Ludwig och Skyltdockorna present himself as a queer artist, and on the new house-influenced pop single “Säg blev du rädd nu för mig?” it’s from this point of view he’s questioning men’s heterosexual jargon. He is challenging the constant need to label people after their sexual orientation and the necessity to fit in if you don’t want to be considered a threat to the male group. He writes that he is heterosexual himself but that he loves to dress as a woman, which makes it even more challenging for those who want to put neat little labels on people.

Ludvig och Skyltdockorna on Facebook – on Spotify – on Wimp

Today Marigold are releasing the single “Can’t Touch Me”, a catchy synthpop-tinged song which makes me think of ELO from the end of the seventies/at the start of the eighties. And if I would summarize Marigold’s latest songs I’d say they sound like an indie reincarnation of rock bands from the seventies that were influnced by disco and synth pop, becoming more dance friendly and stepping into the catchy pop room instead. This is just as obvious on the Marigold’s single from November, the excellent “Allt kommer bli bra”, where Fleetwood Mac comes to mind.

Marigolds hemsida – på Facebook – på Spotify – på Wimp

Johan Agebjörn, hailing from Lund, is best known for his collaboration with Sally Shapiro, as a songwriter and a producer. He has also released music under his own name, often focused on either nu-disco or ambient music. On the upcoming album “Notes” he’s exploring some new routes, though. The starting point for each song has been the electric piano sound from a Casio MT52 keyboard, a simpler keyboard which was manufactured in the early eighties.

A week ago he released the single “The Boy Who Thought It Was a Good Idea to Cry”, which is taken from the album. It’s a beautifully melancholic song which makes me think of old TV series from the seventies or the eighties, like a theme to some thriller series or some detective story. There are also a couple of other sample songs from the record, released in the Autumn, “The Right to Play” and “The Leftovers”, where the last song includes vocals from Loney Dear. On “Notes”, scheduled for release on the 10th of February, you’ll also hear collaborations with Sally Shapiro, Young Galaxy and Brain Machine.

Johan Agebjörn’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Wimp

The duo Death Team, Mayka Edd and Johen Rafael Tilli, released the song “Fucking Bitches In the Hood” a week ago, a song with punk attitude that plays with hip hop, electropop and rock from the fifties in a contagious way. It’s a song that keeps spinning in your head afterwards either you like it or not, and on the Soundcloud version they show the way by spinning it twice. Here’s the premiere of the  lyrics video:

Death Team’s site – on Facebook

After years of absence the duo Moonbabies, Ola Frick and Carina Johansson, have returned in the Autumn with new songs; last week with the doublesingle  “24”/”The Ocean Kill” and earlier, in September, with the songs “Chorus”/”Raindrops”. Basically they are delivering a collection of gorgeous pop melodies in shifting costumes. The latest songs are more electronica-heavy, inspired by the dancefloors in Berlin they tell us, while the other songs sound more organic. I sense a clear stroke of the seventies’ pop vibes in the melodies, enhanced by my impression that Ola Frick sometimes sound like Eric Woolfson or even Jeff Lynne in “The Ocean Kill”-chorus, but there are plenty of other tendencies to pick up if you’re in that mood, from dream pop, indie and electropop for example. It’s great to hear from the duo again, and in Spring we’ll get more music from them when they release the new album.

Moonbabies’ site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Wimp