Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears - The Zero Light/Imitation Of The Sky

"Look to the heavens on a cloudy night"

I love it when readers introduce me to knew bands, and this is one such occurrence. I doubt whether I would have discovered Bryan Scary if somebody didn't bring it to me, even though the band's prog-pop fits with a bunch of artists that I really do adore (Sparks jumps immediately to mind, as well as Queen and ELO). They've got a new concept album (pretty much a rock opera) called Flight Of The Knife, and it was very difficult to pick just one track to share because it's one of those records where everything flows together so perfectly that it's hard to separate the tracks. I went with one of the more straightforward tracks, the beautiful melodic Zero Light. If the melody to this doesn't get you, I don't know what would. I would also recommend The Purple Rocket and Imitation Of The Sky if you're looking for something a bit more uptempo. The latter is what The Feeling might create if they were feeling a bit more daring. Hell, I'll just go ahead and post two!

Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears - The Zero Light (zshare)
Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears - Imitation Of The Sky (zshare)

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

Juvelen - Facts Of Life

"All those sunny afternoons we spent locked up in your room"

All this talk about Juvelen's new album and I've gotta post something, right? After all, it's been over a year since I last posted a Juvelen track. His album is (as expected) utterly brilliant, and it was hard to pick a favorite non-single track. Facts Of Life wasn't initially my favorite, but I think it is now. It's got the perfect beat (which absolutely explodes at the chorus), great lyrics and a radio smash of a melody. It's also one of the less experimental tracks... just a classic summery pop song. This is the rare album where literally any track could end up being a hit single. Wouldn't it be amazing if he made it to America??

Juvelen - Facts Of Life (zshare)

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

You can now buy Juvelen's debut album 1, so what's stopping you? Surely it's not the twelve dollars! This is definitely going to end up in my top ten of 2008, so get it now!

The Alpine - Ayers Rock

"Meet me up on Ayers Rock"

It's kind of an embarassment of Scandinavian riches right now. In a two week period we get releases by Juvelen, Surferosa, The Alpine and a greatest hits by BWO. The Alpine's debut record was one of my favorite releases of 2006. This new one doesn't quite hit that mark (not yet, at least), but it's got a few worthy tracks. One of the early standouts is the synth funk of Ayers Rock. It's one of the best examples on the album of melody meeting production perfectly, which doesn't quite happen as often as it should. Usually it's one or the other. Anyways, if you're in the mood for something a bit slower and more epic, check out Volunteer Army, which is actually even better than this track.

The Alpine - Ayers Rock (zshare)

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

Hey, did you know that you can now buy both of The Mo's albums (digitally) on klicktrack for pretty darn cheap? As I've said many times in the past, I cannot recommend any band more than I can these guys and I know some people have had a hard time finding these releases outside of Sweden. So, here you go... Buy Night At The Zoo here and City Heart here! It will be the best 8$ (or 16 if you choose both) you'll spend all year!

Eskobar - Flat Earth

"A flat earth spinning like a coin on the ground"

Listening to Eskobar's most recent album, Death In Athens, I can't help but question what was going through their mind when they decided to enter the lukewarm Hallelujah New World in this year's Melodifestivalen. It is easily one of the weakest tracks on an otherwise really great album. I could name at least five other songs that would have fit the contest so much better. I've always loved Daniel Bellqvist's voice but my biggest problem with Eskobar in the past was their lack of more uptempo material. Death In Athens turns this around as the band adopt a poppier, almost disco influenced sound that works amazingly for them. The songs all have a very classy sound (many sound like Bond themes, actually). One of the most instant tracks is Flat Earth, which leaps out immediately with a catchy synth assisted beat and a brilliant, radio ready chorus. Compared to Hallelujah, wouldn't this be a giant hit??

Edit: I realize I've gotta mention You Can't Hear Me in this post as well, because that song is an absolute beauty. I mean, that chorus is AMAZING. Actually, the whole Here Me/Flat Earth/Quiet World portion of the album is pretty darn amazing.

Eskobar - Flat Earth (zshare)

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