Rickard Ahlgren has released his first official EP under the name danmarck. Here he continues with his grand-sounding furious rock he showed us in the Autumn on the single “Mayfire”. The garage is just a memory now as he heads out on the vast plains like a hurricane on the four tracks. He pushes his voice to the limit while melodic, alarming guitar lines sweep in over the soundscape. There’s something very direct and punk-like when he grabs a theme and just hammers on with an intense beat for two-three minutes, but you will also find traces of goth, alternative rock, industrial and other stuff. He writes that he’s found his inspiration to the songs from artists like Arcade Fire, Hurula, The Damned and Nirvana, influences he interweaves with his dark and ominous sound. Every song has its own character and you can listen to all four tracks here below and read his comments to each song:

Danmarck on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

About “All Hail”: “The lyrics are about various things, partly about the importance of being dedicated to something and partly about our need for a short-circuit of all IT, phones, computers and so on, “All we need is another short circuit”. Musically it’s inspired by Olle Ljungström and Hurula.”

About “Sessala”: “Is there light in here?”. “About our insecurity when we have to choose (not TV:s…:)). Is there anything good with what I’m doing right now..?
Musically inspired by av Thåström, Kite and Nicole Saboune.”

About “Anavia”: “Be who you want to be and be a role model. Do good. Musically inspired by Nirvana’s “Endless Nameless” (hiddden track on Nevermind) and also Nine Inch Nails and Sex Pistols.”

Lovisa Thurfjell knows how to tell someone to fuck off. The latest single “Ha d bra (dra åt helvete)” is that kind of song you would like to play when you’re so frustrated that smoke is coming out of your ears. But you keep it inside of you, mumble a “Have a nice day” and walk away. In this song Lovisa’s punk roots shine through in her new project Hundmänniska, and the band takes the opportunity to pour out everyhing they’ve got until they explode in a cacaphony, catches their breath and squeezes out the last anger in a finishing eruption.

Her album is scheduled for release on the 1st of March and this was the third single. I wrote about the first one, “Res dig upp”, in the Autumn, and later she also released “Inte längre” a more pop-sounding tune, which I have also added here below.

Hundmänniska on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

There are few thing that sets the synapses free like some raw, straight-on punk rock. Here’s a dose of that from Svart Katt’s new EP “Rosta sönder”, an EP which sends me some vibes of old Swedish punk from the eighties, with extra reverb.

Svart Katt on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

You may have heard Christian Wallin and Mattias Svensson before in this blog as a part ofthe band Killer Clan of F.U.N. They decided, though, to wipe off the punky glamrock makeup, throw out the poses, and start Hothead together with the bass player Tony Håkansson. The debut EP “Ready For Whatever” was released this Autumn and is like a trip back to their roots, without sounding retro. This is right-in-your-face-rock with punk and heavy bluesrock alternating in rather short tracks of 1,5-2,5 minutes length. Wallin often steps up to the microphone with his cool laidback vocals even if the trio’s harmonies sometimes dominate and come out as a highlight of their sound. With Wallin’s effective, attacking guitar riffs and the great groove from the rhytm section they make me want to hear more from the band, it feels a bit like an introduction to something bigger. Here’s a taste from the EP.

Hothead på Facebook – på Spotify – på Apple Music

Another uncompromising artist is Richard Ahlgren and his danmarck, who is now releasing a new EP. He continues to suprise and experiment and sounds rougher than ever as he has moved further into the garage. When he gets up on stage in Jönköping on the 7th of November he’s in the company of five guitars and a transverse flute. You can hear the flute here below in the Patti Smith-inspired “Manga”. And “pants on pants off leaves on leaves off” was created in a rehearsal jam under the influence of Dead Kennedys and Entombed, he says.

danmarck on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Soundcloud