Elias and the Wizzkids’ second album “Just Do It!” was released last year, but since I didn’t write about it then, I thought that it would appropriate to do it now. Especially since the starting track of the album “Waste of Time” totally hooked me up, a song that I think was among the absolute best pop songs last year, and it became even stronger with the brilliant nostalgic music video by Mats Udd.

Besides the the nice sense of melodies, the text theme and Elias Åkesson’s characteristic voice, I can’t say that the song is typical for the album. Instead you’re invited to a most varied journey where they get inspiration from pop from the sixties and the seventies, from disco, synth pop from the eighties, indie and much more, without digging too much in one place in any song. You can listen to this fine album on Spotify and you’ll find the band on their site.

Waste of Time

Support the artist: Buy “Just Do It!” – on iTunes – on Amazon

Slottet released their new EP “Servants” last month. Besides being available on Spotify the EP was also released on casette tape. It’s not the first time I’ve encountered cassette tapes this Autumn, so I think I can say that there is sort of a cassette revival going on.

And the EP  is a quite pleasant acquaintance. The first three tracks contain a rather minimalistic electronica accompanying good indie pop-vibing melodies and close vocals by Marcus Wahlström, while the finishing two songs change lane somewhat in that “Please” lets the guitars come up front and normal drums is used, and “Vanity”, the last song, is built upon an acoustic guitar.

They came up with the band name Slottet (The Castle) a summer’s night one and a half year ago. They were trying to invent a name by associating with things they saw in the room, when suddenly, Yin Fai Chan, the band’s keyboard player, saw the cover of Hayao Miyazaki’s movie “Howl’s Moving Castle” and threw out the word “Slottet”. According to Marcus Wahlström, this led to a kind of eureka moment for the band, and the name was set.

You can follow Slottet on their Facebook page. Here’s the first song on “Servants”

Agnostic Nightmare

We wrote about Roshambo in the beginning of this year, and this Autumn they released a new single with two songs, “Arson”. They first song “Arson” feels something in the way of what they have presented before; an energic pop punk with American influences. A good song, but the sound has a little too much treble for my taste.

The second song “Cigarette Lemonade” is the one I like the most and is also showing a new side of the band I think; a nice messy indie rock and which has a hint of rock from the sixties in the verses. Listen and download here below.

They got their name from a song by the band The Network, a band that inspired them a lot at the start when they created their sound.

You can find the single on Roshambo’s bandcamp page, on Spotify or on their Facebook page.

Cigarette Lemonade

Support the artist: Buy “Arson” – on iTunes – on Amazon

The band Tender Hooligans recently released their self-titled debut album. The band name comes from The Smiths’ song “Sweet and Tender Hooligan”, as one of the original members was a big fan of The Smiths.

The Smiths is not the first band I think of when I listen to the music, even if I can sense something of it. I do feel the vibes of British music, though; that and the close, unpolished and punky feeling makes me rather think of The Clash and in some case of Oasis. Overall it’s a good album with good melodies and a nice, raw rock energy.

In the song below they have collaborated with David Sandström (Refused) and the entire album is available on Spotify. You can find the band on Facebook.

I Will Keep You Warm (feat. David Sandström)

Support the artist: Buy “Tender Hooligans” – on iTunes – on Amazon

Post rock band Scraps of Tape released their fourth album in the end of October, “Resident Flux”. They say that the ambition was to make a raw and spontaneous album, and that most of it should be recorded live directly. They had booked five days in the studion but already after two days they and their producer Per Stålberg were finished.

And the album is indeed raw and energetic, to a large extent instrumental, but with guest vocals by Mattias Alkberg, Cecilia Nordlund and Mizuki Ida on some of the tracks. And it’s the song with Mattias Alkberg, “Flera meter kort”, that you can listen to and download here below.

The image is from the album cover, and shows the work of 12 artists that interpreted one song each. These images are shown in the 28-page booklet that comes with the CD.

You can find the album on Spotify and follow the band on their site and on Facebook.

Flera meter kort

Support the artist: Buy “Resident Flux” – on iTunes – on Amazon