coloring car: June 2009

On the radio this morning...

Waking up with the sun shining and this on the radio. Only thing missing now is a cup of coffee!

+ Enemy

Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

Various (once again)...

Everything that needs to be said has probably been said by now. R.I.P. Michael!

Every fan of Mew (and a few non-fans as well I guess) has most likely downloaded the new track Repeaterbeater via Spinner by now. Not quite sure what to think and it’s definitely a little too short for my liking. Danish blog Regnsky captures the problem pretty well or at least have an interesting take on the new track me thinks (roughly translated from Danish); “having the best drummer in Denmark doesn’t automatically save all plain tunes”. Nonetheless I still expect the new album to be nothing short of fabulous.

Follow Kashmir at Twitter and get (fairly) regular updates on how the recordings of the new album are progressing. So far there has been no relevant news on first single, release date etc.

J.A. recommends this one by Sweden's Girl Alliance for your summer soundtrack. Lovely Swedish indie tune taken from the recently released 3" CD-R split single (with The Librarians) on Cloudberry Records. As always I highly recommend that you spend a little time poking around the Cloudberry webpage, as there are plenty of gorgeous freebies to download.
+ Frances and the Dancing Fairies

Danish music site BandBase.dk has sent a number of bloggers to this year's Roskilde Festival, thus securing us non-attendees a steady and quite entertaining news flow from the festival.

And while you're visiting BandBase.dk, why not stream the new single Sunshine by Ginger Ninja? Definitely belongs on any decent summer soundtrack.

Still rather disappointed that Jonas, despite all my well-meaning efforts, didn't include The Pains of Being Pure At Heart in his recommendation list (for the festival). He did however include Get Well Soon, though this doesn't quite compensate for his TPOBPAH blunder (tongue in cheek).
+ Get Well Soon - If This Hat Is Missing (I Have Gone Hunting)
+ The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction

NME writes that Richard Hawley announces UK tour. I'm still dreaming of a Danish date, but I'm afraid it will remain just that; a dream!

On the radio this morning

I have yet to jump that Empire Of The Sun wagon, but perhaps the time is now?

+ We Are The People (The Golden Filter Remix)

Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

read more "On the radio this morning"

New Fiat Palio 2008 Photos

Fiat Palio 2008

Fiat Palio 2008 Pictures

New Fiat Palio 2008 Photos

New Koenigsegg CC Pictures

Koenigsegg CC

Koenigsegg CC Photos

On the radio this morning

Not a whole lot to choose from this morning, but who doesn't like Kings of Leon?

Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

read more "On the radio this morning"

Shorties...

Not much time today, so this will be a short one.

Have just bought the WHT solo album from VETO front man Troels Abrahamsen. Will get back with a few thoughts, whenever I’ve found the time to give it some decent listens.
+ End Scene

Italian DIY label We Were Never Being Boring Collective kicks off by releasing a 3” CD single containing 4 different cover versions of the Wavves track So Bored by four different artists. And the song does get treated in 4 quite varied, but highly entertaining, ways, as the versions range from the acoustic gorgeousness created by Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, via the inferno produced by Death In Donut Plains, over the atmospheric beauty by His Clancyness to the almost unrecognizable 47 seconds long electronic craziness of Dj Minaccia. The CD is a 30 copies limited edition, so hurry up if you want a copy. Or do as I did yesterday; download it for free from the label’s webpage.
+ Le Man Avec Les Lunettes – So Bored (Wavves cover)

Two days ago I mentioned that Sleep Party People had been signed by Speed of Sound, and I have since recieved permission to post a track from the album. According to the Myspace page the album is finished and will be called I’m The Little Bunnyman. No official release date has yet been announced (if so, I cannot find any), so for now enjoy I’m Not A Human At All as an appetizer, which hopefully will make you drool for more?
+ I’m Not Human At All

On the radio this morning

Inspired by yesterday's post I think it's high time to revive those "On the radio this morning" posts. A surprisingly number of good ones on this morning, but how can you possibly ignore "the best band in the world?

read more "On the radio this morning"

Farewell...?

I’ve been told before that I’m pretty good at stirring up rumors, but this is no such attempt. But when I came across this poster (check the picture) for the Crunchy Frog 15 year anniversary party, I couldn’t help asking if this spells the end of EPO-555? “Afskedskoncert” translates to “farewell concert”, so it’s hardly a rushed conclusion, is it? Obviously the EPO-555 fan in me hopes that this is not the case and that the band will continue to make music; perhaps in a similar fashion as (now disbanded) label mates Oliver North Boy Choir, who never played live and only released music digitally. Anyway I’m seriously thinking of attending this event, as this (apparently) will be my final chance to ever catch EPO-555 live. But as always I need to check my calendar first for any domestic duties!
+ Hyperschlieb

Otherwise great Danish magazine Gaffa reviews and completely rips the Plushgun debut Pins & Panzer to pieces. So to find out where I went wrong (as I recall quite liking it), I’ve been giving the album a few listens today and I happily admits that neither does the album bring anything new to the table nor is Plushgun the second coming of anyone or anything. But I still find the catchy tunes and the album as a whole quite enjoyable, and would have no problem rating it 3 (perhaps even 4) stars out of 6. So what exactly pisses the reviewer off so much that he ends up giving it one lonely star out of the 6 available is rather impossible to tell (the album just seems to annoy him big time)! But perhaps it’s not such a fantastic idea to write a review before you’ve had your morning coffee?
+ Just Impolite

On the radio this morning

Been the longest while since I've posted one of these, but this simply is too great and brings back far too many great memories to pass up. Believe that today’s fantastic weather, so perfectly timed for the midsummer celebrations (with bonfires, singing the Midsummer hymn and burning witches etc.) tonight, inspired the DJ's to air the track.

read more "On the radio this morning"

This and that...

Please not that today’s post is not called ”various” but ”this and that” instead. The difference? You tell me!

Electronic one-man project Sleep Party People has been signed by expanding Danish label Speed of Sound. I’ve mentioned Sleep Party People a few times before, but in case you didn’t pay attention back then, the man behind the SPP alias is Brian Batz of blog favorite Majorian and the excellent, but (since long ago) disbanded Mavis. Fine Danish blog Data Sapiens has more including information on a debut album as well as a track for download.

Evan Voytas, whose track Getting Higher can still be found among my current favorites in the right column, has recorded a cover of The Cure’s A Few Hours After This.... Originally the b-side of the In Between Days single, which in fact was the first record I ever bought by The Cure. Doubt very much that I ever listened to the b-side, so pretty difficult comparing the cover version to the original, though my first reaction was that he’s doing a pretty decent job.
+ A Few Hours After This (The Cure cover)

Started the day by downloading tracks from various promo mails and as always a few made a decent impression and most of them made none at all. No track made an instant impact, which unfortunately doesn’t happen as often as one could wish for. However this track by VNV Nation taken from the duo’s recently released Of Faith, Power and Glory album has turned out to be quite a grower, and one any fan of up-tempo industrial-inspired synth-pop should find quite appealing after a few listens.
+ The Great Divide

Various...

That title again! Sorry...

If their Twitter profile can be trusted, Northern Portrait is currently mixing their debut album. And of course it can be trusted (I sincerely hope).
+ I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me

7" single Turktown Saints by Socialist Leisure Party will be out on the incomparable Cloudberry Records tomorrow. Same band released the CD + 7" Tactical POP! for Coffee Cadets on Shelflife Records exactly one month ago today.
+ Turktown Saints

Boxstr.com hasn't been working for I don't know how long. Wonder if they'll refund the money I've paid for their so-called "services"?

Should have mentioned previously that fab Danes Spleen United are currently performing shows in the States. If you happen to be in L.A. tonight or tomorrow or in N.Y. on the 26th make sure to catch them.
+ She Falls In Love With Machines (Vhs or Beta Dee Jays Remix)
+ Running Up That Hill (Kath Bush cover with The William Blakes)

Cannot say I'm a fan of this band, but Private is offering free downloads of several remixes of the track My Secret Lover. And will always be a fan of free downloads!
+ My Secret Lover (Remixed by Juxx)

read more "Various..."

Citroen C4 Picasso

Citroen C4 Picasso photo

Citroen C4 Picasso pictures

Citroen C3 Pictures

Citroen C3 2009

Citroen C3

Various...

This is the third post in a row named ”various”. Used to call these kinds of posts for “shorties”, but I’ve moved on. My creativity certainly knows no limits!

Entakt frontman Jonas is giving away a new recording of a track (or more like a sketch for a track) written for the Sorgenfrei-Villumsen project. It was recorded in one take in his living room, while he was having a cold, so it can hardly be more lo-fi than this. You probably need to understand Danish to fully appreciate the song, but as always anything recorded by Jonas is worth a listen.
+ Bygdebarn (en sang for J)

This is sensitive stuff, but apparently booing Morrissey wasn’t the cleverest thing to do? This incident has been mentioned in every review I've read of the concert. And just for the record. No – I’m not the person in question! UPDATE: Post has been taken down.

Swedish duo the argument is giving away their second album everything depends for free via Bandcamp. Unfortunately it runs for just 25 minutes, but this is absolutely glorious stuff and if 25 minutes is what we’ll get, I guess I can live with that!
+ Nothing Remains

New single (or freebie track if not a single) You Won by The Legends seals the deal. I will now order the album, as this is among the best songs I’ve heard this year. The promo mail says “sparkling pop in colossal production with Philip of The Mary Onettes adding deliciously doomy 80s-esque drum sounds to the song's anthemic qualities. Epically lovely!”. So true!
+ You Won

The steady and impressive flow of new interesting demo recordings from Death Valley Sleepers continues. Newbie Touch Stars is perhaps a little noisier (and definitely a bit shorter) than the more recent recordings, but the songwriting remains top-notch and the influences (VU, JAMC etc.) are as present as ever. Curious as I am, I’ve asked about the band’s future plans, as I find it hard to believe that this freebie scenario can go on forever. Long term ambitions obviously do include the recordings of an album, but for now the band seems more than content sharing the demos hoping that they will help spreading the word, as well as give the band some much appreciated feedback.
+ Touch Stars

read more "Various..."

Various...

Checking mails, reading news etc. tonight.

Ruined by Martin has announced that the band will be playing at Pakhuset in Århus on September 17. Great to see things are kicking off.
+ Seven Years

This has to be the worst song to come out of Sweden for I don’t know how many years. Though I’ll have to admit that it is actually quite funny, hearing my 3 year old daughter roaming around the house shouting “svennebanan”.

Seems like NY shoegazers Soundpool will soon have a new album out, as the band has put up a 12 minutes sampler at Myspace from “our newest album” Mirrors In Your Eyes. The sampler is downloadable via Last.fm.
+ Mirrors In Your Eyes (album sampler)

Swedish label Hybris is giving away a free download of the fine new Biker Boy single, which is a cover of the incredibly lovely Peter Sarstedt evergreen Where do you go to (my lovely)?.
+ Where do you go to (my lovely)?

One-man band Boy Without God was picked Gaffa's demo of June as the album Your Body Is Your Soul received 6 out of 6 possible stars. That combined with the opening track Holy Holy Little Fist being labelled "possibly one of the best songs I've heard this year" has really sparked my interest.
+ Holy Holy Little Fist

read more "Various..."

Various...

Somewhat disappointed that no one has complained about yesterday’s Danish experiment. Perhaps this verifies that no one actually reads or cares about the words anyway?

Via Frank Yang (Mr. Chromewaves) comes the fantastic news that Richard Hawley will have a new album out on September 21. To be called Truelove's Gutter and hopefully the release will be supported by a tour, which hopefully will include Denmark?

Not that many people showed any interest in winning that Starring Me CD, which just made it so much easier picking Johannes as the winner.

Here’s a couple of fairly decent Faunts remixes found in the mailbox this morning.
+ Explain (Home Video Remix)
+ feel.love.thinking.of (Mexicans with Guns Remix)

And just found this remix of Explain by CWL in the mailbox. The remix can be found on the free CWL remix EP.
+ Explain (CWL remix)

I've been falling behind schedule lately and mails have been piling up. So I've been checking some seriously old promo mails and have learned that the talented UK quartet Foxes! released a new 3-track single called Who Killed Rob? on CatCutter Records on June 1. The free to download b-side Albania is an instant winner, and the other two tracks are well...equally fine (stream)!
+ Albania

read more "Various..."

Meet You In The Rain...(an experimental post)...

Yes – I know some of you will disapprove, but today’s post is written in Danish. Let's call it an experiment, but hopefully it will once and for all be a proof (to myself at least) that creating a blog post in Danish is just as much trouble and hard work as writing one in English? Let’s see!

Engelske The Cavalcade har længe været en stadig voksende plet på min radar, men af ukendte årsager har jeg indtil nu ikke fået nævnt dem i disse spalter med et eneste ord. Kvartetten spiller en herlig omgang indie pop af den der klassiske slags, som tydeligvis henter inspirationen hos Sarah Records’ mange udgivelser. Bandets EP Meet You in the Rain indeholder 5 charmerende pop perler og EP’en er så rigelig de 4 pund værd, som den kan erhverves for fra bandets Myspace side. På mandag udgiver det suveræne indie label Cloudberry Records en ganske interessant 3” CD split single, hvor The Cavalcade bidrager med to numre (der begge findes på EP’en) og svenske Boa Constrictor med yderligere to. To af fire numre kan downloades kvit og frit, og disse bør så absolut give enhver indie pop fan appetit på mere.
+ The Cavalcade – Meet You in the Rain
+ Boa Constrictor – Out of Nothing

Husk lige at downloade den nye og ganske fremragende demo fra The Raveonettes. At bandet både løfter sløret for nye (ufærdige) indspilninger samt opfordrer til feedback fra deres fans er et herligt initiativ, som man kun kan ønske flere bands vil lade sig inspirere af. Hent demoen via det hastigt (?) voksende Twitter.

Den irske blog mp3hugger har fattet interesse for danske The Elephants. Det kan kun anbefales at man snarest stryger forbi og downloader Caroline Knows! Fandt så lige ud af, at Martine fra C'est Tout Martine (som jeg så på Start!, og som gjorde et særdeles fint indtryk) også er medlem af The Elephants. Helt igennem unyttig viden, men derfor meget pudsigt alligevel!

Via Coast is Clear (og min egen inbox) er jeg snublet over dette remix. Glem at bandnavnet Strandhotel Markus er komplet åndssvagt og at titlen Disco! Disco! ikke halter langt efter. Glem frem for alt at det hele synges på tysk af en schweizer. Det her er altså super fedt!
+ Disco! Disco! (Youth Back To Balearia Remix)

Jonas lufter sin mening om det nye Nephew album. Undertegnede er endnu ikke hoppet med på Nephew vognen, men måske tiden er moden til at vove pelsen?

Parallels...

It has taken 4 years to complete, but finally a new CD from Starring Me has seen the light of day. The band itself calls the release a CD and I suspect that the band (just like me) wasn’t sure whether this 7-track release should be labeled “album” or “EP”, as Parallels runs for just 30 minutes. Which probably is a little less than one had hoped for. Musically there is not much new brought to the table, and the music remains the same dreamy and shoegaze inspired kind, as found on the band’s two previous albums. But I certainly wasn’t asking for or expecting any changes, as I’ve been quite a fan of this band ever since I stumble upon their music way back in early 2006. So keeping things as they are is just fine by me. The CD can be bought from the band’s myspace page for the bargain price of $7.00. The band has been so kind to send an extra copy of the CD, so if you’re interested in getting a copy; shoot me an e-mail. Should I receive more than one e-mail (which I very much hope for, but somehow doubt I’ll get), I’ll pick the lucky winner on Friday.
+ Parallels are Endless

Start! and more...

Unlike previous years I’m not going to write a lengthy report from this year’s Start! (previously Vesterbro) Festival. Primarily because I’m afraid that most of it will be spent on discussing the line-up and the criteria used for selecting the artists. So no in-depth analysis this year I’m afraid. But fact is that I was there, and during the three days I heard lots of music of varying quality and got introduced to a string of (to me at least) unfamiliar artists. A few made a good impression and will perhaps be included in a blogpost some fine day. Several made a not so good impression and most likely will never be featured around here. Those artists I knew beforehand did (for most parts) a fine job and I will continue following them and bring updates whenever there is something interesting to tell. The always reliable Ginger Ninja (picture) was the last band I saw at this year’s festival and whenever the band releases a debut album, it will be most welcomed.
+ OnePlusOneIsThree

No Blood In Bones has been picked "band of the week" at BandBase.dk.
+ Safe Way Out

Canadian artist Under Electric Light has remixed the track Danaé by fellow Canadians Les Incendiaries and has made it a free download. No clue what the song is about, as I've never bothered learning a single word of French. But it's good stuff!
+ Danaé (Under Electric Light mix)

New, small indie label Odd Box Records had the busiest of days yesterday and announced three new releases!

The Really Like to See You Again 12” single by Thieves Like Us will be out on Shelflife Records tomorrow. 500 copies have been pressed, so act swiftly!
+ Really Like to See You Again

Mushi and more...

I like my hometown. I really do. It’s beautiful and historical, and enough things are happening here to make it a great place to live. Unfortunately its inhabitants don’t seem to appreciate music all that much. Unless of course some useless cover band is playing or one of our nation’s many dinosaurs (you know – those artists, who have been around for the past three our four decades) are paying us a visit. Then people show up in bunches. But when fairly unknown artists, who are trying to make a living playing their self-written music, are coming to town, you can bet the venue will be close to empty (or the whole thing will be cancelled). No more whining about this cancellation, but as mentioned in a previous post, Mushi was playing at Annexet Saturday evening, which at least offered a nice alternative. Around midnight (when the past Saturday became Sunday) a friend and I headed for the bar, paid the entrance fee, just to learn that a total of 5 (five!) persons were there. Later I found out that three of those were friends of the band, so a smashing total of 2 locals had shown up! In all fairness, more people showed up later, but a no point was there more than 20 people at the bar (including the 4 band members and the people working in the bar). Despite the lack of audience and atmosphere, the band nonetheless and quite impressively delivered a fine performance, which (to me at least) proved that Rasmus (the man behind the alias) is an excellent songwriter.
+ Elise and the Guardian Angel

Start! Festival begins (simply refuse to use the word "starts") this afternoon. Tonight I'm planning to see Diefenbach, Among Relatives, Queens Garden and probably a few other names along the way as well. One funny (and very persistent) rumor is that the band The Descendants of King Canute (scheduled to play at 11 tonight) should actually be Nephew in disguise. Will be much wiser tonight!

No Blood In Bones is a brand new project (duo) featuring Green Concorde frontman Morten Espersen Dam. More pop, less rock and very interesting (and pretty darn good, too).
+ Safe Way Out

It really doesn't sound like anything from either Frengers or Glass Handed Kites. Still the new track Introducing Palace Players by Mew is bloody marvellous and expectations for No More Stories are sky high.

Danish 6-piece A Sunday Honeymoon jumped onto my radar yesterday and has pretty much stayed there every since. The band’s music is quite a mixed bag and if you check the influences the list includes the likes of Springsteen, The Strokes and Field Mice. And you could indeed say that the music sounds like a clone of all those three artists. The three track mini-EP Yuzo Citrus is free to download, which I strongly recommend you to do.
+ Feel It Now
+ Yuzo Citrus (EP)

2009 Lotus Elise

Lotus Elise 2009

2009 Lotus Elise wallpaper

2009 Lotus Elise rear

Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza pictures

Subaru Impreza Wallpapers

Sand in the machinery...

Things aren’t running smoothly right now. At least not from a blogging point of view, as the updates are few and far between. There’s plenty of stuff to post and write about, so that shouldn’t be the reason for the inactivity. Perhaps it’s a logic reaction following four years of blogging, where I’ve been giving the blog a lot of (if not my full) attention? Perhaps with the consequence that it has suddenly turned into a burden rather than a pleasure? Perhaps the explanation is something completely different? Will not promise anything, but I’m taking a deep breath and hopefully regular posting will resume very soon!