Bondage Fairies manage in some strange way to marry computer game electronica with indie rock and make it feel completely obvious. And then we’re talking about 8-bit console games á la Nintendo and Sega from the eighties. The music is also performed by four masked characters that could have been part of some game.

In January they released the album “Bondage Fairies”, which is their third album this far. You can listen to it  on Spotify and on Wimp. Follow their adventures on their Facebook page.

Fantasy Outfit

MiSTAKES is Isak Åslund’s solo project, where he earlier this year released the first album “I’m Fine”, and last month an EP he offers as a free download. About the project and the name Isak relates:

The project started to take shape sometimes during Fall. I was tired of everything, angry and felt rather low, simply put. Such a period which makes you take a step back and start to review all the side-steps you have taken. Mistake was the word that shone most brightly in front of my eyes. So I named the project after that, MiSTAKES.

It’s also very fitting that it’s an anagram for “Isak smet” (smet=sludge, grease, mixture), because that’s how the recording process felt like. Like a sludge made from myself.

The music itself, doesn”t feel messy though, quite the opposite; it feels creative and spontaneous, different, in this rather dark electronica. You can listen more on Spotify and follow MiSTAKES on Facebook. Here’s a track from the album and a song from the EP, which was recently released. (You can find a download link on his Facebook page).

iT iS ALL LiES
Self-hate, Blame the World, Grief and Rust

It’s been almost two years since I wrote about The Faux Noise, and apparently they haven’t released any new music since then. It’s good to know then that they are back now with a new single, “Leave Her to Heaven”, which they have released together with three remixes of the song.

It’s a suggestive, dreamy song with vibes from the eighties, where they, like before, tame a sound chaos into beautiful soundscapes. You can listen to their music on their Soundcloud page and the single is also available on Spotify. You can follow the band on their site and on Facebook.

Leave Her to Heaven

Some music needs some time before you can enjoy it. And sometimes you need som kind of door opener before you can experience it “for real”. This happened to me with the Swedish-American band Susurrus Station’s latest album “Antinomie”. The first time I listened I couldn’t really get it so I let it go for some time. A month later they sent me the video they made for the song “Alluvia”, which sort of unlocked the doors to “Antinomie” for me.

This is their fourth album, but I haven’t heard any of the former ones, so I can’t really compare. I can tell you, though, that this is an interesting, varied, unpredictable and dreamy genre mix of an album. Listen more on Spotify or on Wimp. You can find the band on their site.

Keep Up Your Spirits
Play the Fool

A little more than a month ago Emerald Park released the album “Absolute Zero”, the third one since they started in 2002. It’s been four years since the last time and one would expect some changes in the music. And there is, quite a few, which they signalled with their single “Reality Bites” last year.

It’s more naked, happier, more tounge-in-cheek, more romantic and nostalgic and the entire production feels more spontaneous. They show their love for good pop melodies, which isn’t anything new to them, but it feels, well, more relaxed. I notice the americana influences in some songs and more than once I’m reminded of Magnetic Fields and also Jens Lekman.

Overall I think it’s a great album, varied and fun to discover, and an album that grows each time I listen. You can listen for yourself on Spotify or on Wimp. Follow the band on Facebook.

Here are two songs from the album, a replay of “Reality Bites” from last year, and the new song “Someone to Love”.

Reality Bites
Someone to Love