The band Half a Grape from Gothenburg released their first album “Life and George” a couple of weeks ago. They offer a soft, often relaxed, slightly melancholic music in a jazzy setting with drums, double bass, piano with organ or Rhodes at times. And it is within the jazzy range I usually find them – from pure cool jazz tunes to slower jazz rock and blues. Add the expressive and varied vocals by Roger Gunnarsson and it is a perfect blend to sink into, close your eyes and forget about the troubles of your day.

Visit them on Myspace where you can listen to a couple of songs from “Life and George”

On Last.fm you can also listen to some earlier recordings and download more songs.

Listen, download and enjoy two songs here:

Going Home
Cold Inside

No matter how nice it is with really great massive guitars that cover your body, that feeling still intensifies when the songs are based on a guitar melody. The band Kaross performs this beautifully! There’s a drive throughout the songs that carries them all the way and offers great music. Combine that with a great, hoarse rock’n’roll voice and you get magic.

Kaross have played together since 2000 and in 2005 they won a local rock contest, Partillerocken, and got the record deal that was the first prize. The album was released in 2007 through the company Eastground records.

You can listen to and download two great rock-and-rolling songs. On their Myspace page, you can listen to a pretty cool tune, “Old Vinyl”, that draws your mind towards the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Unfortunately without the rockabilly guitar.

Meat Me
Bong Song

Visit the band:
Kaross on Myspace
Bandets official site

Keep cool,
Jeppe

The word master

Hello all publishers! I SAID: -HELLO ALL PUBLISHERS!!!
You have missed a sweet little pea here. A lyricist of absolute world class. Niklas Aurgrunn is his name. Remember that name, or pick up the phone right now. I say it only once, read my lips: – Niklas Aurgrunn is one of the best Swedish lyricists.

In this post I will try to emphasise the importance of writing good lyrics. Many tries, some have the gift, and others like Niklas are outstanding. He’s not only shaping some words, ready for delivery. His words reaches a dimension within you didn’t know existed. He hits the target and twists and turns.
When you have finished listening, you are no longer the same person. A good text transforms the listener to new heights. You learn something from a good text. A good text is like the sun in the sky. It warms you and carry you on further.

A few words from the author himself:

“Maybe it sounds like and maybe it is some kind of self legitimising incantation, but I do like it when it sounds a little off pitch and off beat, when I have to strain my voice to go up, I even think it’s fun when have to violate the melody to be able to sing the piece, ‘cause it is like that and have always been like that – I’m not a singer by any definition and certainly not a musician, but it took me a few decades to learn to like what happens when I sit down and with a poor ear, tune in randomly, it’s the way it should be, at least it’s how I should be. And they are fantastic songs in any case…”

Listen to Aurgrunn’s “Gare de Lyon Blues”:

Gare de Lyon Blues

Aurgrunn has collaborated with a lot of musicians, among them Tobbe Möller, whom we wrote post about before.

Here is a taste from another interesting collaboration with Miss Allena, “Vind” (“Wind”):

Vind

And this is how powerful it can sound when the producer Jonas Wickman takes on Aurgrunns work in “Bil på berget” (“Car on the mountain”):

Bil på berget

Aurgrunn is also a frequent blogger and also the author of several books. Unfortunately only available in Swedish so far.

Visit Aurgrunn on Myspace
and Last.fm

The Malmö band Juxtapose consists of the two former members of Loud Silence, Simon Bengtsson and Henrik Nilsson.

Their music is a pop mixture with electronica influences. The songs don’t really have those catchy refrains, but the songs in themselves are nevertheless attractive. The music goes on in a nice melancholic groove, with relaxed, cool vocals, and I feel that I don’t want it to stop.

I wonder if the bass melody in “Ghost With a Pretty Face” isn’t inspired by White Stripes? ;-)

Here are three songs to listen to and download.
Enjoy!

Ghost With a Pretty Face
Island Sounds
Is Your Love For Free

Visit the band:
Juxtapose on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does I feel great. To listen to a song that hooks me up from the first verse line, and then even better if it comes without a warning. This happened to me the other day as I sat down to listen to “A World to Save” with Golden Kanine, after a tip here on the blog. I was caught instantly by the the melody, the feeling, the style, the voice. And the song, well, it held me there all through and kept me listening. And it is a song without a real chorus and with a trumpet solo (or is it the trombone?) in the middle!

Yes, Golden Kanine is very special, and not only for the strange name :-). When I listen to their first album from 2007, with songs like “7th Sin” and “Absence”, I hear rock with a lot of energy, good melodies, alarming guitars and the special voice and expression of Andreas Olrog, driving and slightly melancholic.

With the two new songs here, “A World to Save” and “Cough” I meet another sound. It’s calmer with an acoustic feeling, and yes, the trombone player Marcus has entered the band.

I really like their former work, but the two last songs has put a spell on me. The band is on their way to record their next album, which is to be released in the end of the year/beginning of next year. I hope you can help me out here by visiting Golden Kanine’s Myspace page and tell them to hurry up, so that we may hear the rest of the songs from the new album.

A World to Save
Cough
7th Sin
Absence