Simeon Hillert has been a part of several indiepop bands during the last years (Shoot Charlie, TH & TNK, Hector and The Frankie Lee’s). When he saw that some of his lyrics didn’t fit the indiepop genre he started the band Simeon Hillert & His Electrified Band.

Here he explored music that suited the tales better; folk rock in the domains of Dylan and Tom Waits, a lot of vibes from the sixties but I also hear some of the sound from Dylan’s seventies.

And Dylan is the first that comes to my mind when I listen, but it’s presented with a lot more drama, theatrical, like if each song was a short play, where Simeon’s expression is nicely backed up by Anna Pappinen’s clear voice. The debut EP “A Fairytale Point of View” was released a month ago and is available on Spotify and on Deezer if you don’t have Spotify. You can also find the band on their site. Here’s “Copenhagen Lonely Night”:

Copenhagen Lonely Night

The first time I listened to Riddarna, it felt like I was run over by a steamroller. I wasn’t really prepared for the furious rock energy that poured out of my speakers. But after I got up again and recovered it felt liberating to listen to this garage-stoner-rock in Swedish. Rock that also radiates classic punk rock in the energy, frustration and sweat.

Riddarna has recently released their debut album which is available  on Spotify and you can also listen some more at their site. You can find them on Facebook too. Here are a couple of tracks:

Känner du som jag
Förbrukad

Fort Fairfield consists of brothers John and Tom Lück. According to what they write you can also imagine a third member: “Some might say that the cold water of Vättern and the unfriendly winds of Lake Munksjön is the third member of Fort Fairfield.”

They call the music shoegaze electronic, which is a fitting description I think, at least sometimes. I think it’s more varied than that, as I listen to the album “The Dead Sea Scrolls”; from instrumental electronica-pop to ambient music with sampled voices. It’s interesting with this type of music how one chooses to interpret it; you can either try to experience their storytelling about the harsh Jönköping areas or you can get out on personal adventures from the images the music produces.

If you’d like to follow the Lück brothers they also write: “It also formed us to like the nature as thought not in practice.”, as I interpret it the music reflects nature from a distance and not from the experience of enjoying it. Or maybethe  nature as an artificial, tame ideal, symbolized by the budgies. Well, listen for yourself in “The Dead Sea Scrolls” on Spotify. On Myspace you can also find parts of the album.

To complicate things even more, they sent me two new tracks from the upcoming album, tracks with vocals. We now move to the indoor club and enjoy a minimalistic electro soul together with Cosima Lamberth and de Montevert:

Dresden Soul (with Cosima Lambert)
My Boys (with de Montevert)

“Think about Leonard Cohen, Elliot Smith and Bob Dylan. Take away 51 percent caducity, two strings and add a new millenium”. That’s how Jonas Asker is described in a mail I received, and yes, I can certainly hear in the music where his roots are. The question is if he has the voice to stand out and touch someone in a crowded genre such as singer/songwriter?

And I really think he has. The somewhat draggy, bright, young voice cares for the words and paints beautiful emotions in the song “This Day”. If I also listen to the three-track EP, from last year, I find an interesting variety in the songs and in the way of singing.

You can listen more on Jonas Asker’s Facebook page or on Bandcamp. Here is “This Day” as a download and as a video:

This Day

Instead of Lions consists of Mattias Jones Johansson (guitars) och Rikard Frejgrim (vocals, bass guitars), both former members of the band Naked. They have recently released a single with three songs, which is, from what I can see, their first official release.

Anyhow it’s about three beautifully built songs, with melodies and hooks that stick, all set in a nice rock sound. Rikard Frejgrim’s voice reminds me somewhat of Ric Ocasec’s, also in the way he sings, which gives the songs an extra, special flavour.

Listen more on Spotify or on Myspace.

I Wish It Never Turn Monday