Leppen

Lctrisc – “The Closer That We Get”

Lctrisc let us peek a bit more at their debut album with the new single “The Closer That We Get”. This time they have added soul and disco flavours to their playful, catchy electro pop.

Veronica Keding – “Det är slut nu”

Veronica Keding, whom I wrote about in the Autumn, has continued to release new songs since then, and earlier this year she launched this single “Det är slut nu” (“It’s over now”). This time it’s darker, no surprise considering the subject, and with a tasty balance between house synths and hammering bass lines. Love the crescendo in the end which makes me think of Swedish synth pop from the eigthies when Lustans Lakejer had their big days.

Leppen – “Iställetförattprata” – EP

A couple of weeks ago Leppen released the EP I mentioned a couple of times as I wrote about the earlier singles. The overall theme on the EP is an unexpected crush he went through in Summer 2012 and which turned his life upside down. The third song “Inte en sekund till” is just as strong as the earlier singles:

Cmbstn – “My Friend” – video

Combstn:s song “My Friend“, is out now as a music video also, and it certainly deserve attention. They write that the video will be followed by a second part, which will be released soon when the next single “One of Us” is launched.

Boeoes Kaelstigen – “Be the Lights”

The duo Boeoes Kelstigen are back with a new single, the dreamy and beautiful “Be the Lights”. The song was co-written together with Hanna Brandún, more known as Name the Pet. As a b-side they have added their excellent, retrosynth-sounding cover of Icona Pop’s song “Just Another Night”.

I’ve added playlists now on Spotify, Wimp and Rara with the music I presented here on the blog in April.

Meadowmusic, April 2014 – Spotify

Meadowmusic, April 2014 – Wimp

Meadowmusic, April 2014 – Rara (the playlist is available on Rara’s page for recommended playlists)

Humfree Bug Art

Humfree Bug Art – “Hawaii”

One of my favourite bands from last year, Humfree Bug Art, are back with a new single. “Hawaii” is the main attraction,  a song the singer Arvid Jonsson describes as “a gay love song, sung by bearded straight men.”.

Sibirien – “Eld”

Sibirien is a project run by David Björk. In the Autumn he released the debut EP “Snart regnar stormen in” and a couple of weeks ago the new single “Eld”. Here he’s hooked up the large reverbs from the eighties in a fine, melancholic song, which give me a ceratain feeling of being a movie soundtrack.

Raindear – “Grown Ups”

Behind Raindear we find the singer Rebecca Bergcrantz. Earlier this year she released the debut EP “The Game” and now the video to one of the songs on the EP, “Grown Ups”, is also available.

The Jamhouse Riot – “City Lights Out”

The Jamhouse Riot, whom I wrote about in 2012, are announcing a series of three singles. First up is this track, “City Lights Out”, their own mix of hard rock and garage rock, bitwise with vibes of Guns’n’Roses.

Brother North

Brother North – “Brother North” – album

I talked about the duo Brother North in the Autumn as they rolled out their first songs. Now they have released their debut album; eight songs of (mostly) acoustic singer-songwriter warmth spiced up with beautiful string arrangements. The earlier singles “Rain Song” and “Silent Running” are strong songs, but there are more gems to discover, like for example the grand-sounding “Skyward Light” or the romantic “Pool of Her”, which you can listen to here below. A beautifully shimmering debut with summer vibes.

Alice Boman – “Over”

Here’s a new single from Alice Boman, “Over”, taken from her upcoming EP, “EP II”. The song was recorded in her apartment by herself, in the same beautiful lofi-spirit as the earlier songs.

Varjen – “Against The Country”

Niklas Sibelius, or Varjen as he calls himself, will release his second EP “Against The Country”on the 9th of May. Four songs that makes me think of Tallest Man On Earth and which grow on me with each listen. It’s a dryer and and closer sound this time and a great follow-up to the last EP “Hardland“. Here’s the first single and the title track of the EP:

Luna Green – “Swedish Strawberries”

Luna Green release her second solo album tomorrow, “Swedish Strawberries”. Just like with the last album Niclas Frisk participates as a producer, co-writer and guitarist on some of the tracks. Here’s the title song, a seductive, smooth pop song, with quite a few Lana del Rey-vibes.

Johan Reinhold

Johan Reinhold – “Feel For You”

“Feel For You” is Johan Reinhold’s warm tribute to his mother, who passed away a year ago of cancer. Here you’ll also find the explanation to why Johan took a pause from the music, even though he was in the middle of the success with his songs, among them “Shoot Me Down“, which I wrote about. He writes that he went through a hard time and he yearned for the opportunity to be able to tell his mother how much she meant to him. He did this in the best way possible: with this song.

The song is also his way of picking up his music career where he left it, and is one of the two songs of the single “Closing Doors”, due for release May 12th. All net proceeds will go to charity to help fight cancer.

HvH – “Cause of Your Destruction”

HvH stands for “Hammar village heights” and is the name of a new indie trio from the outskirts of Stockholm. Their debut single is called “Cause of Your Destruction”, a hymn-like electro pop song, rather naked but yet grand. The song is also a part of a new election campaign album for F! (Swedish feminist party). It’s an album with songs from 65 artists, well known as well as less known artists, among them Robyn, The Knife, Nina Persson, Crucified Barbara, The Bear Quartet, Ane Brun and many others. A quite unique initiative in Swedish politics.

White Birches – “Stands of White Birches” – EP

The electro pop duo White Birches, Jenny Gabrielsson Mare and Fredrik Jonasson, promised us an EP this Spring, and now they’ve fulfilled that promise with the new four-track collection “Stands of White Birches”. It’s about dark, dreamy, beautiful melodies and with a sort of muffled electro pop sound. We’ve heard two of the songs before, and one of the songs “The End of The Line” was on my list of the best songs of last year. With the new “Take Me Dancing” they show us that their source of inspiration is certainly still there:

Square – “The Reversed Spanish Chair”

It’s been almost six years since I wrote about the band Square. They are now in the process of releasing their fourth album “The Reversed Spanish Chair”, and I notice that they haven’t lost any energy since the last time. Not the least, and they’ve been doing this since 1998, music that could be described as a mix of garage rock and ska with a turbo engine built into it. I’d even say that they sound better than ever.

I said that they were in the process of releasing the album, which actually means that they are releasing the album song by song; every other week a new track is presented until August later this year. So far they’ve shown us three songs. Here are two of them: