I thought I’d start the day with a new folkrock single from The Bland. They have a history of excellent music videos from before, and this one is no exception. A fun interpretation of the lyrics and a quite catchy track.

The Bland on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Trauma Trauma is a new project from Frans Carlqvist, whom you may have heard before under the names Pavan or Limonious. The debut album was released last month, an album with an interesting sound which makes me wish for more. On it you’ll find minimalistic electronic tunes in small rooms with rounded corners, resulting in a soft retro vibe. Frans describes it like this: “Electronic soundscapes pulsating with tension and fear. The threat of violence is imminent and has created an emotional base for the work of Trauma Trauma. Music for the hunted people, to recognize and seek solace in.”

Trauma Trauma on Spotify – on Apple Music

I thought I’d have a peek inside of Georgia Barbershop’s garage and their second album, which was released earlier this year. It’s called “Borough In Twenty” and is just as splendidly rough and messy as the first song from the album “Blast Oyster” hinted, when I wrote about it a little more than a year ago. Here are two songs:

Georgia Barbershop on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

The duo Christian Wallin and Lasse “Jison” Johansson started their collaboration already 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2014 they started releasing their work. In between we’ve seen Wallin’s blistering guitars in Killer Clan of F.U.N. and Hothead, while Jison has provided the metal band Stonelake with bass grooves .

Their first new recording was released in the Autumn as the album “Guilt” and less than half a year later the follow-up “The Black Sheep of the Family” was launched. This is quite some distance from heavy metal, instead they go back to their roots and serve us a blues-infused roots-rock’n’roll. The straight-on three chord tunes often have a downscaled sound, without sounding retro, it’s a razor sharp production. They play with different rhytms in each song and create a smooth pulse and a laidback vibe, making it easy to just sit back and float along with the music. It’s probably perfect for a relaxing car ride. It’s music which is drenched with classical riffs and phrases where they add their own spices in a restrained way and still make it taste unique and fresh. Here are a couple of tracks from the album.

Wallin-Jison on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

We’ve heard Sven-Holger Rosenvinge before in the alternative rock band Mandylon and solo with rock and pop in English. On his new EP “Ballader på svenska”, though, he’s changed language to Swedish and is fetching inspiration from the nordic folk soil. The result is brilliant when he lets these folk-vibing ballads grow into his own style of singer-songwriter-pop with tasteful and interesting arrangements. And he uses his fantastistic voice in the best way in this context as well, with just the right dose of fragility and blackness.

Sven-Holger’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music