier years, the number of headliners release up to this point is very vague. I'm not a sucker for headliners anyway, but the main importance of these names is Roskilde's ability to continuously measure itself against the other major European festivals. While Roskilde's big advantage against many of the others is usually the width and variety of the line-up, the headliners are what most festival-goers look at at first glance, when they compare Roskilde to the other three festivals that make up Europe's big four: Werchter in Belgium, Sziget in Hungary and ofcourse England's Glastonbury.

As I see it, only three of the already confirmed names are definitely headliners. These are Muse, Gorillaz, and Them Crooked Vultures. The possible headliners are in my opinion (in order of likelihood): Motörhead, Jack Johnson, Alice In Chains, Pavement, NOFX and Kasabian. In all likelihood no more than three of these are headliners, and Motörhead and Jack Johnson are likely to be among them. Jack Johnson isn't a typical Roskilde headliner, but make no mistake, he is one of the most generally popular artists in the world. Whether Alice In Chains, Pavement or NOFX will be a headliner is a toss-up. I don't know any of the bands sufficiently to argue in any direction. Kasabian is probably a long-shot.

The past four years we have had 8, 8, 7, 8 and 9 headliners respectively, so it's very likely that two headliners will be in the package tomorrow. A mentionable unknown however is the possibility of a Danish headliner. The past five years there has been only one Danish headliner (Trentemøller in 2009), interestingly, this was also the year of 9 headliners. Two Danish bands on the line-up could possibly headline this year, those are Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and Nephew. I find it unlikely that any of them will though, for two reasons: Even though Danes are by far the biggest nationality at Roskilde, they are not as heavily recruited through the line-up, but more through the social aspect and traditions of going to the festival. Also, Roskilde usually takes pride in distancing themselves from the other Danish festivals, all of which are headlined by either one or both of the aforementioned bands.

To sum it up, My guess is, that the following bands will headline:
Alice In Chains (or NOFX)
Gorillaz
Jack Johnson
Motörhead
Muse
Them Crooked Vultures

And two more. But who will these two bands be? If we look at the genre-composition of the headliners we know so far, there's a clear emphasis towards the heavier rock/grunge, with Alice In Chains, Motörhead, Them Crooked Vultures and, to some extent, although their mainstream success makes them a pretty all-purpose name, Muse. Gorillaz are from the urban genres and Jack Johnson is probably to be construed as pop/mainstream. As I see it, we're gonna definitely have one more urbanely-oriented headliner - either a strong hip hop name, or a big electronic artist. Faithless were my tip for an electronic headliner, but they are playing Skanderborg, and thus are unlikely to play Roskilde. The Prodigy are always heavily lobbied for, but I really think it should have been last year, when they were on an album tour. I think Massive Attack is the most likely electronic headliner, but a lot tells me Roskilde will surprise us in this direction, and that being so, names like Daft Punk and Portishead could also come into consideration. The Chemical Brothers are on their way with new stuff, but we had them as recently as 2008, which works against them, even though it was an awesome show.

As for hip hop, I must admit that isn't really my area of expertise, but the hip hop acts this year so far are very few and far between, so I definitely wouldn't be surprised to see a big name come up here. Snoop Dogg could be a possibility. As for other headliners, my fresh pick would be Atoms For Peace. The Strokes would seem obvious, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Julian Casablancas might very well show up though, but not as a headliner. Arctic Monkeys could be possible too, but they aren't really touring this summer, it seems. Other headlining possibilities of different genres could be Iggy & The Stooges, Erykah Badu (although I'm not sure whether she could be a headliner), Robbie Williams, Rammstein (unlikely) or Green Day, although I wouldn't bet on neither. But two new headliners tomorrow, anything else will be a disappointment.

Indie hopes


This is just gonna be a quick sum-up of some likely indie names. First of all, I would be very surprised not to see Jonsí on the line-up. He fits the bill perfectly: he's Scandinavian, and he just released his debut album. Other very likely names are The National and Rufus Wainwright. I hope very much to see Delphic and Vampire Weekend, both of whom have released albums within the last few months. Same goes for Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, The Drums and The xx. None of these four have ever played Roskilde. I am not sure if Crystal Castles have, but they could be a hot tip, especially if the electronic headliner is gonna be absent this year. Same situation goes for Autechre, Miike Snow and Pantha du Prince. Among bands who have played Roskilde recently, but who could return this year, are Hot Chip, MGMT (very likely), Yeasayer, Band of Horses (yrrrk) and Arcade Fire. The latter could perhaps be a headliner, but I ultimately don't think they will be, mostly because of the fact that they will probably not play Orange. Bon Iver and Animal Collective were both remarkably absent last year, but both bands have released EPs lately, which could warrant some consideration. Other absentees of last year include La Roux, Calvin Harris, Gossip, Phoenix, Grizzly Bear and Passion Pit, but I would be very surprised to see any of those bands at Roskilde this year, given that they haven't released anything since last summer. A very possible hip hop name is Die Antwoord from South Africa.

Danish possibilities

It's always hard to get a handle on which Danish acts will play Roskilde. The big question this year is Kashmir, and I must say I'm totally 50/50 as to whether they will come or not. They really should, being as they have released a new album, and are still one of Denmark's major bands, but they didn't exactly release the best album in the world, and Roskilde could decide to skip them this year. Very likely Danish acts include Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Under Byen, I Got You On Tape, Band Ane and The Floor Is Made Of Lava.

It all goes off at noon tomorrow!

True and everlasting.

One of the major signs a record is of a high quality, is when the tracks emerge from the context in vastly different paces. Any given albums will always have tracks that are immediate favorites, tracks that eventually emerge as being the best, but a majority of albums also contain a few or more tracks that never really surface. Or don't seem to, anyhow. When some of these tracks actually do eventually shine brightly, is often the time I begin to mention the album in question in conjunction with my favorite albums.

Two albums have evolved and developed in exactly such a way for me over the past year. One is Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by French indie-poppers Phoenix. Of course, some of the more accessible and energetic tracks such as 'Lisztomania', '1901' and 'Lasso' immediately shone through as powerhouses of the album. The latter part - especially the last three tracks - was for a long time quite more obscure. However these last few weeks I've really started taking a liking to especially 'Countdown' and 'Armistice'. They're both amazing tracks. They revolve around the same pattern, culminating in epic outros carried by subtly pensive lyrics, putting Thomas Mars' fragile yet expressive voice at the forefront of dreaming descriptions of lost and flying love.

The other is Humbug by Arctic Monkeys. A gloomy meanderthon of an album, this has caught slowly but surely up on me. I instantly loved 'Cornerstone', which is an awesome piece of coquettery, and also 'Potion Approaching', 'Pretty Visitors' and 'My Propeller'. But some of the more anonymous tracks are truly the strengths of the album - tracks such as the thoughtful and deep 'Secret Door', which reminds me of a cross between two of the most epic songs from the first albums, '505' and 'A Certain Romance'. 'Dance Little Liar' is another key track on Humbug, in many way drawing the stylistic influences and the sound of the album together.

Otherwise, really nothing much is going on. I've got no money this month to buy new records, sadly. Roskilde added a number of small acts this week, I haven't really looked thoroughly through them yet. This Thursday is the big release, which is gonna be important this year, as many are divided on the look of the line-up so far.

...And an admittance for Parachutes.

LCD Soundsystem is on his way with his (yes, it's a 'he', not a 'they') proclaimed last album. It's gonna be called This Is Happening, and the first single went into rotation last week. It's called 'Drunk Girls', and I must admit it isn't really what I like to hear from mr. Murphy. I hope he moves a bit deeper on the record. He's still not officially confirmed by Roskilde Festival, which is weird, since he confirmed himself something like a month ago. Normally they don't drag it that far if the artist has leaked the fact himself.

Trentemøller is coming forth with the follow-up to The Last Resort. Its name is Into The Great Wide Yonder, and he too has just released his first single, 'Sycamore Feeling'. It's, perhaps surprisingly, very much along the lines of The Last Resort, albeit with actual vocals. Very acoustically sounding.

I went down and saw Does It Offend You, Yeah? in Århus this Sunday, and although I was very impressed by their live energy and their ability to reproduce their distinctive sound live, the fact that they left stage after only 40 minutes was a major downturn. I just don't understand the aesthetics of playing surprisingly short concerts. I had the same experience with Hot Chip, who left a party-warty Arena at Roskilde after less than an hour in 2008, and with Lauryn Hill, who played only about 30 minutes in Rotorua, despite the fact that she was the main headliner. Why is it? I mean, I know Does It Offend You, Yeah? have been touring Europe extensively for the past few weeks, but come on, every musician ultimately is in the business to get to play live. It's always a kick, and why leave after half an hour or 45 minutes, when you've got the material to play an hour, maybe an hour 15? Especially when you're the main act, such as DIOYY were this sunday. The warmup band, Kakkmaddafakka (yep, Norwegian...) were a great surprise though, they were really fun.

The major thing this week though, has been my (re)discovery of Coldplay's debut album Parachutes. It's always been sort of a distant cousin to the other three albums, but I've finally gotten around to hear it more thoroughly, and it's just wonderful. Perhaps because my tastes have only recently developed in the direction of more folky rock. Parachutes is, much more so than the other albums, a quiet masterpiece, that doesn't have Chris Martin scream a whole lot of epicism at the top of his lungs. It's much more Thursday night at the jazz house than Saturday at Wembley. Very sweet.