Capitol/EMI, 2007 [9/10] There is a litany of bands that make the decision to pack their bags and move to Los Angeles to try and catch a spark of what makes the town such a magnet for the achiever and under-achiever alike. It carries a certain charm and superiority, to tell your friends that "you're
We graze of the green pastures of 2007 and find the cream of the crop including Damn Arms, Grinderman, Spoon, The Concretes, Feist, Faker, John Doe, The Shins and more.
Rough Trade, 2007 [7/10] Fill up a glass of red wine, put on Open Field, take a seat down in a comfy chair and enjoy the debut of Taken By Trees, a delicate album that allows Victoria Bergsman's voice to shine. The former lead-singer of the Concretes has created a very individual album with a
Danarkia, 2006 [8/10] With glockenspiel, accordion and toy-piano Detektivbyrån (Dee-tek-teeve-bu-ron, "The Detective Agency") take their audience on an imaginative musical journey through the urban streets of Paris and the forests of Värmland, the Swedish province where the band originate from. By now Anders Flanders, Jon Ekström and Martin Molin, the members of Detektivbyrån, must be
National, 2006 [8/10] With three albums within a twelve months period and a best of album summarising her first year released, Miss Li may be the most productive artist in Scandinavia today, if not ever. It all began with Late Night Heartbroken Blues, an impressive debut album that sucks you in and one that you
Vapor/Sire, 2007 [rating:8.5/10] Although always writing separately, the initial blueprints for The Con, saw the twins geographically distanced -- Tegan in Vancouver, Sara in Montreal. Reunited and with demos in hand the pair moved to Portland with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists) at the helm, recording in his basement studio. Tegan
Echo, 2007 [rating:9/10] Those lucky enough to catch Jacob Golden's live know just how extraordinary he can be armed with only an acoustic guitar and his angelic voice. His self titled debut EP in 2001 bottled some of that magic but his debut long player, Hallelujah World released in 2002, partly obscured his natural gifts
Merge, 2007 [rating:9.5/10] It's almost an established fact that once a band hits album number 4 or 5 they're practically running on empty. Creative juices have all but dried up, different directions are attempted, band friction comes to the fore and as the years go by each new release just isn't a patch on former
