Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers was formed in 2007 in Stockholm by Niklas Svedberg, vocals and Erik Svensson, guitar/banjo. Today the band has 5 members and they have just released their selftitled debut EP.

Their music feels a little like a marriage between different styles like pop, americana, rock, some jazz and blues, but I don’t think it feels unfocused; their sound and style is recognised from song to song. Even though they use banjo, horns and mix in other styles, my thoughts often go to the beatlesque pop of the sixties as I listen, an impression that’s also emphasised by Niklas Svedberg’s vocals.

After having played mainly in the Stockholm area up until now, they are now set to play in more areas in Sweden to spread their music. A trip to Germany is also coming up. To listen to more tracks, buy their EP and follow the band, you should visit Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers on Myspace.

I’ll Ask For Nothing
Someone Else, Somewhere Else

Hammarström & Mark is a new constellation and they have just released their first track, which they share with us here. The band consists of Mark Österdahl and the brothers Joacim and Niclas Hammarström, and someone may remember Mark as the former singer in the rock band Mindhit.

Partly this feels like post-grunge in the style of Takida and other similar bands, and partly it feels a little like rock from the early nineties, like for example Gun. And that I mention Gun is also because that Mark’s cool rock voice reminds me of Mark Rankin in Gun.

In any case, it’s a great debut, and I hope it will be followed soon by more tracks. You’ll find Hammarström & Mark on Myspace.

Reach Out

We all need some breathing space somtimes, a moment where we can sit down and just look out the window, maybe daydream a little, maybe just watch what’s happening outside and just be. I find this space when i listen to Lovisa Samuelsson. Maybe it also helps that two of her songs are called “Andrum” (“Breathing Space”) and “Fönsterplats” (“Window Seat”). :-)

Backed by piano or guitar and sometimes a cello she performs soft, beautiful jazz ballads. Listen here below, and if you’d like to listen to more songs you can visit Lovisa Samuelsson on Myspace. There you can also buy her EP.

Andrum
Drunken Heart Song
Fönsterplats

Mrs Time & Dr Leopold is the name of this beautifully singing duo, consisting of Jacob Svensson and Pelle Jonsson. They have been members of several bands before, and decided now that they wanted to create something very basic and let their creativity decide where they might land.

And they have landed in an acoustic style with nice, playful song arrangements, and partly I feel the vibes from the early sixties with artists like Everly Brothers and other similar groups. Here they give us a taste of their music in a couple of tracks, and if you want to listen more, you can visit Mrs Time & Dr Leopold on Myspace.

I’ve Been Around
She’s For Long Gone Now

Kraftwerk sang about “Computer Love” in 1981. That was quite a while ago and Jan Johansen thought it was time for an update and tell us about the situation for a lonely PC, as it can be today.

Jan Johansen has one of my favourite voices, ever since I heard “Kommer tid, kommer vår” the first time in the nineties. It’s not exactly his own voice that shows itself in the song “Ensam PC” (“Lonely PC”) here below, but rather his mmm… friends voice, but if you’d like to hear more of Jan Johansens voice and his productions you should visit Jan Johansen’s Myspace page. Or his site.

The observant Meadowmusic reader has probably seen that we presented a song with Jan Johansen a while ago, “Do What You Gotta Do”. You’ll find it in our post about Lasse Söhr.

Ensam PC