The Von Bondies - Love, Hate And Then There's You (2009)

Oy!

It finally came - the long-awaited return of these garage rock bastards. When not busy fist-fighting The White Stripes, The Von Bondies make music that sounds quite a lot like their fighting buddies - just more melodic and with lots of focus on a good, well-written song. If you're into garage rock, noisy pop, The White Stripes or The Germans, this is really worth the try. Others might want to check it out too - feel free!

Cheers,
Joachim

A Kid Hereafter In The Grinding Light - A Kid Hereafter In The Grinding Light (2009)

Oy!

So, here's a side project from A Kid Hereafter, who was also posted yesterday. This time, it's his grind metal band called A Kid Hereafter In The Grinding Light. "Grind Metal" translates "the faster, the better", and AKHITGL truly lives up to that - super fast and super short songs: This one spins for 31:34 and contains 30 tunes. Well, Grind Metal is definately not easy listening, and this one is primarily for the metal/hard rock dudes. This band seems kind of sarcastic and ironic, though - but as always, A Kid Hereafter is shit loads of fun to listen to. This is the best and the only Danish Grind Metal release of 2008!!


Cheers,
Joachim

A Kid Hereafter - Yo! (2008)

Oy!

Okay - I'm going to try to catch up with the good Danish releases of 2008 that were not posted here on the blog. First off is A Kid Hereafter, a very random Danish dude that makes shit loads of music. When named A Kid Hereafter, he combines pop/punk with heavy metal and the result is pretty lovely. The shit is catchy, rocking and a bit silly which makes this album a lot of fun to listen to. But, you'll have to be in the mood for not-to-damn-serious music to listen to this. Check it out!

Cheers,
Joachim

Wixel - Somewhere Between The Sun And The Moon (2009)

Oy!

Here's a young dude from Belgium. You might know him from the Belgian Artrock-outfit Guernica. If you don't, then get started, Guernica makes fucking awesome music. Anyway, Wixel is not the same as the stuff he does with his bandmates in Guernica. This is quiet, ambient, shoegazing post-rock with electronic elements - not completely unlike German band The Notwist. Also, if you like Sígur Rós, you might want to check out this bastard.

Cheers,
Joachim

Gezus Chrystler - Gezus Chrystler (2009)

Oy!

Gezus Chrystler is a mash-up between Danish indie "stars" Frank Ziyanak (from The Wong Boys) and Kim Kix (from Powersolo). This debut album contains of 4 tunes, but the album lasts for 35:35 and is actually 25 tunes together on what should sound like one long tune. First, it seems kind of weird that to musical talents choose to wrap their fine melodies in LOTS of noise, buzz and distortion, but after a few listens it starts to grow. For fans of garage-rock, noiserock and psychedelic stuff. Quite fine.

Cheers,
Joachim

Asobi Seksu - Hush (2009)

Oy!

Asobi Seksu are a New York shoegazing band playing pop tunes with good dynamics in the tradition of My Bloody Valentine, Moose, Ride and The Primitives. This is not as noisy as Citrus from 2006, and in my opinion this thing isn't as good as Citrus, that was an amazing record. But still, the single Me & Mary is quite a fine noisepop tune, and Sing Tomorrow's Praise is Asobi Seksu at their most melodic and melancholic. Asobi Seksu, which means "playful sex" in Japanese, is more pop than noise. But this is still worth checking out.

Cheers,
Joachim

Telepathe - Dance Mother (2009)

Oy!

Telepathe are an artpop-duo from New York, and they are going to be shit hyped. On their debut album Dance Mother, they recieve a helping hand from TV On The Radio guitarist and producing genius Dave Sitek, as well as the crooner of the same band, Kyp Malone also guest on one tune. Also Shannon Funchess of the New York funk-punksters !!! drops by and says hello. All in all, this makes a very fine weirdo pop album of screwed psychedelia that you can dance to.

Cheers,
Joachim

J. Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues (2009)

Oy!

J. Tillman has been doing a lot of music for quite a long time, but among you guys, he might be most well-known as the drummer of American indie folksters Fleet Foxes. Tillman is a great musician himself, and that can really be heard on Vacilando Territory Blues, a record of fine indie folk songs, not completely unlike Fleet Foxes, but not exactly like them either. But definately worth a go if you like Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens or maybe Bright Eyes.

Cheers,
Joachim

Oh Land - Fauna (2008)

Oy!

This one was released in Denmark late 2008 and it's very, very interesting. Oh Land draws on shit loads of inspirations. I hear Björk, Roísin Murphy, Portishead and CocoRosie in some of this, just to mention some. Oh Land worked with the amazing componist Davide Rossi (Brian Eno, The Verve, Goldfrapp, Coldplay), and that can really be heard one some of these amazing tunes. Just check out the brilliant single callled Audition Day - it is absolutely amazing.

Cheers,
Joachim

Peter Broderick - Home (2009)

Oy!

Peter Broderick has just moved to Copenhagen to become a member of the Danish multi-instrumentalist band-collective Efterklang, a band that is really on its way up and recieving lots of acclaim and attention in Britain these days. Broderick is an amazing componist that really knows how to orchestrate his songs. Some of the songs start in a quiet way and then they erupt into epics with lots of choir. I'm not that sure if this album is from 2009 - but I've just discovered it. For fans of, erm, Efterklang, Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens.

Cheers,
Joachim

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

Oy!

2009 is here, so let's start it in a good way. Animal Collective sound pretty screwed and carry a lot of tags on them - Freak-folk, experimental noise and indie are some of them. Harmonic Beach Boys pop, African tribal chants, minimalism, minimal techno, psychedelia and dub are some of the genres that the Animals flirt with on this album of twisted beauty. Do NOT classify under "easy listening" - Animal Collective demands a lot of your attention as a listener. Luckily, they make it all worth it. I personally think that this album will appear on some of the music magazines Best Of 2009 lists - we have 12 months to find out.


Cheers,
Joachim

The Flaming Lips - Christmas On Mars (2008)

Oy!

The Flaming Lips have chosen to give us both a sensationally weird film with an equally weird soundtrack for Christmas present this year. If you think that Christmas doesn't make sense at all, you should watch the movie that doesn't make sense at all neither. The film score is really weird - Christmas a la The Flaming Lips, I guess. The twisted Chistmas-soundtrack is right here, although this brilliantly no-sense-making album doesn't sound very much like Christmas.

Wishing you a Christmas that feels like being on acid,
Joachim

Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas

Oy!

If your stereo is running dry of alternative Christmas tunes, here's a refill that'll keep you going for some time. American indie-hero Sufjan Stevens has made 5 mini-albums of cozy (and slightly depressive) Christmas songs, and here they are all packed in one glorious zip-file, for your pleasure. Just check out the definitive shit-Christmas-anthem That Was The Worst Christmas Ever! and you've got an idea of what this album is like. Lyrics that put you down, melodies that get you up again - this one saves the Christmas mood(y) of the whole family.

Wishing you a better Christmas than Sufjan Stevens seems to have every year,
Joachim

Dutch Uncles - Dutch Uncles (2008)

Oy!

Here's the album I requested. Dutch Uncles are a British new wave-indie-band, and this album is absolutely brilliant. Twisted rhytms, amazing melodies and catchyness times a thousand. Just check out Face In or Steadycam and I'm pretty sure they will stick to your brain for a couple af days, if not more. This is so much better than most of the junk that the British music scene likes to throw at our faces. Highly recommended for fans of British indie stuff, new wave or just for fans of a good song.

Cheers,
Joachim

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Communion (2008)

Oy!

Today's Christmas treat hasn't got anything to do with Christmas. But what a treat! The album cover is absolutely astonishing (although it doesn't make ANY sense) and so is the album. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives are a bunch of Swedish psych-retro-garage rockers, and Communion is their very ambitious 24-track brand new double album. Tunes as the opener Babel On and Lost Prophets In Vain show the greatness of this darn good band. Highly recommended for fans of the early Kings Of Leon, Tom Petty, The White Stripes and maybe even Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Cheers,
Joachim

Glam Chops - Christmas Tunes (2008)

Oy!

More Christmas-goodies. This time it's the galm rock attempt of doing Christmas songs. Glam Chops are one of Art Brut-frontguy Eddie Argos' thousands of bands - but the only ones that have done Christmas songs this year. As they claim: "With the spiraling interglobal recession showing no signs of improvement, GLAM CHOPS (Glam Rock supergroup featuring Eddie Argos of Art Brut, The Vessel – singer of David Devant & His Spirit Wife) have made a joint decision to give their Christmas single away to their fans for free in a bid to get the nation smiling once again. There's definitely a Glam Rock revival on the cards and Great Britain needs it more than ever. The tracks are so good and we probably would have scored a minor hit with the single, but Glam Chops wanted to react to the current situation of everyone being too broke to afford anything but food and drinks. "

Wishing you a Glam Christmas,
Joachim

Glasvegas - A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) (2008)

Oy!

More Christmas-treats for you. Glasvegas are almost more hyped than Santa Claus himself and they deliver 6 new Christmas tunes for you. The style is much like their self-titled debut album - epic poptunes swelled in reverb with a bit of edgy noise added. The whole idea of making a serious Christmas album seems kinda funny to me. Anyway. Put shortly, here's your dose of Scottish-Britpop-Christmas-yummy-yummy.

Wishing you a continuosly symphonic Christmas,
Joachim

The Raveonettes - Wishing You A Rave Christmas (2008)

Oy!

Christmas it is! And what better way to start these 24 days of pure madness than with a brand new Raveonettes Christmas-EP. Wishing You A Rave Christmas contains a depressed cover of Christmas (Baby Come Home) and after that tune, they give us 3 brand new Christmas classics. If you want a rave Christmas, this is definately the right thing for you. And remember: All Christmas, Fries Of Freedom will post all new Christmas-tunes worth listening to! (And some not-very-Christmas albums too).

Cheers,
Joachim

Justice - A Cross The Universe (2008)

It's finally here. The Justice live album. Recorded during one of their energetic live shows on the tour last spring, this album reflects all the energeticness. This release comes together with their new road movie about "two frogs in the USA", that is also called "A Cross The Universe". Me and Joachim went to see it, and we'd say that it's definitely worth a watch. The songs on the album are all live remixes of their own songs, with samples from other artists. Very ravey.

Cheers

Hjörtur

Team B - Team B (2008)

Oy!

Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Team B - here's the latest superband. And this is an indie superband! Consisting of members from Arcade Fire, Beirut and LCD Soundsystem, it doesn't get much better name-wise. And to call it Team B must be really ironic - this is clearly an indie Team A. This album is quite fine, and I really recommend fans of the above-mentioned bands (not Audioslave and Velvet Revolver, you wanker) to give this stuff a listen. I think you'll like it very much.

Cheers,
Joachim