A.C.T. - Call In Dead

“This is what happens when parents are right"

You think Mika pushed it to the limit with Grace Kelly? Well, you haven't heard Sweden's A.C.T. yet. A rock band who mixes a bit of Queen, ELO and Abba into their music, they are completely over the top. Call In Dead is under three minutes long, yet it sound like an entire rock opera sped up and crammed together until it practically bursts with odd verses, stylistic changes and multitracked theatrical vocals. It takes at least a few listens to even be able to digest it. The track is off the band's newest album Silence, though they've been around awhile and have three earlier albums of similar prog pop/rock. File this near Tally Hall and LEO and have yourself an epic rock evening. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what the band's name stands for!

mp3: A.C.T. - Call In Dead

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(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the album here.)

Sekiden - S-T-A-Y



“I want you to stay"

I've got a simple power pop tune for you today. Nothing more, nothing less... just a straightforward, catchy track. Sekiden are a great Australian new wave band that is for sure very indie, yet also wear their pop hearts on their sleeves. S-T-A-Y is actually from one of their older albums (2003's Junior Fiction) but I'm assuming most people reading this haven't heard of the band before, so this might as well be new. The verses are definitely the standout here, though the whole track will undoubtedly be floating around your head tonight.

mp3: Sekiden - S-T-A-Y
zshare: Sekiden - S-T-A-Y

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the album here or download more for free here.)

P3 Guld 2007: A hell of a lot better concert than the Grammys will be!

I thought for today's post I'd spotlight some of my favorite performances from Sweden's P3 Guld 2007 Awards Ceremony a few weeks back. I can tell you now that I'm not looking forward to anything that'll be on display come Grammy night, so I have to live vicariously through these Swedes instead.

So, for today I've got the Ark performing their brilliant new single Absolutely No Decorum (and looking stunning while doing it), Melody Club performing personal fav Last Girl On My Mind while backed by fantastic violins, and newcomer Juvelen, performing the brilliant Hanna.

Enjoy!

The Ark - Absolutely No Decorum


Melody Club - Last Girl On My Mind



Juvelen - Hanna

January 2007 #1 Hits Promo Sleeve

A few days late, I've got the most recent promo sleeve for you today (just click on the picture and then save). I know I always say this, but January has been by far my favorite month for music on the blog. I had to shave off the last two tracks from January so the whole thing would fit on one cd, but they'll join the February tracks next month!

Meja - Seven Sisters (1999)

I remember falling in love with this album before I even knew how amazing Swedish music was. Seven Sisters, in addition to being Meja's masterstroke, is one of those glossy pop albums that actually lingers for longer than a few listens. Thanks to (mostly) timeless production, Meja's sophisticated voice, and a wealth of genre-hopping (be it the loungy Pop & Television or the straight up dance of Luxury), this album still sounds great today.

Of course, there's the big hit, All 'Bout The Money, a song so effective and catchy that it still gets radio play today in Sweden. It is no doubt the highlight of the record, but the entire thing is remarkable consistant. Like last week's album by Sky, Seven Sisters flopped majorly in America, though I don't really think any substantial money was spent trying to make it a success.

Singles: Pop & Television, All 'Bout The Money, Lay Me Down, Intimacy

Seven Sisters Road: Probably my favorite track on the album, besides All 'Bout The Money, this is kind of a cross between a ballad and an uptempo, wit ha fantastic, stomping chorus.

Luxury: The most straight-up dance number on the cd, and an extremely catchy slice of vocoder enhanced pop. In the context of the album, definitely the single-that-was-never-a-single.

Buy it! (for a penny!)

Watch the video for All 'Bout The Money

King Midas - Acid Guitars



“March through the streets on fire"

Jetting to Norway, we find King Midas, a glam rock band that is fairly successful in their homeland yet quite unknown everywhere else. I wanted to post their new single, West End Boys, which is absolutely brilliant (stream it at their myspace, and die of happiness), but I couldn't find an mp3 anywhere. So, I'm posting their other brilliant song, off of their most current album Jaguars. Acid Guitars is pure glam boogie, like Ziggy Stardust with a major (tom?) pop edge. Once the guitars enter and invade the chorus, it's pure bliss.

mp3: King Midas - Acid Guitars
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(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the album here.)

Gram Rabbit - Bloody Bunnies



“Take it in stride"

Bizarreness for you today. Gram Rabbit entered the music scene with a record called Music To Start A Cult To, and they are most definitely of that ilk. Bloody Bunnies (and how is that for a title?) starts out all Alice In Videoland-ish before launching into harder and rockier choruses. Sort of a mix between electro and rock but in a different way than we're used to hearing. It is a strange (yet insanely catchy) track to say the least. Ditto for the press pictures. I don't think I've ever seen a band use bunny ears as part of their promo. One question though: why would a band who obviously has a huge affinity for rabbits write a song called bloody bunnies? The mysteries of life, folks.

*Oh yeah, and the lead singer's called Jesika von Rabbit, as if you're surprised.

mp3: Gram Rabbit - Bloody Bunnies
zshare: Gram Rabbit - Bloody Bunnies

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the album here.)