Lasse Franck is a skilled word juggler, that with his expressive, rather sensitive voice serves his lines in a pop/rock menu, with nice melodies. From softer pop songs, that remind me of Olle Ljungström, to rock with a drive.

Lasse sings in a way that really emphasizes the lyrics. And I accept the lyrics pretty fast, which can be layered personal reflections delivered with warmth and humour, where the afterthoughts make me smile, or provocations with his tongue in his cheek.

A full length album is being recorded in a collaboration with Pär Edwardson, Jonas Slättung and Kalle Thorslund, and will probably be released in spring 2009.
In the meantime you can get a taste of it by listening to three tracks:

Åka skridskor
Målaren
Inget val

Visit Lasse Franck on Myspace

Earlier this year The Search released their fourth album “Saturnine Songs”. An album filled with melancholic pop, beautiful melodies embedded in a nice atmosphere with a big sound. There is a lot of vibes from the eighties in this music and earlier they have often been compared with for example the Cure. And sure, in some songs this is clearly obvious especially in some intros and how it may sound, but to me I find them just as much with one foot in the sound of bands from this century, like for example Doves and Travis.

The Search plays live frequently, and often they perform on stages in Germany, where their record label afmusic is based. And I recommend you to visit afmusic’s site if you want to download the album “Saturnine Songs” ” for free, or buy versions with extra tracks or with the highest sound quality. Or to see where you can buy a CD.

The Search is extremely generous with their material, both the newest tracks and the earlier recordings. On Last.fm you’ll find more or less every song they have ever released, both for listening and downloading.
You can also visit them on Myspace.

Rapunzel:

Listen to a couple of songs:

Distant
Swimmer

Others about The Search: Reflections of Darkness, EvilSponge

The story about Convoj is the story of a band that broke through on the net and on stages all over Sweden in 2004, but where the hunt for the big record deal became more important than to build on the real success they had with their listeners. (You can read their story on Convoj’s Myspace page). Now they seem to have landed and will finally release their debut album “Exceptionnel”, which will be out the 10th of December in collaboration with Wonderland Records.

They deliver an energetic indie rock with their own sound. Franz Ferdinand-edgy guitars form the base of the sound with a an expressive singer that almost sounds like he has turned himself inside out. Songs that are not too predictable, but with catchy choruses. Music that require some attention from the listener, which they certainly deserve.

My Timekeeping Heart:

Follow Convoj in a couple of tracks and judge for yourself:

The Shovel
My Timekeeping Heart

Listen more on Convoj’s page at Wonderland Records

“Almost 300.000 viewers on YouTube since January – without marketing. The limited edition of the debut album Atonic Atrocity sold out – without marketing. This is the result of Nomy’s releasing his songs for free on the Internet, opening up his self produced collection of music to the public. The Swedish artist from Jönköping is a tremendous success thanks to the most music friendly platform of the 21th century – WorldWideWeb.”

That’s what you can read on Nomy’s site. I don’t agree though, that it has been done without marketing. What he’s doing IS marketing, and marketing that really works!

Nomy is the rocker from Jönköping, at the moment a one man band. Nomy, or Patrick Marquardt, which is his real name, records everything at home through his computer.
He’s serving us a high energy rock that runs through the body in a way that the joy is pulsating right out through my skin. It is Linkin park, HIM, Danko Jones mixed. There is nice dynamics and changes between cool vocals and howls of anxiety that should make Thåström envious.

The playing is good as well as the production in itself, but it’s the voice, as an instrument, that I believe is the real strength in Nomy’s music. Often he’s using the Marilyn Manson-“trick”, dubbing a high-pitched voice with a lower one, and he’s really good at this. And the way he lets himself go in the vocals makes it even stronger.

Enough said…listen and enjoy!

On Nomy’s site you can download all his music for free. If you like it you can show your appreciation by pressing a donate button.

Cocaine
Freakshow
I Miss You

Keep cool,
Jeppe

William S. Burroughs wrote the novel “Port of Saints” in 1973. The story consists of several interwoven substories while the main theme is about a bunch of wild boys that try to change history by travelling through time to different places.

Maybe they are not rewriting history, but the description of the book feels right on target when it comes to the band Port of Saints. They sample from different eras of rock history and get influences from many directions like Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Black Sabbath older psychadelia rock and others. Many threads that may lead to different areas but they blend it beautifully down to a heavy driven rock that is fun to listen to.

I really recommend a visit to their Myspace page or their Facebook page, so you can hear more sides of this interesting rock band.

Listen to and download three songs:

The Martyr
Monster
Dead End