Tina Dickow - A Beginning, A Detour, An Open Ending (2008)

Hello.

The Danish stuff alert is turned on again. Tina Dickow is on the edge to do an international breakthrough. She's having plenty of succes in England right now, and she's also well-known in Denmark. What a surprise. This album is actually three EPs melted together which limits more beautiful songs for us. Most of them is just Tina and her guitar, but that is more than convincing in itself, just listen to Quarter To Forever. This is a brilliant and beautiful album.

Download - Rapidshare

Cheers,
Joachim

The Raveonettes - Sometimes They Drop By (2008)

Oy!

Even more Danish stuff is here - this time you might actually know the band. The Raveonettes have played on Letterman and made Dave himself say "I wanna go to Denmark". He hasn't come yet. This year, The Raveonettes are releasing one EP in September, one in October and one in November. Frontman Sune Wagner sure knows how to make money to buy all that hairspray. Oh, the music! Well, more electronic than before, but still noisy and psychedelic. The other half of the band has just given birth to a baby. Congratulations on that soon-bass-playing little one!

Download - Rapidshare

Cheers,
Joachim

18th Dye - Amorine Queen (2008)

Yo.

Today I bring you Amorine Queen, the comeback-album from Danish/German noise rockers 18th Dye. It's been 13 years since last time, but the style hasn't changed. Good rock melodies spiced up with noisy guitars and rumbling basslines. Think somewhere between My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and The White Stripes and smile. An album that contains plenty of "cool" and a little "kitcsh" as indicated on the Cher-90's-style vocoded male voice on Chinese Spoon. This is amazingly good!

Download - Rapidshare

Auf Wiedersehen,
Joachim

Choir Of Young Believers - This Is For The White In Your Eyes (2008)

Oy!

And more stuff from Denmark is here. This is the debut album from Jannis Noya Makrigiannis (not very Danish name), and it's good. In fact, it's splendid. It's a kind of not-very-radio-friendly pop melodies, carried to excellence by asian inspired plays, brilliant pop melodies, rich orchestration and the beautiful voice of Jannis. TIFTHIYE is actually just quite a showoff revealing Jannis' amazing skills as a songwriter and as a musician. Recommended for you "arty" types out there and everyone else.

Download - Rapidshare

Hi-ya,
Joachim

Eagles of Death Metal - Peace Love Death Metal (2004)

Stumbled across this beautiful album today, and decided to post the goddamn thing. No introduction is needed for Josh "Baby Duck AKA Carlo von Sexron" Homme and Jesse "Boots Electric AKA the Devil AKA Mr Boogie Man" Hughes. The pseudonyms are there and so are the bluesy, groovy, fast guitars from Mr Moustache, followed by the drums of Ginger Elvis.

This is the perfect warm-up for EODM's upcoming album "Heart 

On". Be excited.

Download - Megaupload (Rapidshare is currently at the speed of Michael Moore running a marathon)

All hail the moustache

Hjörtur

Monkey - Journey To The West (2008)

Konichiwa!

Damon Albarn's back with an anti-mainstream monkey musical! It's a stage adaption of an old chinese novel from the 16th century, and luckily, there's a soundtrack to it. And a good one, indeed. Well, it's not very normal and you can clearly hear the Chinese inspirations on this one. Of course, Gorillaz have also set their marks on the monkey-tastic musical, as well has The Good The Bad And The Queen. If you were looking for ethnic monkey music, you've come to the right place.
(btw, am I the only one that thinks the cover is kinda friggin scary?)

Download - Megaupload

More rice for me,
Joachim

The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed (2008)

Oy!

Mike Skinner is back to give us more grime-rap-hip-pop. Already having two really cool albums on his concience (A Grand Don't Come For Free and Original Pirate Material), his latest outcome blew it a bit. The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living did not contain those fantastic hits that were included especially in AGDCFF. But Skinner won't give up that easy and here it is - Everything Is Borrowed. Enjoy his cool British accent.

Download - Rapidshare

Cheers,
Joachim

Cold War Kids - Loyalty To Loyalty (2008)

Oy!

The Cold War Kids post is back again after a sudden disappearing. Don't know what the hell happened there. But now I've had time to listen to it and I must say that this is quite brilliant. It continues where Robbers And Cowards stopped, delivering fine melodies, not too richly instrumented and build up around Nathan Willett's fabulous voice. The last half of the record is genius, containing killers as Avalanche In B, Dreams Old Men Dream, Relief and the beautiful album closer, Cryptomnesia. These guys are huge in a couple of years.

Download - Rapidshare

Cheers,
Joachim

TV On The Radio - Dear Science (2008)

TV On The Radio is a 5-piece team of like-minded individuals from Brooklyn, who like to play experimental indie music. And by experimental indie music, i mean synths, jazz instruments, electric guitars and groovy beats, all packed together on one fucking awesome album.

Believe me, you can't put these guys in one genre. They have experimented their way through 4 albums, and have not yet done anything average. Let's just call it avantgarde.

Download - Megaupload

At your service

Hjörtur

Justice - Planisphere

This 17 minute long track by the french electro-duo Justice, was recently released via their MySpace. The parisian couple delivers tight harmonic groovy raunchy synths yet again. Good shit.

Justice is sending out a video documentary in november called "A Cross The Universe", and will afterwards be going on tour. So if they come anywhere near your place, goddammit, go see them.

Download - Megaupload

Peace 

Hjörtur

Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (2008)

Bon-day!

Today, I bring you: Canadian indiepop by Of Montreal. And it's not normal. Acutally, I bet this is a 100 times funnier when you're wasted, 'cause in a sober world, this doesn't make any sense. It actually requires quite a listener if you want to get through this thing still wearing your ears. But still, somehow, the songs are really addictive and, actually, irresistible. This might be avant-pop, but it's still pop. And it sticks to your brain. Yes, you either love it or hate it, but you can't get the songs out of your head. This is, no matter what, a quite weird experience.

Download - Rapidshare

Au see you,
Joachim

Jakobínarína - The First Crusade (2007)

Jakobínarína is a would-have-been-next-big-thing-coming-out-the-Icelandic-music-scene-but-unfortunately-they've-stopped-their-career indie-punk band. 

These very stereotypical icelanders play indie music heavily  influenced by early 80's punk music. Quick guitars accompanied by keyboards and the dark voice of the lead singer Gunnar Ragnarson. Jakobínarína toured as support with the Kaiser Chiefs. Before getting any big success in the international mainstream, they announced that they would stop as a band, for educational purposes(the band members are 17-20 years old). The young age really reflects in their texts, with ironic and rebellious titles such as I've Got A Date With My Television and His Lyrics Are Disastrous. 

Jakobínarína - This Is An Advertisment

Download - Megaupload

Don't eat the yellow snow

Hjörtur

Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night (2008)

Hello!

Today's treat is fucking amazing - it's an album I've been waiting for all year. Kings Of Leon are going to follow up 2007's best album (in my opinion), Only By The Night, with this bastard. The 3 brothers and their cousin were drunk doing all the recordings, but you can't hear that in any bad way. Expect cool southern garage rock - a bit more melancolic this time, the songs here are dominated by minor accords and feature come of the best vocal performances from Caleb Followill's side.
I think they've done it again.

Download - Rapidshare
(A quality Fries Of Freedom upload = it's real.)

By the way, I guess Fries Of Freedom is the first blog that has this in high quality. Yeah! Please check the megapost below, I used so much time on it, but this seems more important.

Cheers,
Joachim

The Mercury Price Megapost!

Oy!

The Nationwide Mercury Prize is being given out and recieved by a happy winner on September 9th. It's a British award, but it means a lot to the whole world, the winner of the prize always gets shit loads of hype and airplay. Last years award winners were The Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys took it the year before. And this years nominees are (ranked after possibility of winning the award, according to the bookmakers):

Burial:
Latest outcome: Untrue (2007)
This guy kept his identity secret until a week ago (by not playing any concerts), but know we all know Will Bevan. Right now, he's the man with the power and the albums to move the focus on electronic music away from The Netherlands. Now, the lights are shining on London, thanks to Burials amazing dubstep-tunes. This is not all hype, enjoy Burial!

Download - Megaupload



Elbow:
Latest outcome: The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
Being one of the more wuiet band riding on the British indie wave dominated by Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maximo Park and The Bravery to name a few, Elbow now seemed to have hit the spotlight. Why? Because they are stabile. Franz Ferdinand released way to many singles that sounded way too much the same. Bloc Party has gone completely shit electro. Maximo Park blew it with their second album and The Bravery completely changed their style. Cheers to stability!

Download - Letecaposta (some Czech stuff...)

Radiohead:
Latest outcome: In Rainbows (2007)
You probably know these guys way too well. What a wonder they've never won this one before, but to be honest, I don't believe in them this time neither.I guess that In Rainbows isn't actual enough anymore. They already seem "so last year", 'cause In Rainbows is not near as timeless as The Bends or OK Computer. Although they're not winning this one, you still gotta respect Radiohead as one of the greatest bands of our generation, though.

Download - Megaupload

The Last Shadow Puppets:
Latest outcome: The Age Of The Understandment (2008)
No British music award without a little bit of Arctic Monkeys. Alex Turner's side project is run together with Miles Kane, and they make sure you'll get your fresh shot of glorious indie pop. I haven't listened to this one, Alex Turner isn't my cup of Darjeeling. But Hjörtur says that "it's actually pretty good", and I bet this is your thing if you like these cold monkeys of the Arctic. By the way, the lady on the cover is incredibly hot. Makes you wanna buy the psysical release.

Download - Rapidshare
Password: xtremelocust.blogspot

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss:
Latest outcome: Raising Sand (2007)
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin singer) and Alison Krauss (regular beauty that can sing) got together and made some nice folk-music and soon, every single album-reviewer from Great Britain were licking their arses so much that their tongues must still taste of shit. Okay, that sounded gross, but this actually is a beautiful album and I deeply recommend it.

Download - Rapidshare


Laura Marling:
Latest outcome: Alas, I Cannot Swim (2008)
This über-talented young British alterna-folk singer-songwriter is one of the hottest things coming from this nu-folk wave or what you'll call it. She can be compared a little to Tiny Vipers (expect a post with her, when she releases something!) although I don't think they sound the same at all. I think Laura Marling is the folk-future and Alas, I Cannot Swim is just the beginning of something.

Download - Megaupload



Rachel Unthank And The Winterset:
Latest outcome: The Bairns (2007)
Okay, this is probably the most folk thing I've ever seen! Look at them when they play live! That's almost friggin' scary, it reminds me of some kind of local house band in "The Village"!! I haven't listened to this yet, but I can't see it being anything else than folk, folk and folk. I bet they're into polygamist lifestyle or something, this is a little creepy. People, carry on: Here comes the folk-explosion!!!

Download - Mediafire


British Sea Power:
Latest outcome: Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)
Do I like rock music? Yeah!
Is this good rock music? Yeah!
Do these guys have a great live energy? Yeah!
Have these guys played on Letterman? Yeah!
Are they British? Yeah!
Is the Pope a catholic? Yeah!
Would I go for BSP recieving the Mercury Prize? Yeah!

Download - Megaupload

Neon Neon:
Latest outcome: Stainless Style (2008)
Having released their debut album this year, it's quite amazing how Neon Neon have come a long way in no time. But their electro-hiphop-pop seems to please a lot of people, and what's better than a crowdpleaser? Personally, I don't think that Neon Neon is anything special, but I'm not an electro-, a pop- or a electro-listener. Well, I guess they just ain't my shizzle.

Download - Megaupload


Estelle:
Latest outcome: Shine (2008)
So, here's the cool hip-hop girl nominee of the year. She teamed up with Kanye West, released American Boy as a single, and has plagued your ears ever since. Succes! Disco-hip-hop-glam-fantastic is just around the corner, and I bet this isn't the last thing we've heard from the lovely Estelle. She definately wants to be taken on a trip, she'd like to go somewhere.

Download - Rapidshare

Adele:
Latest outcome: 19 (2008)
Adele is this years soul-diva (a nomination Duffy deserved more, in my opinion) and she's young. And her name rhymes with Estelle. Adele-Estelle, you see? They could make a duo and call it AdelEstelle!
Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele, Estelle, Adele... Nah, I'll go for Estelle on that one!

Download - Megaupload



Portico Quartet:
Latest outcome: Knee-Deep In The North Sea (2007)
The last nominee (and the one that the bookmakers don't think will win) is the modern jazz group Portico Quartet. I think it's a brilliant initiative to bring in some "different" music genres into this award although I'm not sure these guys are winning the prize. But a jazz quartet nominated for a Mercury Prize? That's an achievement for these guys. Well, it's not all bad either, check it out!

Download - Megaupload


That was today's post, it took me a whole friggin day to write all this and find the links, so I really hope you've enjoyed it. Happy Mercury Prize!

Von Hertzen Brothers - Love Remains The Same (2008)

Hello!

You might not know shit loads of prog rock bands from Finland, but Fries Of Freedom is going to change that. Introducing Von Hertzen Brothers! They're not afraid of making lots of references to prog rock's shameful past, and therefor, you'll get very tired of listening to it if you're not in the mood for listening to this sort of stuff and taking it way too seriously. A lot of these tunes are 5-6-7 minutes of string-heavy epics leaving you with a feeling of "Wow, did I just listen to this? I have so bad taste!".

Download - Rapidshare

Enjoy,
Joachim

And a little text:

First, Woo Hoo - Fries Of Freedom has past the 10.000 hits - that's friggin awesome.
Second, check out this page - Aralie.com is something we're going to hear a lot more about, it's a new indie Mekkah and I definately encourage you guys to take a look at it.
Third, there's a huge post tomorrow that I've spend a lot of time on doing.