Monday, December 18, 2006

The Radio Dept.

I am in love, I kid you not.
This band has really ripped my heart out of my chest and sucked all the loving out of it for the past couple of months. I am not exaggerating, it's very Leah-Guillemots of me to say...ANYWAY, moving on ;)
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The Radio Dept. @myspace.com
http://www.theradiodept.frih.net/

essential choons: 1995, Keen On Boys, The Worst Taste in Music, Pulling Our Weight, It’s Personal, Pet Grief, Why Won’t You Talk About It

And once again ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Swedish love. You name it, these guys have it all, the cheesy synths, the echoey voice, sweet harmonies... You could say New Order fell in love, calmed down, turned scandinavian, made best friends with M83 and headed down the path of shoegaze. I'd fill an album entitled "Music to make sweet love to" with their songs.

The band formed in 1995 Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson. Their name was taken gast station/radio repairer in a town called Lund, Sweden, where there hung a sign that said "The Radio Department" in Swedish. The Radio Dept. has been one fo those bands where members come and go and at certain stages it is not even sure wether there is anyone in the band anymore. Real recordings started in 1998, in bizzare locations. 4 tracks were recorded before in 2001 Lisa Carlberg and Per Blomgren Daniel Tjader joined. However after the release of their EP "This Past Week", in 2005, Lisa was asked to leave the band as they were thinking of heading a different direction for their coming album, and no longer required a bassist.

The well-known swedish indie label, Labrador Records, found this band with a sampler that was given out along with their review, with music magazine "Sonic", and immidiatley (like myself) fell in love. Most of their singles and EP's were released in 2002 and 2003, and their first (out of the two) album "Lesser Matters" was also released in 2003. Their CDEP "Pulling Weights" is probably the most easily recognized, as the songs were included in the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoniette", which definetly had a great input in spreading the word on The Radio Dept. .

Their latest record, Pet Grief, was released last year, and is how I discovered them. Pet Grief would best be labled as a "Post-shoegaze" album, adopting new sounds that are not usually used in traditional shoegaze tunes. I could elaborate on this album for ages, but you'd probably find eventually find it way too much of a commitment to download it and actually listen to it, so i'll keep it short. The record includes both instrumental pieces and pieces accompanied by melancholic lyrics, sung by a soothing voice that complements the music but doesn't force you to focus solely on the singing. Despite the lyrics being quite depressing, they still seem to be full of hope and understanding of those situations that are hard to be explained generally... but that's what music is for, right?


" He can't forget you
You're quite a find
In my mind I see how he gets you
To close your eyes
Kiss the skies

You race down the stairs in the morning
A kiss in half promise, half warning

Why would you bother to hang around?
Even for some time, now
There will be others to frown upon
If it turns you on

But he's got the worst taste in music
If I didn't know this I'd lose it"

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Jessica Bailiff

(Before I go on, I'd like to personally welcome you to our blog. Both CD whores and download addicts, Chiara and I are constantly finding something new to listen to. Soo, with our I-am-music SKILLZ, we thought we'd do something productive, i.e. this, where we will only recommend you the very best. And yes, it is true, Aqua really are Scandinavia's pride and joy.)



http://www.brainwashed.com/jb/


Essential Choons: Failing Yesterday, Shine ('Even In Silence' LP), What's Inside Your Mind?, Lakeside Blues ('Feels Like Home' LP), Swallowed, Mary (Self-Titled LP)

Jessica is an American Singer-Songwriter hailing from Toledo, Ohio. Signed to Kranky Records, she is somewhat fitting to the label's current roster, which includes the kings of drone Stars of the Lid, and fine purveyors of post-rock minimalism Windy & Carl (to name but a few). She has collaborated with several artists, including Flying Saucer Attack and indie veterans Low.

Her music is mellow and soothing, noisy yet beautiful, something that could well have been created in your subconscious while dreaming. Her quiet, fragile vocals compliment the surreal and swirling sounds created by effects-laden guitar perfectly, an excellent example of this being the gorgeous 'Failing Yesterday', taken from her debut album 'Even In Silence' (1998). The music featured on this record definitely shows that Jessica takes great influence from shoegazing legends My Bloody Valentine, with the sound largely focusing on repetitive patterns and reverb.

Jessica's further releases have shown that her musical style has progressively changed over the years. On her third and self-titled release (2002) we have a collection that is evidently inspired by Mazzy Star and the likes, the melancholic beauty of 'Mary' being the highlight of this.

Her most recent release 'Feels Like Home' (2006) sees Jessica taking more of a folky turn. Gone is the blurry noise of her past recordings, and we actually get to hear something more of Ms. Bailiff's vocal talent. However, the trademark sliding effects and slight echoes still remain. 'Whats Inside Your Mind?' could well be Slowdive if they were a folk band.

All in all, Jessica Bailiff proves that, despite being something of a musical chameleon, atmosphere is the key to evoking emotion in music. If ethereality is your thing, then this is definitely for you.

Further Listening: Eau Claire, Jessica's side project with Rachel Staggs (of shoegazing band Experimental Aircraft)

Detektivbyrån


http://www.detektivbyran.tk/
http://www.myspace.com/detektivbyran

Essential Choons: E18, Nattöppet

A big fan of Post-Rock, Folktronica and Minimalism? You've found your band. This fresh Swedish trio is best described as a mix of Yann Tiersen and Efterklang. Delicate electronic beats blend in with with intriguing accordion tunes. E18 and Hemgäven are a couple of their more melodically involving songs, something you would definetly find in the soundtrack of a new Amélie-like movie, whilst others such as Granmon head more down the path of Post-Rock, with slow, quiet piano. Nattöppet however heads again for a completely different direction, easily comparable to Minimalist Electronica such as "Múm". In other words, these guys have managed to extract all the most beautiful music genres and insert them in 7 different stunning songs. Once again, Scandinavians proove themselves to be simply naturally musically inclined (no, not even excluding Aqua).

They released their first EP "Hemvägen EP" in September 2006, and we are still anxiously waiting for an album! But for now, the EP is a must. Oh, and make sure to visit their absolutley adorable website too, please. Couple of songs are available for downloading on it!