You can’t ignore The Rumble. When I first heard them a couple of years ago, it was like a jet of energy that shot through everything else. We have written about them before, and now they have released their first full length album.

And there’s nothing wrong with the energy on the new album, it’s full speed ahead from the start, maybe a little less dirty than before but with a heavier and better beat and drive. At the same time the album shows more of the band, as they explore rock music in different corners, where Hank’s rock-bluesy vocals glues it all together. An album that’s perfect both at the warm-up party as well as on the dancefloor.

You can meet The Rumble on Myspace and you can listen to the album on Spotify. Here are a couple of songs:

24 Hours
Madman

The other day I visited the Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The great statues were there, like they’ve been for the last thousand years, hiding their secrets, revealing nothing. But suddenly, as we were exploring the area, a strong sound, low and dull, startled us, and it seemed to emerge from the ground beneath the old statues. Was this finally a clue to the mysteries of the Easter Island?

The sound gained in strength, echoing across the hills, and we crouched in awe but with the curiosity lurching beneath. The sound shaped itself into a voice, and the voice said: “Let there be rock!”

Maybe a little boring message after all this time, since the statues are made of that, rock. But there were a few people among us that interpreted the words in their own way: the members of Badmouth. Chris LeMon grabbed hos big axe for a Bass, Mike Hill and Randy Joy armed their guitars, in a frenzy Vinnie Sharpe started hitting the rocks with his drum sticks and Tom Pearson let out a wild cry that boomed within our heads for hours afterwards: “Yeah, we will rock the world!!!”

Today Badmouth are missionairies for rock music and are eagerly delivering their message wherever they go. They are right now finishing their second full length album, an album that is rumoured to penetrate the toughest anti-rock walls mankind has seen so far.

If you’d like to remain sane, continue to live in peace and feel it’s uncomfortable to be in an area where the ground will shake for two days, then you should definitely avoid Stockholm between the 30th of April and the 1st of May.

Why? Because Stockholm Rock Out, a new big rock festival will take place in Stockholm, containing some of the best rock that’s ever been squeezed out of a Marshall stack. Badmouth, Slaughter, Kix, Keel, Great White, Steelheart, Bullet Boys and many other bands plus fans from all over the world will gather and join in Badmouths mission. The high priest of the event is Chris LeMon from Badmouth.

Well, let’s start ahead with a couple of tracks from Badmouth’s last album:

Pedal to the Metal
Cocaine Girl

Listen more to Badmouth on their Myspace page and follow the band on their site.

Happy easter! (well at least within a day or two)

The story about the members of Ioseb‘s road trip, how they stopped at an old church, stumbled upon a pile of thrown goods and an old trunk, feels rather appealing. Seems like they was caught in the moment, and in a way started all over right there and then. Ioseb was formed and from the experience emerged something that would later on become the album “The Ghost of 33”.

Most of us probably need to stop moving on sometimes, and try to feel who we are, where we are and what we want. Maybe Ioseb’s own post-rock-version, “The Ghost of 33” can help. It’s a journey, mostly instrumental, consisting of 8 tracks of quite varying length. It can be powerful, sometimes fragile, beautifully melodic and emotional. The melancholy from cold northern winds is there, but in the end the warmth and the strength is what feels most strongly.

You can read and listen more on Ioseb’s site and you can also find them on Myspace.

The Sea et al

c/o Night:

It’s rather fascinating to listen to Fredrik Jonasson & the Hoarse Horses. Their third EP “Kolme” was released in January this year and contains their own special pop/rock brewage, catchy and melodic, raw edges and a sound where I can hear some New Wave, Pulp, Bowie, Stone Roses and much more. I really like Fredrik’s voice which is very characteristic and fits perfectly with the rather raw sound. On this third EP they have moved away from the electronica background, which was the base before, to a more guitar-based sound.

You can find Fredrik Jonasson & the Hoarse Horses’ headquarters on their site. You can also visit their Bandcamp page to listen to “Kolme” and the earlier releases. Here are two songs from “Kolme”:

Simone
Angels

Angels:

Fredrik Jonasson & The Hoarse Horses – Angels from Fredrik Jonasson on Vimeo.

Today I’m listening to Saigon Sickness. It’s about alternative rock with stains of melancholy, where massive guitars, a big sound and good melodies is the foundation. I find it hard to make direct comparisons as they move from something that’s close to Foo Fighters to metal to pop influences. All this is showcased on their debut album “Invocation of my demon brothers”, which was released in the beginning of the year.

Saigon Sickness was formed in 2005 and is a rebirth of the nineties band Voyager, but with a new musical mission. On Saigon Sickness’ site you can follow their blog and listen to the album. It’s also available on Spotify. Here’s “Dear China”:

Dear China