“A Ted Gärdestad on drugs that has listened to much on Beach Boys and Beatles.” Gustav Spetz describes his music. A funny and rather fitting description I think. Gustaf is the former singer, songwriter and piano player of Eskju Divine, a band which he has now left to try on his own.

And he makes his debut with the new album “Good Night Mr Spetz” (Imperial Recordings). For you who, like me, like classic pop songwriting, this is sweet as candy. With the piano as a base he builds a bright and uplifting album, often often grand, but sometimes more subtle. The melody hooks are right there in the choruses and the licks, just like they should. A really interesting album, which is definitely worth checking out if you like classic pop with some indie feeling in it.

Gustav is now on tour with in Sweden together with Jonathan Johansson and the next gig is tomorrow at Debaser in Malmö. And in May he will countinue his tour on the other side of the world, in Japan.

Listen more to Gustav Spetz on Myspace. On Smartassradio you’ll also find a radio interview with Gustaf.

You and Me:

Burn It, Crush It Smash It
Dewdrop (with Gabrielle Frödén)

One Two One Two’s consists of Daniel Bärjed, Mikael Läht and My Larsson. They say that they have a desire for experimentation and want to try many styles. And that really shows! It’s wonderfully surprising to go from track to track and discover what they are up to next.

Even if I find a common atmosphere in their music, a dreamy, mellow feeling, sometimes theatrical, I find it hard to describe them. Maybe something of the vibes from Bowie’s alternative tracks from the early seventies, mixed with psychadelia and grand pop. But it’s still isn’t enough, so I hope you listen for yourself in the tracks below. I think this is a really interesting band. Please tell me what you think in the comments.

Listen to more music on One Two One Two’s Myspace page.

The Wheel
Last Waltz
Cigarettes On My Mind
Enemy to Society

Natubella is the argentinian that changed hemispheres and settled down in Sweden. With her base in Sweden she’s is about to launch the new album “Little Devil. It will be released the 27th of February and a large part of the album is produced by Povel Ohlsson (Navid Modiri & Gudarna).

I would say that her style consists of one part of Madonna, one part of Goldfrapp, some part of Gwen Stefani, a lot of attitude, distorted guitars and electronica that stands out. Heavier dance beats are mixed with softer pop tracks. Below you can watch the video for TDG, from the coming album, and listen to and download two additional songs.

Interestingly “Athene’s Hymn” and “Evolve or Wait”, both have their origin in Natubella’s obvious fascination for computer games. “Athene’s Hymn” was created after a collaboration with the biggest profile in World of Warcraft and celebrate the character “Athene” from the game, while “Evolve or Wait” is a tribute to the game “Spore“.

I also just had to show you another version of the song “TDG”. The swedish theremin-player Pekkanini has made a cover of the song, which you can watch below!

If you’d like to know more about Natubella and taste more of the tracks from the album”Little Devil”, you should visit Natubella’s site. You’ll also find Natubella on Myspace.

TDG (from “Little Devil”):

Pekkanini – TDG:

Evolve or Wait
Athene’s Hymn

Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers was formed in 2007 in Stockholm by Niklas Svedberg, vocals and Erik Svensson, guitar/banjo. Today the band has 5 members and they have just released their selftitled debut EP.

Their music feels a little like a marriage between different styles like pop, americana, rock, some jazz and blues, but I don’t think it feels unfocused; their sound and style is recognised from song to song. Even though they use banjo, horns and mix in other styles, my thoughts often go to the beatlesque pop of the sixties as I listen, an impression that’s also emphasised by Niklas Svedberg’s vocals.

After having played mainly in the Stockholm area up until now, they are now set to play in more areas in Sweden to spread their music. A trip to Germany is also coming up. To listen to more tracks, buy their EP and follow the band, you should visit Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers on Myspace.

I’ll Ask For Nothing
Someone Else, Somewhere Else

Kraftwerk sang about “Computer Love” in 1981. That was quite a while ago and Jan Johansen thought it was time for an update and tell us about the situation for a lonely PC, as it can be today.

Jan Johansen has one of my favourite voices, ever since I heard “Kommer tid, kommer vår” the first time in the nineties. It’s not exactly his own voice that shows itself in the song “Ensam PC” (“Lonely PC”) here below, but rather his mmm… friends voice, but if you’d like to hear more of Jan Johansens voice and his productions you should visit Jan Johansen’s Myspace page. Or his site.

The observant Meadowmusic reader has probably seen that we presented a song with Jan Johansen a while ago, “Do What You Gotta Do”. You’ll find it in our post about Lasse Söhr.

Ensam PC