Kentuckyseven

Releasedate: March 15 on Cooking Vinyl.

The second album from Reading-based DIOYY jumps at you from the get-go. This is excellent, full of emotions, uplifting stuff. Buckle up and upset your neighbours.

DIOYY have toured with Prodigy, Nine Inch Nail and Bloc Party and their music is the centerfold of that magazine. Electronic with a prevailing attitude. These guys take shit from no man, woman or animal.

Singer James Rushent is really convincing, his voice will not let go, get´s to your inside. It´s neon light music with that party-punk-dance you actually need every once in a while. Loud and clear.

The band took their bandname from a David Brent-quote; Ricky Gervais´ Office-dude said “My drinking, does it offend you, yeah?” Not a bad start.

And to quote DIOYY themselves; ”The funky monkey is coming.”

¤ Judge says: 5/7 Kentuckyseven´s

¤ Best track: John Hurt

¤ Drink while you listen: Umbrellas

¤ Check out: Spotify or Myspace.

You know that real Americana. The one where you can feel that worn out seat of a rugged pick up. That feeling of really dusty boots with worn out heels. And a broken heart.

That kind of Americana is played by The Far West. No more no less. It’s genuine down to that last longneck, sliding over the steelguitar.

The boys, Lee Briante, Robert Black, Erik Kristiansen and Tony Sanborn are hitting the right notes down the road that is great american folk and country music.

They have been described as something like” Waylon’s band jamming with Wilco” which should be something every band like this would put up on their walls and be proud of.

The Dylan-fan will be feeling right at home in songs like ”White Freightliner”, which sounds like its carved out of a 70’s Dylan record, and molded into The Far West.

The debut album is released today, and the band is headed out to SXSW for two shows, 15th and 16th @ B.D. Riley’s Pub and Waterloo Ice house.

April 3rd they will play @ The Grand Ole Echo in LA, with another of the Kentuckyseven favorites, Maxim Ludvig & The Santa Fe Seven. Now there is a show we would like to attend.

Get to know The Far West better @ TheFarWestBand.com

Listen to the tunes @ Myspace

Label. Bella Union
Releasedate: 2011-03-21

Thousands is Kristian Garrard and Luke Bergman, hailing from Seattle, voice-match made in heaven I’d say.

Their debut ”The Sound of Everything” is something special. Recorded throughout the US vast pacific northwest. The record contains sounds of not only great vocals, hymnal sound and instruments, also the sound of birds chirping, leaves falling. Nature recorded on their journey to create the album that would become ”The sound of Everything”.

As Thousands themselves explain ”- We want people to listen to this with headphones on and feel like they’re immersed in these locations, and there’s us, sitting next to you, playing a song.”

This is yet another delicate example of great debut records, and another golden star in the book of magic artists signed to Bella Union.

Fleet Foxes’ guitarist Skye Skjelset, brought the attention to the label, and somewhere in the beauty of this album, there is a little fleet fox hiding away.

Listening to this, makes you feel good. It is by definition a feel-good sound throughout all 12 tracks, and it appeals to me. The way I need to feel. Kristian and Luke’s vocals are somehow mixing, melting together and gently steering the way in to the listeners heart. I am sure that it will not be long until I am driving my car to the store, humming these tunes.

Looking for something new and fresh, which will make your day just a little brighter. You might just have found it.

The Sound of Everything is a sure 5/7, and Thousands will be something to try and catch this year…

Check out more about Thousands @ Thousands.com or get a feeling of the album to come here…

Are you soon to be in Roubaix, Laval, Bayonne, Dijon, Toulouse, Niort or Annecy? Well, me neither. But they are all in France and the fabulous band Dark Dark Dark play there in the dire month of March.

Singer Nona Marie Invie invites you to the eerie soundtrack of americana slash eastern Europe. It´s a Beirut kind of twang.

Dark Dark Dark are from Minneapolis. They are pretty famous from a tv-series-song. And they are really beautiful. If you are into heavy stuff, this is your Dr Feelgood.

It will keep you company when the wind turns cold. I miss them every time I turn them off. The album Wild Go is released by Melodic on April 25.

Every once in a while you stumble upon something different. Something overwhelming. Something that – to coin a phrase – fucks you up.

Maxim Ludwig was born in New York, moved to Germany and played blues harmonica live in beer tents at the noble age of nine. Back in the States, Ludwig moved to the hipsterville of Silver Lake where he finished his self-produced debut album.

On stage, Maxim Ludwig walks the walk of great men. The Dylans, The Cohens, The Reeds, they all spring to mind. The band is hard-working, energizing and there for the rising. This is folk music, so good that people should get arrested. Or just set free.

March 16-18 they play SXSW in Austin. They will explode. It will change stuff. Of that, I´m sure.

Maxim Ludwig Songs

Photo: Olle Kirchmeier

The Concretes, one of Sweden’s unhidden treasures in indiepop-music, are on the road, ripping the US apart from coast to coast.

The band has released four full-length albums, since 2003, and has been alive since 1995. After the album ”Hey Trouble” in 2007, the band was on hold for a while, but regrouped stronger than ever and released the album WYWH in the autumn of 2010.

We caught up with Lisa Milberg, multi-talented singer of the awesome band, on the road, to see what gets her going on the tour-bus…

What are you listening to – right now?

– At this very moment: Running On Empty by Jackson Browne. Because apparently it’s a required listen when on the way to LA in a tour bus…

– Other than that I am all about R Kelly now.

Best book read during 2010?

– Just Kids by Patti Smith. Such a beautiful read.

Your hopes for this year?

– Peace, love, understanding. and a driver’s license.

Three artists who inspire you?

– Right now Alex Colville’s images really speak to me. They all have at least one song in them.

– Dirty Beaches Lord Know Best remains stuck in my mind.

– And Joni Mitchell warms my heart. Now and forever. Generally I find I am back to a lot the classics again. People who I have always loved, I love now more than ever.

Who deserves a breakthru in 2011?

– How To Dress Well.

Check out The Concretes @ The Concretes.com or on Spotify

Check out british indierockers Guillemots, with amazing Fyfe Dangerfield in front. They smashed their hometown London yesterday and got some pretty fine review from Mr Holy Moly himself.

Walk The River by Guillemots

Rumbling through twitter, bandcamp, myspace and other great sites, you sometimes stumble upon some great stuff.

The Echelon Effect is one of those. Dave Walters the man, is creating some exciting and beautiful post-rock instrumental soundscapes. Like huge clouds of sound soaring through the sky, ripping tears into the mainstream lightblueish mash.

Currently Dave is working on a project called Seasons, which will document the year in a film and four EP’s. First one to be released in April.

Bad Panda Records will release the single ”We Will Spin Forever” this monday 7th march, be ready to check that out, and download it for free.

This is really something to crawl into, just turn up the volume, sit back, enjoy.

Check out The Echelon Effect @ The Echelon Effect and while waiting for the single, just watch this:

Introducing the talented Jonas Asker. A one-person-show and his voice tells the story. It´s raw talent, an old mans tale in a young mans way.

This Stockholmian began as a raggae-keyboardplayer. At 22 he started singing and moved to Paris. Back in Sweden he picked up his fathers guitar, a broken one with only four strings, and started hammering. Since then he always plays fourstring-guitar.

A new single will show up before the summer of 2011 and an album later on. Kentuckyseven can´t wait.

More on Jonas Asker