The story about the members of Ioseb‘s road trip, how they stopped at an old church, stumbled upon a pile of thrown goods and an old trunk, feels rather appealing. Seems like they was caught in the moment, and in a way started all over right there and then. Ioseb was formed and from the experience emerged something that would later on become the album “The Ghost of 33”.

Most of us probably need to stop moving on sometimes, and try to feel who we are, where we are and what we want. Maybe Ioseb’s own post-rock-version, “The Ghost of 33” can help. It’s a journey, mostly instrumental, consisting of 8 tracks of quite varying length. It can be powerful, sometimes fragile, beautifully melodic and emotional. The melancholy from cold northern winds is there, but in the end the warmth and the strength is what feels most strongly.

You can read and listen more on Ioseb’s site and you can also find them on Myspace.

The Sea et al

c/o Night:

It’s rather fascinating to listen to Fredrik Jonasson & the Hoarse Horses. Their third EP “Kolme” was released in January this year and contains their own special pop/rock brewage, catchy and melodic, raw edges and a sound where I can hear some New Wave, Pulp, Bowie, Stone Roses and much more. I really like Fredrik’s voice which is very characteristic and fits perfectly with the rather raw sound. On this third EP they have moved away from the electronica background, which was the base before, to a more guitar-based sound.

You can find Fredrik Jonasson & the Hoarse Horses’ headquarters on their site. You can also visit their Bandcamp page to listen to “Kolme” and the earlier releases. Here are two songs from “Kolme”:

Simone
Angels

Angels:

Fredrik Jonasson & The Hoarse Horses – Angels from Fredrik Jonasson on Vimeo.

Today I’m listening to Saigon Sickness. It’s about alternative rock with stains of melancholy, where massive guitars, a big sound and good melodies is the foundation. I find it hard to make direct comparisons as they move from something that’s close to Foo Fighters to metal to pop influences. All this is showcased on their debut album “Invocation of my demon brothers”, which was released in the beginning of the year.

Saigon Sickness was formed in 2005 and is a rebirth of the nineties band Voyager, but with a new musical mission. On Saigon Sickness’ site you can follow their blog and listen to the album. It’s also available on Spotify. Here’s “Dear China”:

Dear China

Today it’s about classic hard rock through Damien, a band från Lund. And hard rock then in a way it was played in the first half of the eighties before the poodles arrived. Lots of guitars, a good rock drive, football choirs, nice melodies and a female singer with a strong voice, Michelle.

You can find Damien on Myspace. Here are two tracks:

Rock or Die
We Are the Kids

The Happy Four breathes enough sixties retro to satisfy me for quite some time to come. And they do it in a great way. It’s like an up-to-date mix of The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Rolling Stones all at once. Heavy drums, an organ that wraps me in a warm cloak of nostalgia, nice melodies and cool vocals with a nice attitude.

The Happy Four consists of 4 members from the former nineties band Love Kings. In the beginning of this year they released the singel “Kill Me” containing two tracks, which you can listen to below. You can find The Happy Four on Myspace and on Facebook.

Kill Me
Happy