Always trust the Germans...

... To come up with something completely insane. This time around, it's Schlachthofbronx from Bavaria, who are coming to Roskilde this summer. If it fits into my schedule, I'd really like to see them. Try and have a listen to 'Too High'. It's hilarious, and really bordering stupid, but at the same time, I find it somewhat catchy. Quickly on the Roskilde-grapevine, I must declare my indifference to the acts that have been announced this week, but I know it fills voids for many a Roskilde-enthusiast, and if it sells tickets, I'm happy.

VETO frontman Troels Abrahamsen has been beavering away this winter on yet another solo-album, which is gonna be his last before starting to work on another VETO album. The new album is titled BLCK, and it's out in March. The first single is 'Not Moving', and I must say it slightly disappoints me. BLCK was supposed to be way more towards the hard house that Abrahamsen exhibited on his unreleased Mockin' Bird record from a few years back, but it seems that BLCK is very much on the same tangent as WHT, his previous album, was.

In the same direction, Danish-Swedish electro-songstress RebekkaMaria is out with her second full-length March 1st. It's called Sister Sortie, and is available on her Soundvenue-profile. I've only heard the first few songs as of yet, but it seems fairly promising. I am a big fan of her first record, Queen of France, and it might just be that she has matured even more on the new record.

Good ole dance-punk'ers Late of the Pier are out with new stuff as well, a track called 'Best in the Class'. It's quite recognizably them, I think, with an 8-bit twang. Notice the granny in the video - pure awesomeness!

I was supposed to go see young Danish singer-songwriter Mads Langer tonight, but yet another snowstorm has got me stuck in Shit's Creek. Alas. I really have to get out of here soon.

A Bloc Partribute: Beginners guide.

As many of you may know, I am a big fan of British indie outfit Bloc Party, who are, at the moment, on a hiatus. Both Russell and Kele, guitarist and lead vocalist respectively, are working on their own projects at the time, and while they are both interesting musicians, I am most interested in, what drummer Matt Tong ends up doing, as he is by far the most outstanding instrumentalist of the four.

Anyway, I've decided to throw together sort of a beginners guide to Bloc Party. A collection of six tunes that will act as a proper introduction to, or summary of this band.

Start of full throttle on 'Helicopter', which is a perfect example of the frantic, riff-laden style of debut album Silent Alarm. Originally from the Little Thoughts EP, it eventually made it to Silent Alarm as second on the tracklist, and a perfect sequel to anthemic opener 'Like Eating Glass'.

Also from Silent Alarm, I've chosen 'This Modern Love', which is a really pretty little tune, that has really grown on me this past year or so. Revolving very much around its lyrical theme and universe, this song really brings forth Bloc Party's eminence in ballads, even though characterizing this track as a ballad would perhaps be a bit off. There are also some very fine acoustic versions of this one around.

Moving on, second full-lengther A Weekend In The City opens with Bloc Party's hands down strongest track, 'Song For Clay (Disappear Here)'. I've never grown tired of that riff, and the overall drive and vigor of this song really never dies. I think it's probably one of my favourite tunes all in all, although that's always a risky statement.

'Kreuzberg' is in the entirely other end of the spectrum, which serves to illustrate the many facets of A Weekend In The City, that makes it such a magnificent album. It is really a less-is-more kind of song, and its simplicity becomes its strength. I love to listen to this tune at night, when I'm walking somewhere, or on the train or something, or coming back home from a night out.

I was really in doubt about which track to add as the sixth, but I eventually settled on 'Sunday', also from A Weekend In The City, which might be a wee bit corny, but at the same time is just a wonderful piece of music. It carries very distinct traces of producer Jacknife Lee, but I just can't resist the lyrical theme in this one. It is such an honest expression of affection as it is perceived on those all too well known Sunday mornings.

Finally, it would be unfair to not include Bloc Party's third album, Intimacy, which, although to me definitely the weakest album of the three, does include some very good tracks, some of them very zippy. The eventual standout from this album however is epic closer 'Ion Square', which builds in a wonderful way, and expresses a certain longing sadness and feelings of love and ultimately resignation. Some might construe Kele Okereke's lyrics as being somewhat pocket poetic, but I think he really shines through as a lyricist and a vocalist on a song like Ion Square. An extraordinary tune.

A few electro picks (and a bit of garage too).

Alright, this is gonna be a quick, less-is-more runthrough of some more new stuff I've run into. By the way, I went to see 2ManyDJs the other day with a couple of my fave allies. It was pretty impressive. Although the vibe wasn't as frantic as at Roskilde (being as it was a Thursday night, probably), and the Belgian kings of cool made use of some slighty predictable climax-situations, it was still good.

First off, I've mentioned this one before, it's 'Odessa' by Canadian indie-house project Caribou. I just love the faint grittyness of this track, a proper indie club hit.

I've known this Gramophonedzie mix for about a year now, but actually this is the first time I've found the full original mix - Kjeld Tolstrup used to play a shorter version on UngaBunga. It's just awesome, combining vintage vocals with a catchy house beat.

This is Darwin Deez with 'Constellations'. I know it reminds me very much of something, but I'm not sure what it is, but something old. It does resemble stuff like The Spinto Band slightly too.

The next two are not as much catchy as they are merely interesting. I am scared out of my wits of what dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man might be capable of live. It's Skream. And Benga. AND Artwork. All three together. Brrr. Are you shivering? The other is Joy Orbison, which is kind of an amalgamation of dubstep and something more Ibiza'ey. I think we're gonna hear a lot more of this kind of stuff, as dubstep wiggles towards some sort of mainstream acceptance (eventhough dubstep becoming mainstream is a bit of a catch-22). Check out 'Wet Look'.

Finishing off a mainly electronically themed post, I've got young Frankie and The Heartstrings for you. They resemble Tokyo Police Club very much, have a listen to 'Hunger' - nothing like a wee bit of garage-revival.

The one good thing...

... about major humanitarian disasters is the fact that it inspires bands to do charity stuff. Such as Radiohead, who played a Haiti-benefit gig at the Jane Fonda the other day, and has put it up for grabs online! Check it out here! It includes the seldom heard live 'A Wolf At The Door', which is a real treat, alongside a beautiful version of 'All I Need', and, ta-daa, a new song. Now, I haven't been exceedingly positive on the stuff we've heard from Radiohead post In Rainbows, such as 'These Are My Twisted Words', and the Harry Patch-one. And not this new new one either. Let's hope their unimpressiveness is the exact reason they're not on the forthcoming Radiohead-album, which is due late this year, and which will be released only in bundles dropped by parachute randomly across the globe (kidding).

It's Wednesday, which means new names for Roskilde. Today's release includes a Danish and two Norwegian acts, none of which really excite me, although Efterklang did play a really massive gig in 2008. Hopefully this time around they've grown to a slot where they can be undisturbed by the bass-happy hip-hop posse that does swing by Orange now and then. In the Roskilde-department, recently announced Icelandic act FM Belfast got alright reviews of their debut record How To Make Friends (Danish review only at the time, sorry.)

English We Have Band are rotating their single 'Honey Trap' off their quasi-eponymous debut record WHB these days. It reminds me of a crossbreed between Goose, Friendly Fires and (perhaps not so favorable) New Young Pony Club. Speaking of clubs, Two Door Cinema Club still rock my world with 'I Can Talk'. Their debut, Tourist History, is out soon, and I might, just might, get a hold of it. Finally, I also got tipped onto Peter Broderick, who actually used to play with the above mentioned Danish outfit Efterklang, and who is a very talented musician. Try 'Not At Home'.

That's about it for now. There'll be a number of posts these next few days on some of the records I bought recently, some more on new stuff and on Bloc Party.

Trespassers: To throw off the Zitilites-harness.

Boy, have I dreaded, but at the same time much anticipated, commenting on the new Kashmir album, Trespassers. How do you subjectively review a band, that has in many ways been your musical year zero? And how do you compare a week-old record with staples in your record collections - albums you know inside out?

It isn't easy to throw off the Zitilites-harness, neither for me nor for Kashmir. Whilst running through Trespassers for the first time, you can't help comparing it to the fervor of 'Melpomene', the imperativeness of 'Surfing The Warm Industry', the quirky aesthetics of 'Ruby Over Diamonds' or the sheer beauty of 'Petite Machine'. Kashmir will never again create an album like Zitilites, neither like The Good Life, their ballad-laden breakthrough effort.

But let's fast forward a bit - eleven years on from The Good Life, six from Zitilites, five from slightly clinical No Balance Palace, through a decade and a bit, and into Kashmir anno 2010 - the Trespassers-era. We are now dealing with a band getting up there in years. It sure has been a long time since Kasper Eistrup's blond fuzz of the 'Graceland' video, or the eccentric, humouristic punk-funk of the first two records. We are dealing with a band, whose last record, while having gotten a favourable reception, these last few years has somehow slid behind its two predecessors in prominence. No Balance Palace was never as sincere, never as heartfelt as Zitilites or The Good Life, and although some of the tracks, such as opener 'Kalifornia' and the closing title track, were obvious winners, No Balance Palace seems to be covered in a duvet-like varnish that fades it in comparison to its predecessors.

For Trespassers, Kasper Eistrup, the band's main songwriter, has at times isolated himself completely (Bon Iver, anyone?), and returned to the band with material to work on, or to be thrashed. This seems to suit the band, as one always got the impression that the No Balance Palace sessions were somewhat concentrated in the studio, with Tony Visconti very audibly pulling the strings.

Opener 'Mouthful of Wasps', while already having become a bit tiresome through its heavy rotation on P3, is a very accessible and delightful song, with a skillfully written chorus that passes through feelings of despair, darkness, determination and, ultimately, hope. Throughout the album, but very clearly on Wasps, we witness how keyboardist Henrik Lindstrand has become much more central in the songwriting process, in comparison to the very guitar heavy No Balance Palace. He seems to have switched his focus from pads and background noises to leads and piano, which suits the band's sound very well.

'Intruder' is somewhat ordinary, albeit lyrically well-written, but the next few songs really hit home. 'Mantaray' and 'Still Boy', divided by curious interlude 'Pallas Athena', are among the strongest tracks on this album. They are a bit similar in build and form, and this is where Trespassers really takes off from No Balance Palace, as these tracks are much more naked and much more intensive than No Balance Palace ever was. It leads ones thoughts back to the The Good Life-era, to tunes like 'Miss You' and 'Kiss Me Goodbye'. This part of the record integrates Lindstrands pianoes and leads with a somewhat youthful guitar-sound in a formidable way.

Next comes the album's weakest bit. It's funny how so many records have a mediocre middle part. 'Bewildered In The City' is, after the first few listens at least, a indifferent piece of music, luckily carrying the albums clear-cut most beautiful lyrics. A bit weepy at times, yes, but very strongly and skillfully written.

I'm a mole rushing blind through your nooks and veins.
Curling up drunk in your vacant carpool lanes.

That is quite poetic. Too bad the music accompanying it is so ordinary. 'Pursuit of Misery' is a decent track, but it seems somehow misplaced in between the ballads that dominate the latter half of Trespassers. I absolutely love the guitar that kicks in at about 1:01 though, what a twang! And I like the drum-piano pattern in the final part too. It is however a track that never quite takes off, and it's somewhat schizophrenically neither beautiful nor powerful. Same goes for 'Time Has Deserted Us', which in my opinion is the weakest track on the record.

By now, during my first listen, I was growing quite negative in opinion on this record, but then comes 'Danger Bear'. What a stunning and exquisite little piece this is! I especially love the second verse, where a delicately beautiful string section enters and accompanies a wonderful piece of lyric in a lovely way:

Your heart is for beating.
Not the fiends that stand in your way.

So debonaire.

'The Indian (That Dwells Inside This Chest)' is a fitting and strong closer to an album, whose biggest weakness is perhaps the fact, that none of the tracks really take off. Some of them contain beautiful lyrics, whilst others employ to different degrees the masterfulness of Henrik Lindstrand's pianoes and beautifully orchestrated string-sections, and the close-knitness of Kashmirs guitar and rhythm section. But none of the tracks contain the whole package. There's no 'Melpomene' or 'Gorgeous' or 'Petite Machine' or 'Lampshade' on this album, yet it does stand out as being very well composed, most of it anyhow. Time will tell if it has the longevity of Zitilites and The Good Life, but I do definitely think Kashmir with Trespassers have come a long way from the anonymity and coldness of No Balance Palace. Trespassers is a delightful album, regardless of where it ends up in the hierarchy in a few years.

The Kings-of-Leonification of contemporary rock.

I sincerely hate when bands leave their unique formula and sound, in order to pursue the easy and proven way to success.

One of the most successful rock bands of the past few years have been Kings of Leon. I do not intend to discuss them and their music, as I do not particularly fancy them, neither do I despise them. They have however been extraordinarily good at what they do. They've brought back an old-fashioned twang to a scene that has become increasingly indie-schmindie. Everyone seems to want to be up the arse of skinny-jeaned youths (such as myself) with accessible, electronically flirting indie-electro hybrids of different sorts.

The last years time, I've seen a few bands trying to copy Kings of Leon's succesful formula. One of them have been The Temper Trap, who by the way were announced for Roskilde Festival today. Props on that. Roskilde have the last few years been a bit weak in booking bands "just in" from undergrounddom. Where the hell were La Roux last year? The amiable Aussies in The Temper Trap aren't Kings of Leon, but they managed to barely squeeze into the little vault of oxygen that is still breathable for bands like this post the Followill brothers' rise to superstardom. I'm looking forward to seeing them this summer. Everyone probably knows 'Sweet Disposition', but 'Fader' here is another good one.

The misery really hit home when I head The Floor Is Made Of Lava's new single, 'All Outta Love' from their forthcoming sophomore release (find it on their myspace). Come on! Anyone who can't hear the clear and clumsy Kings of Leon inspiration here must be deaf, and it's really a shame. The Lava (for short...) were one of the most interesting up-and-coming outfits on the Danish stage two-three years ago, with their festive, riff-based indie (although one could argue that they then just went along the lines of one of the newly risen major bands back then, Arctic Monkeys), which they have almost completely thrashed on the new single. Let's hope this here single is one-of-a-kind on this record, or The Floor Is Made of Lava will lose their relevance. Fast.

I actually intended this as just a quick sort of start pedal for blogging post my aaliyah to Denmark. Quite a few bands were released for Roskilde these past weeks, and I have yet to check all of them out. Jack Johnson is the obvious crowdpleaser headline, and he is a delightful addition, although my attendance at his show is far from set in stone. He will be a surefire winner friday afternoon on Orange though. I just checked out FM Belfast of Iceland, who were announced alongside The Temper Trap and young danish electro-duo Electrojuice today. At first listen they seem a potentialful outfit that just might fit into my schedule, or might not. They're somewhere along the lines of New Young Pony Club, albeit with miles better vocals (can it be worse than NYPC?). Check out 'Par Avion' here.

I'd also like to just point out Caribou's (formerly Manitoba) new single, 'Odessa', which sounds really, really promising.

Oh, and, why no mention of the one and only Trespassers? I haven't got it yet. I know that's miserable, but Denmark is snowed over and mail is delayed. Much more on Trespassers, and a few other new albums such as Delphic's magnificent Acolyte next time around.

Free internet, you know.

Alright, I had promised you and myself that I would keep quiet and enjoy my last days in New Zealand without sniffing about for stuff to mention here, but I've just got a few wees that I need to get out of the system.

First of all, I am massively impressed by new-in-town Danish house-duo Kenton Slash Demon, made up of parts of much heralded band When Saints Go Machine. I think good old Kjeld T. is probably going bonkers for a track like this one. Check it out, it's massive.

Don't bother reading this next part if you're feeling miserable, because upcoming Kitsune-darlings New Door Cinema Club are anything but it. In fact, they're somewhat over-fresh, but hey, aren't we all sometimes? 'I Can Talk' is a likeable little track in any case.

Back when it was released about half a year ago, I didn't really notice I Got You On Tape's 'Spinning For The Cause', but as they just won the P3 Prize (which, by the way, I think Oh No Ono were snubbed for, as was Trentemoller snubbed for the Live Prize for his godlike show at Roskilde), I thought I'd check out their performance from that show, and what charisma, actually. It's been on my mind for days.

In other stuff, I had a quick hear-through of Delphic's debut album Acolyte, which I mentioned in my last post. A promising record, although too early to say anything.

And one more gulp: Arctic Monkeys' Humbug has really grown on me through the past half year, and I regret I have yet to mention it. But it is a brilliant record.

Five in five weeks.

This is probably gonna be my last post until I return home in early February, unless I stumble upon something really awesome of course.

These next five Mondays see the release of exciting new records in my book, which I'm definitely gonna get a hold of when I get back. They include a few exiting and energetic debuts, one of those all-too-anticipated sophomores, and two albums from staples in very different fields.

Tomorrow, the 11th, sees the release of Vampire Weekend's much anticipated 2nd album, Contra, which can be heard in full length on their myspace. I have yet to give it an ear myself, but if you don't like brains, or do like Oasis, or both (which is often the case, sorry Liam, but I just can't get over how nice and quiet the NME.com frontpage has become since Noel threw his guitar at you and left), don't give it a go. They've got a tough task topping their debut though.

The 18th it's time for Delphic and their debut release, Acolyte. I saw these guys warm up for Bloc Party in Copenhagen something like a year ago, and they were quite impressive. As I've stated before, they remind me of few things internationally, but of somewhat of a cross-breed between Marvel Hill and Spleen United, to those of you lucky enough to know Danish music. Acolyte too is available for full streaming on myspace!

On the 25th, Danish upcomers Ginger Ninja are releasing their debut, called Wicked Map (I guess they wanted a record-title that was as poor as their band name, eh?), and this one I'm really excited about. They just received a nomination for Talent of the Year by benchmark Danish radio P3. I had the joy of playing alongside them with my own band Kinetics about a year ago, and since they've just gone skybound. Give the new music video for 'Bone Will Break Metal' a go here (and yes, the video is poor too).

A bit farther into the future, in February, on the 1st (01/02-2010 - nice twang, guys), Kashmir, arguably Denmark's most important rock outfit, are releasing their sixth full length, titled Trespassers. This is gonna be huge in Denmark, and less important everywhere else, but try giving 'Mouthful of Wasps' a listen anyway. You'll love that chorus.

Finally, British electrorock/dancepunk/pseudo-indie-schmindie pioneers Hot Chip are around for their fouth album on the 8th. It's called One Life Stand, and the title track is here.

Oh, and on a final note, I just can't believe I have hitherto not mentioned this track. Just, just in case you didn't hear it, which isn't likely, as this Teignmouth threesome is among the importantmost bands in the world, it's Muse's 'Undisclosed Desires', which is perhaps one of their suavest, bravest and straightforwardly brilliant songs ever.

Six new year kicks (+2).

I'm teeming with stuff to post here, but I rarely have the time to do so. Albums-to-buy lists, decade recaps et al.

I do however have the time to point out a few tracks that are very much on my mind these days. As always, I have a tough time limiting myself, thus six became seven. In other stuff, I got a few new albums these last weeks. I got a hold of Cut Off Your Hands' album You And I, which is really awesome. Very beatle-esque at times, and I just can't get my ears off 'Oh Girl'. I'm really surprised they aren't bigger around here than they are. Not even proper musos down here necessarily know them. I also got Julian Casablancas' solo debut (as a christmas present, thanks Peter!), which I haven't gotten around to hear yet though. I also must mention that I met a fellow Battles-admirer yesterday, what a rare joy.

As for Roskilde, I am not entirely thrilled by Nephew's return to the glitz of Orange. Their gig in '07 was awesome, but then again, I really doubt they'll be able to top it. Expectations will be huge, and I'm not sure which means even this by all standards amazing live act can apply to live up to them.

But let's get to it, the tracks that soundtrack these last few weeks for me. First of all, I'm growing ever more fond of The Kooks, whose amiable lo-fi garage-revival shines through most clearly on 'Seaside'.

On an entirely different front, I've been reviving Trentemoeller's fabulous remix of Royksopp's 'What Else Is There?'. This pan-Scandinavian club basher is indefatigable. So too is the vivid happyness of upcoming Danish outfit Ginger Ninja, whose second single off their January '10 debut, Wicked Map, 'Bone Will Break Metal' is really sweet as, as they say here.

Apart from Cut Off Your Hands, another choice Kiwi outfit is Kora, who played here in Queenstown, NZ, the day before I came here. They're supposed to be among the very best live acts here, so I'm quite bitter I didn't get to see them. I really need to go to a live performance of some kind soon, it's been too long. Check out 'On My Mind', and please disregard the samurai-themed cover.

Across the Tasman, we find the home of Jet. Whenever I hear tambourines, I anticipate one of my favourite dancing tunes, 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl?', which never dies. Speaking of pan-Tasmanian travel, I had 'Someone New' by Eskobar on my mind while crossing a few weeks ago, and it's stuck around since. One of the few proper break-up songs to be neither corny nor whiney.

A band which is pretty much atop my need-to-buy list when I get home is Kings of Convenience, whose recent album release might make them a candidate for reappearing at Roskilde, where they were last in 2008. Their beautiful, bossa nova'ey indie-shoegaze is some of the suavest stuff I've ever come across, such as 'Toxic Girl'. And while we're at shoegazing, what would the indie world be without Bon Iver? Such a genuine and extraordinary display of anguish and agony as displayed on For Emma, Forever Ago is nothing short of masterpiece-like. 'Skinny Love' is a definite highlight.

Six became 8. The aughties become then tens in a day and a bit. Roll on.

It's that time of the year again...

No, not christmas (well, it is, but it isn't to me, even though the Aussies do their best to be christmasy, even playing 'Let It Snow' in the supermarket...), but the time of Roskilde announcements.

So far, I'm thrilled that we're getting Muse and Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, which were two of the names I had been hoping for. Muse played a massive show in '07, which still ranks near the top of my list, while seeing Dizzy Mizz Lizzy live will be a dream come true for me. It's gonna be massive.

The rest of the names don't excite me that much, although for the festival in general, I'm happy to see Pavement and NOFX being announced. They have been among the most yearned for bands the last few years. I, personally, am hoping to see, amongst others, Kashmir, Editors, Hot Chip and Does It Offend You, Yeah? on the list as well soon.

Talking about Kashmir, I've been listening to their new single 'Mouthful of Wasps' quite a few times now (as it has been haunting me whenever I don't), and I must say it is growing quite a lot on me. I love the bassline and especially the chord progression in the chorus. It really seems they're back not to appear as an aging, graying bunch of has-beens, but as a band who are still up for being a staple on the domestic scene.

To be honest, I am still a bit out of touch with goings on, but I try to keep up with who's on the up. One band that I had almost forgotten, but who are releasing their first full length in the beginning of 2010 are Delphic, who got my attention when they warmed up for Bloc Party in Copenhagen almost a year ago. It's like nothing I've ever seen come across the North Sea, but it does remind me vaguely of a crossover between the arpeggios of Marvel Hill and the ambience of Spleen United, both Danish acts. I think they might be up to something good with their first album, try check it out here!

Guess that's all for now. Too many festivals to choose from here in Melbourne this summer, none the wiser I'll leave for NZ tonight.

A quick strike from Victoria.

My frustrations of not being able to follow the goings-on in the music world are growing. New stuff out by old staples Kashmir, Hot Chip, Interpol and Vampire Weekend, interesting collaborations between Bon Iver and St. Vincent, between VETO and The Wong Boys. Everything seems to go on while I'm in backpacker country, perennially listening to Black Eyed Peas and that lousy Guy Sebastian - hope he never goes overseas from here!

Anyhow, I had a go at the new singles from both Kashmir, Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend. Especially Hot Chip's new stuff seems really really interesting. Much more melodical and less porcupine'y than ever before. Beaut. Kashmir is a difficult ordeal. I mean, all their old stuff one has listened to a gazillion of times, it all has a special place in your heart. New stuff needs some devouring. Vampire Weekend's 'Cousins', well, that's just strange. What was wrong with baroque afrobeat then?

My list of records I have to buy when I come home is growing, and now includes The Kooks, Jens Lekman alongside the few I mentioned in my last post, most notably Kings of Convenience.

This is also the time of decade lists. I won't make one of my own, even though I love lists. I might discuss the one's I see though, as I find it very interesting, the whole concept of encompassing an entire decade of garage revival, dance-punk, postrock, post-punk revival, nu rave, indie folk and other hyphenated subgenres into one lens. That'll be later though, maybe not until 2010.

Go listen to the new Hot Chip single though.

A new hemisphere, old staples and new musical horizons.

Oh well, I just can't keep away from this, can I?

Anyway, even though I'm away from my usual stomping grounds, that doesn't stop me from indulging a vast array of different tunes, and I keep on adding stuff to my "got-to-mention-this"-list, thus i feel like emptying it onto here.

A few albums have really blossomed for me this last months. Namely these are Humbug by Arctic Monkeys, The Resistance by Muse, Phoenix' Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and finally Oh No Ono's Eggs. Humbug is coming together as perhaps the most thorough Monkeys-album yet, especially 'Cornerstone' gives me chills. I never thought Alex Turner would write such a beautiful ballad. The Resistance too, is a strong album. I am pleasantly surprised by the way the three Devonians have actually encompassed Matt's space-apocalypsia, new musical achievements and a refreshing hint of their earlier albums. The Resistance is perhaps even more in touch with their earlier albums than Black Holes and Revelations was. Everyone's raving about the Exogenesis symphony, which I haven't really had the chance to listen to properly yet though, but what's all the fuzz about really?

Naturally, I am also exposed to a lot of my travelmate Peter's music, and I've got a growing list of to-buys when i get home. Namely Bon Iver, Kings of Conveniece and St. Etienne have made an impression. And I am indulging Håkan Hellström more than ever. So bitter I missed his gig at Roskilde this year.

I guess that's it for now. A grey caravanpark in Brisbane just isn't the most inspiring of places.

Resistance day, other stuff, and the imminent future of The Idioteque.

Today could be dubbed 'Resistance Day', i.e. it is the day when Muse's highly anticipated fifth full length effort finally hits the shelves. I don't have time to pick it up today, but I'm counting on finding it on Khao San Rd. sometime this week. I've heard most of it though, and it is very impressive. It is more piano-driven than its predecessors (a Danish review stated that "...Bellamy unfortunately isn't a great pianist" - I wonder if that journalist ever heard 'Butterflies and Hurricanes'...), and many of the songs are really strong. Everyone is raving about the three-movement 'Exogenesis'-symphony, which I haven't really gotten into yet. I only heard it once, and it honestly disappointed me a bit, but everyone is proclaiming it to be the Bohemian Rhapsody of the 21st century, so I guess it just has to grow.

I've just got a few tips that I have encountered these last few weeks:

Those of you all into Radiohead's perhaps most overlooked album, Amnesiac, I found this great cover of 'I Might Be Wrong' by a French jazz-quartet. It's really groovy!

Editors are on their way with their third album, In This Light and On This Evening, due to be released in October. I've really enjoyed their first album, The Back Room from 2005, and they seem to have revved up on the synths on this one. Their lead single 'Papillon' sounds like a crossbreed between Spleen United and Depeche Mode, and depending on how the rest of the album sounds, it could turn out to be a fave.

Finally, I've really gotten into Danish quintet Oh No Ono's sophomore effort Eggs, which they released this spring. I was never a big fan of their debut album Yes, but the second one is really a masterful effort at times. 'Swim' is very good, and here they are playing my favourite, 'The Tea Party' at Beatday Festival in Copenhagen.

These next months this blog is going into a semi-hiatus. I am leaving for Australia and New Zealand, and while I'll still be sniffing up music here and there, I think I'll be plenty busy writing mails and travellogs, uploading pictures and sending postcards, so The Idioteque will probably only be active every now and then. For those of you fluent in the Danish language, head over to my travellog! (Pics will be upped to Facebook now and then). Stay groovy.

Listen to 'The Resistance'! NOW!

Hell, nothing much else to say. Go to DR's website now and listen to the entire new album by Muse!

A bit too much desert rat.

I've really in many ways been anticipating Arctic Monkeys third album Humbug these last few months. In some ways I've been fearing that the inevitable maturing process of these young britons would evolve into an album too oldschool-rock'n'roll'ish for my tastes. The last year or so, most of my musical influences have been more towards the electronic and dance-punk scenes, which is quite a ways from A.M. I was initially sceptical towards the lead single Crying Lightning, which was somehow exactly what I feared - a piece of slow, heavy rock. However it became a turning point for me when it came into rotation on my preferred radio channel P3. It is actually an extraordinarily catchy tune. Together with crooked opener My Propeller it kicks off the album in a promising way. It is recognizable Arctic Monkeys stuff, albeit somewhat slower than we've known them to initiate albums before (just think Brianstorm).

Next up is Dangerous Animals, which to be honest seems to be one of the weaker tracks after the first few listens, eventhough its aggressively rambling bass is somewhat noteworthy. Secret Door kicks off as a ballad very akin to the predecessor's 'Only Ones Who Know', although it quickly evolves into something different. This is one of the tracks in which producer Josh Homme's presence is felt the most. You clearly sense that the four lads have been thrust out of working-class Yorkshire and into the expanses of the Mojave. Theres more of a stoned distance in both the dusty, queaky, organ-heavy instrumentalisation, and in Turner's vocals which are distinctively less Yorkshire. You can still hear that he's a Brit ofcourse, but there seems to be less of a presence of the local Tyke vernacular. Turner has matured as a lyricist as well.

Potion Approaching, while still somewhat slow in comparison to the first two albums, is one of the aggressiver tracks on the record. In a way it is a strong track, but it's a part of the album that's just a bit two stoned for my tastes. Afterwards though, things really kick off with the next four tracks being the strongest portion of the album. Fire and the Thud is still very Josh Homme'y, I mean, you can almost see the dust devils blowing through the Rancho and cowboys drawing six-shooters, but it is a perfectly digestible little thing. Cornerstone is some of the closest Arctic Monkeys have ever come to beautiful, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this as the second single off the album. It's not '505', but it's good. So is Dance Little Liar, which is another of the very desert-dusty tracks. It turns somewhat prog at about 3.20, which is a welcome infusion of musical creativity on an otherwise somewhat unexperimental record.

Even more prog is Pretty Visitors, which has emerged as one of my favourite tracks on this record. The constant changes in tempo and intensity really appeals to me, and this is in many ways the track that draws the most references to the two former albums, even though it too is distinctively Humbug. One thing I've noticed though is that Turners voice seems more apt for a song like this, rather than the more stoned ones. Closing off is The Jeweller's Hands, which honestly haven't really gotten to me yet.

This is not neither Whatever People Say I Am..., nor Favourite Worst Nightmare, and while Humbug definitely has the characteristics of an album that will grow on you slowly, I doubt that it will ever appeal to me in the same way as the youthfulness of the first and the intensity of the second album. There just isn't a 'Still Take You Home' or a 'Do Me A Favour', and I miss the unspoilt uncomplicatedness of the young Arctic Monkeys. To stay in the animal kingdom, there's just a bit too much scummy desert rat, and a bit too little monkey. It's like going from wearing Cheap Mondays to wearing Levi's or Wranglers. But one owes to Turner & co. that they have really proven themselves as capable artists. Matt Helders is still a brilliant drummer, and Alex Turner is still a formidable front man. They've overcome the necessary change of pace that will eventually spare them from becoming an indie Green Day phenomenon of a band going around the same old curve that made them succesful in the first place. I'm sure Arctic Monkeys have lost some, gained some on this album, but more than anything else, they've established themselves as a band able to do more than just taking home sorry groupies.

North American Scum.

... is the title of a song by LCD Soundsystem, one of a bunch of American acts that are roaming my playlist right now. Exactly LCD Soundsystem had a heavy presence on Pitchforks top 500-tracks-of-the-last-decade countdown last week, which revived their (or his, actually), critically acclaimed album Sound of Silver. Try checking out 'Someone Great', 'Get Innocuous!' and 'All My Friends'.

Somewhere in the same dance-punk'ish alley I've discovered !!! (yeah, that's the band name equivalent of Sigur Rós' ()-album) from Sacramento. It's pronounced as 'chk chk chk' by the way. Check out 'Me and Giuliani Down by The Schoolyard (A True Story)' and 'When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Karazzee', both from their 2004 effort Louden Up Now.

I'm still enjoying Vampire Weekend's album very much, and to some extent Passion Pit too, although theirs hasn't really caught fully onto me yet.

Heading back to the superior side of the Atlantic (yes!), I'm right now listening to Dúné's new album, Enter Metropolis, available for streaming from Soundvenue. To be honest, I find it really boring and tiring (so far, I'm only up to track 8 of 14). Quite disappointing, since lead single 'Victim Of The City' vouched for something smashing. I definitely don't feel an urge to buy it.

Finally, I'm gonna get a hold of Arctic Monkeys' new record soon, there'll probably be more on that next week.

A wry, triumphant cacophony.

No More Stories
Are Told Today
I'm Sorry
They Washed Away

No More Stories
The World Is Grey
I'm Tired
Let's Wash Away.

Such is the title of the new album by Mew, which I got a hold of today. Here's a track-by-track run-through after the first few listens.

Opener New Terrain's main claim to fame is the fact that if played backwards, it's an entirely different song, called 'Nervous'. I don't have the software to do so, but someone will probably up it onto Youtube soon enough. The track does sound like something I reverse-looped on my Kaoss Pad, and it's really a peculiar and perhaps quite vulgar way to get off the grid.

Introducing Palace Players has already been in heavy rotation as the lead single, and it is a perfectly decent track. The syncopated drums and guitar make for an interesting hit single, yet one must acknowledge Mew's ability to create something accessible from such crookedness. This track is followed by Beach, a well-crafted indie pop track and Repeaterbeater, clearly two of the most accessible (and shortest) tracks on the record. They both bear clear resemblances to the Frengers-era.

A brief intermezzo follows, before the awkwardly-titled Silas The Magic Car, a bland ballad, which is honestly quite dull and unspectacular. Then follows Cartoons And Macramé Wounds (what the fuck hell is a macramé wound anyway?), a really schizophrenic and disturbing piece of work. It definitely has some sort of aesthetics, and some pretty passages, but I don't really get it. Maybe I will in time.

Hawaii Dream features Jonas chanting the title poem, and segues into Hawaii, which is a really daft caribbeo-polynesian-themed piece. It doesn't really ever lift off. The exotic instrumentation continues in Vaccine, which is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Tricks Of The Trade is an dark, drum machine-driven track which is interesting from a style/genre point of view, but this one too never really lifts off.

Yet another intermezzo follows. I'm not all that into intermezzi, but these ones seem to seperate different moods of the album quite well, both leading up - or perhaps rather down - to quite ballady tracks, such as Sometimes Life Isn't Easy, which kicks off as perhaps the most grandiose and exuberant song Mew have done since 'Comforting Sounds'. This too is definitely one of the instant favourites, and although it's neither CS nor 'She Came Home For Christmas', it is quite beautiful. Finally, Reprise is a typical Mew-closer - another ballad, which starts out as somewhat anonymous and ill-timed epicism, but closes out quite pleasantly.

It is hard to find the right adjectives to describe No More Stories. It's vulgar yet gloriously witty, creative yet anonymous, impressive yet wry, triumphant yet somewhat disappointing. Mew are still heavily reliant on Jonas Bjerre's angelic voice, which have been their strongest asset ever since bursting into everyone's attention with Frengers in 2003. In my opinion, Mew still peaked back then, but there's no denying that beneath the ovoid, evil-clown-like smiley face clad cover lies a world of musical creativity and border-seeking antics from a band which does exactly what it wants to. And having the seniority and critical acclaim to flip the bird at all norms and definitions of kitsch, beauty and cacophony might just be the biggest achievement of this record after all.

Clap on time, you fuckheads!

That was perhaps the only thing to be disgruntled about as Coldplay left the stage in Herning last night. Battling a seriously dull crowd, the London four once again proved themselves as being in the uppermost echelon of live acts on this planet. Headed by an ever-dancing
/jumping/joyous Chris Martin, the band performed a set nearly identical to the one performed at Roskilde. One could perhaps have wished for hidden gems such as 'Amsterdam', ' What If' or 'Don't Panic' to have been excavated, however Coldplay somehow define the saying that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. We did get Will Champion singing 'Till Kingdom Come' though, which was quite a treat. The gimmicks, such as yellow balls for 'Yellow' and confetti-extravaganza for 'Lovers In Japan', worked their part, as did an extended (compared to Roskilde) LCD-wall backdrop of the band performing in distorted images. Even so, one got the feeling that compared to Roskilde, Herning was more of another day at the office. Chris didn't converse quite as much with the audience, and of course there wasn't that special Orange Stage-magic. Still however, a massive joyride of a show!

On a side note, White Lies really established themselves as one of the most mediocre live bands I've ever seen. Even if they had to fight poor sound, a crowd that basically just wanted them over with, and a stage and venue clearly too large for them to fill out, they just seem to lack an element of some sort. Maybe another guitar, or maybe they should just start utilizing their existing instruments some more. The rhythm section is too often too naked, and for gods fucking sake, get that supposed-to-be majestic synth in 'Farewell To The Fairground' in sync with the one in the recorded version!

A few side notes:

Those of you who have kept up with especially Pitchfork through the past weekend will probably have noticed quite a lot of buzz surrounding almighty Radiohead. Well, they did release a new song today. It's called 'These Are My Twisted Words', and it can be found here! It's very In Rainbows'ey, and not really all that intriguing.

Going home yesterday, we heard a track on the radio, which Johan and I deemed as being very reminiscent of Jupiter Day and Superheroes. It turned out it was The Raveonettes' new single, 'Last Dance', which is in fact produced by Thomas Troelsen, thus we weren't far away. It sounds promising, and I am - dare i say - slightly anticipating the new Raveonettes album.

Finally, I'm probably going to buy Mew's new album tomorrow. It was released today, and it has garnered rave reviews so far. There'll probably be more about that soon!

Look at us, through the lens of a camera...

... does it remove all of our pain?

Those are the lyrics of hit track of the week for me. It's a late discovery off Editors' album The Back Room, and it's really beautiful! It's called 'Camera', and you can find it here. Once in a while it's really good to have a ballad roam the top of your listening habits. I've finally started to count the days until Coldplay this Sunday, so I'm listening to that quite a lot too, especially beautiful 'Fix You' seems to have had its second coming. I haven't really been that up for it until now, since they delivered so massively at Roskilde, but now I'm beginning to feel the excitement. Believe it or not, it's actually my first real big stadium-kinda gig, and I hope they dwarf their Roskilde-show, although they're up to quite a task there.

I exchanged my surplus copy of White Lies' record to Vampire Weekend's eponymous one the other day, but I have yet to get it into my computer. But I listened to a good part of it (in the car), and it seems OK. A bit too Belle & Sebastian'y maybe, but let's see.

Oh and by the way, I have been pleased to hear Ginger Ninja's 'Sunshine' played so heavily on P3 these last few weeks. In fact, it was the eighth-most played track the past week. Just in case they'll be the next big thing, remember who hyped them first...

I'm going back behind the teachers desk tomorrow, fuck yeah!

And there's only about a month now until I'm leaving for the southern hemisphere - FUCK YEAH!

Sunday bits.

On an eventless hangover'y sunday, I thought I'd recommend a few tunes to pass the time! I always find that sundays I'm in the mood for cheery stuff, whether to remind one of a good time last night, reminisce over girls you did or wanted to make a pass on, or whatever. By the way, I heard Muse's new single 'Uprising' in town yesterday (which surprised me as most places in Aalborg are usually at least a few weeks behind on new tracks...), and god is it a massive tune. The theremin does everything for it, it might sound like a synthesizer, but it has a distinctive, genuine twang that's just unbeatable.

Anyway, I bought Passion Pit's album Manners the other day, and while I haven't totally gotten into the entire album yet, a few tunes like hit single 'The Reeling' and opener 'Make Light' are definitely worth a listen, as I find them very instantly likeable.

I hyped Newzealanders Cut Off Your Hands a bit before Roskilde, and while their show wasn't all that spectacular, a song like 'Oh Girl' you just have to dig. The lyrics are insanely simple, but somehow it works.

When it comes to being 35 years old and still being able to sound like an innocent and heartbroken 15-year-old, no one does it better than Håkan Hellström. He's really grown on me these last few weeks, especially the album Känn Ingen Sorg För Mig Göteborg, from which a song like 'Uppsnärjd i Det Blå' really strikes me as a beautiful tune. Håkan owes a lot to the beautiful and poetic Swedish language.

Finally, I've gotta introduce you all to Vampire Weekend. Their eponymous album is very high on my must-buy list. Try listening to 'A-Punk'.

Just another thing - I got introduced to a cool search engine-kinda thing yesterday, called Grooveshark. It struck me as being very easy to use, with a simple and efficient interface, easily-editable playlists and a big database. Hell, you can even find L:Ron:Harald on there! Try checking it out.