Fanfar! releases the new LP with The Mommyheads. The band’s fifteenth studio album is their first theme record.
In the back streets of progressive pop, New York’s The Mommyheads are kings. Although the band has been around, with an extended break after their big break, since the 1980s, few people have heard or heard of them. This may be due to the band’s strong integrity or something else. In fact, those of us who have followed them closely have seen an amazing evolution; there’s no end to the desire to explore and experiment.
On the new Coney Island Kid, the band’s frontman Adam Elk returns to his childhood and growing up in Coney Island. Simply put, it’s something of a theme or concept album.
The record is also a natural follow-up to last year’s LP, the fantastic Genius Killer, which sneaks up on the listener and quite unnoticeably attaches itself to the heart. Coney Island Kid has the potential to be the same milestone.
One of Sweden’s first bands in industrial music, Enhänta Bödlar, was formed forty years ago and this is celebrated with a gig at Rönnells in Stockholm.
Valiant Dunkeldäld, also known by his stage name Uddah-Buddah, formed Enhänta Bödlar in 1982. Home-recorded cassettes were distributed through classified ads in the music press and soon the band achieved some notoriety for their extreme, synth- and noise-based music. In the first few years, the release rate was high and already in 1984 the LP Ogreish Guttural Wounds was released. In the later part of the 80s, the signs of life from Enhänta Bödlar slowed down, but in 2007 both the LP Akustisk böldpest and the CD Narkotisk nattvard were released.
Uddah-Buddah was back – not least on stage. After the long absence and the fact that the band’s early efforts as industry pioneers spiked the reputation, the demand for Enhänta Bödlar has increased internationally. In recent years, Enhänta Bödlar have played in Lithuania and the US, among other places.
Now Fanfar! together with Rönnells antikvariat in Stockholm, celebrates the 40th anniversary of Enhänta Bödlar. Welcome to Rönnells on Tuesday 6 December.
Date
Tuesday, December 6, 2022. Doors open at 18:30, concert around 19:30, doors closes 21:00.
The legendary band Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks turns 30 and Fanfar! is marking the occasion by releasing an elaborate collection of the band’s own favourites.
Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks was formed in Solna in November 1992 by the band’s eternal frontman Robert Johnson. Right from the start they put the pedal to the metal and the band’s signature style was equal parts Link Wray, Ennio Morricone, and rascally attitude.
Soon enough, they were a respected name in unabashed instrumental rock, both at home in Sweden and internationally. The breakthrough came with the album Fried on the Altar of Good Taste (2000) and the following year they were commissioned to score Fredrik Lindström’s comedy Känd från TV.
But soon enough – and typically for the band – they went against expectations and challenged their own audience by reincarnating as a synth duo. Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks have always gone their own way and they have done things with high quality after their own heart. 2017 saw the release of their latest original album – the acclaimed soundtrack (to a film that never made it to cinemas) Morte di Seeburg (also on Fanfar!).
Just in time for the 30th anniversary, we release Solna, Texas 1992-2022 – a limited edition vinyl compilation album. The lavish effort features Conny Nimmersjö of bob hund and KC BABY as executive producer. Conny has dug up the best master tapes possible from the archives and made sure the songs were remastered in the best possible way. A high quality product that we are very proud of.
Now we’re releasing another fantastic album with American indie rock legends The Mommyheads. On “Genius Killer”, the group continues to reinvent themselves.
Genius Killer is The Mommyheads’ new album, the eighth since their unexpected reunion in 2008.
Genius Killer is a very fresh sounding and inventive album with amazing attention to detail and unusually varied arrangements and instrumentation. The Mommyheads have raised an already high bar and this may be their definite work. Truly progressive, yet with the sense of melody completely intact.
The Mommyheads: Idealist (from Genius Killer, 2022)
Here’s a little something about each and every one of the tracks on Genius Killer.
Impulse Item
Amazing intro, followed by a smooth George Harrison/Beatles vibe, when the actual song starts (especially the guitar melody). Lovely ELO-like backing vocals in the chorus. The lyrics are very present and make you re-evaluate your life. ”…things to do that have lasting value”. We thought this would be the album’s pièce de résistance until we realized that the entire album is full of highlights.
Genius Killer
We like the somewhat chaotic arrangement and playing. Lots of stuff going on. The break with the synth arpeggios…. mmmm… The progster in you comes alive. Harmonically, it feels more like a ”typical” Mommyheads track, with all the great features that the Mommyhead-heads have come to know and love.
She’s a Fighter
We love the fact that the lead vocals are sung in two octaves simultaneously. Interesting time signature change! It reminds you of some Neil Young song. Love the organ that appears around three minutes in.
We Almost Lost It All
…offers some breathing space after a couple of busy, dense songs. Reflective. A happy/sad song. Reminds us of The Band at their peak, in part because of the laid back groove, Richard Manuel-like falsetto singing and tasty combination of organ and piano. Very vintage sounding song with lots of earthy, acoustic sounds.
Distill Your Love Into That Dying Light
Funky stuff. 70’s vibe and sounds. Kinda reminds us of Superstition by Stevie Wonder. Love the title: great advice. The lyrics read like a dystopian, yet hopeful, science fiction novel to us. And that bass guitar sounds thick and evil.
Idealist
Feels like it could have been a Todd Rundgren song (back when his albums were still relevant). Interesting lyrics. We all know people who fit the description perfectly. Some lines make you think of the band’s own Michael Holt. Coincidence?
Privilege
Another groovy thing. Love the tempo. ”Quirky power pop” in the best sense of all three words. Got a Todd Rundgren vibe from this one, too. Is that Jackie Simons singing parts of the song, along with Adam Elk?
Bittersweet
More breathing space for the listener. Probably needed. There’s already lots of musical information to take in. This feels like a more ”normal” The Mommyheads song, driven by the lead vocals and the thoughtful, poetic lyrics. We get an old school soul vibe from this one, albeit with pop harmonies. Some craziness during the end, though. Almost feels like T. Rex.
One And The Same
Love the acoustic guitar figure during the verse. This one also feels like a more typical The Mommyheads song. Which is like reconnecting with an old friend.
First Five Seconds
This one made us laugh out loud. Prog intro deluxe! And what follows does not disappoint. This makes the fact that King Crimson have stopped touring a tad less disappointing. (The riff is a bit like a King Crimson guitar figure played on organ instead). The lyrics suggest disappointment. “Was it all worth it?” If you ask us, the answer is ”yes”. And we’re not talking about the band. It was probably a smart move to not open the album with this one, but it’s a perfect ending: it leaves you fully satisfied, yet knowing you’ll soon be back for more.
Congratulations, The Mommyheads, on a magnificent album.
Today sees the release of the “4 Songs EP” by The Roxton Giants, the first sign of life from the group in fifty years. Their spaghetti-western-scented rocksteady has been lying fallow until Per Thorsell called in their record at an auction.
Little or nothing is known about The Roxton Giants. The band seems to have been active in or around Roxton, Texas in the late ’60s, possibly into the ’70s. The only known copies of their records turned up at an auction in Sweden the other year and the buyer – Per Thorsell, known from bands like Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks and The Hi-Winders – took a gamble and called them in. He was not disappointed. The reissue of the 4 Songs EP is the first sign of life from the group in 50 years.
From the EP we pick Greasy, an instrumental, lilting, and unsettling blend of ska/rocksteady and Italian spaghetti western. The song was recorded in the US probably in the late 60s and is reissued from the only known copy of the band’s perhaps only EP.
The summer starts with a strong sign of life from KC BABY, the small band with the big emotions. 1 / 1 000 000 (One in a Million) is the title of their new single.
With their new single and video, KC BABY want to tell you that they are alive and well. More music to come. An album is scheduled to be recorded this fall.
1 / 1,000,000 (pronounced “One in a Million”) is about the good and bad of settling for what you have.
Kajsa Magnarsson plays synth and sings, Conny Nimmersjö plays guitar and sings chorus, Christian Gabel has produced and recorded in Studio Cobra, and David Sabel plays bass.
1 / 1 000 000 is a summery indie song to sing along to. Kajsa is delighted to have brought in a house piano. Conny is mostly just delighted.
Video by Astrid Askberger.
KC BABY: 1 / 1 000 000, video by Astrid Askberger
Facts
Artist: KC BABY Title: 1 / 1 000 000 (En på en miljon, One in a Million) Format: Digital single Release: 2022-06-03 Producer: Christian Gabel Cover: Esther Jemth Photo: Hampus Andersson (photographer), Sara Björnstedt (stylist)
In 2020, we released Cantona Gut Systems’ debut album Yoko: The Best Beatle. The Swedish music magazine Mono Magasin has named it the best album of 2020.
The LP Yoko: The Best Beatle is unique in Swedish music. Now, it’s only natural that we who are behind the record label Fanfar! thinks so, but regardless of opinion, one can probably state that Cantona Gut System debuts with something very unusual – an album that looks both backwards and forwards, which lifts up and which destroys with the same sharp hand.
This type of music usually faces some resistance, at least initially. Not least because of that, it’s incredibly fun that the magazine Mono Magasin has just named Yoko: The Best Beatle number one on its list of 2020’s best albums. As a bonus, we are really happy that The Mommyheads‘ latest album, New Kings of Pop, is also on the same list!
The best thing you can do is invest in these LP’s while they are still in stock.
This is how the magazine’s reviewer Peter Sjöblom describes Yoko: The Best Beatle in his review:
The album with the wonderfully provocative title Yoko: The Best Beatle (assuming you are easily provoked) is Cantona Gut Systems’ first, but the duo is not as unknown as it may seem. Both Robert Johnson and Johan Skugge come from relatively recently disbanded Robert Johnson & Punchdrunks, and this new project can be seen as the natural development of what the acclaimed instrumental band did, especially towards the end. Soundtracks to old Italian horror movies that never went to the cinema are of course a given reference, but Cantona Gut System adds even more dystopian shades. The horror no longer has Dario Argento’s strong colors but goes in blue-black, almost monochrome difficult-to-differentiate shades. This is so close to a Swedish version of Suicide’s debut album and Chrome around the time of Red Exposure. Dissolving a band as celebrated as Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks and then coming back with something even stronger, even more ruthless, even more visionary is both brave and praiseworthy. That it is the best I have heard from Robert Johnson in general only makes the achievement even greater.
On Friday, August 14, we will release “New Kings of Pop”, a great new album with The Mommyheads. The idea was that the band would tour in Scandinavia in connection with it, but the tour is postponed until the spring of 2021. Hey, it’s two reasons to celebrate.
We are very happy and proud to release the American indie band The Mommyheads on vinyl. Last year’s Future You was a smash and the upcoming New Kings of Pop is fantastic. In connection with the release of the new album, The Mommyheads would also come to Scandinavia and conduct a tour together with Swedish band Eggstone. But as we have long feared, it simply became impossible to launch the plans under the current circumstances.
But we should not grieve over this, because there is so much to celebrate. Partly the new album, partly that the plan is for The Mommyheads to come to Scandinavia next spring instead.
Adam Elk of The Mommyheads was so happy when the first copies of the LP arrived in New York that he sent us a short video:
Adam Elk of The Mommyheads listens to the LP version of New Kings of Pop
You can help
Releasing records and trying to get attention around the music is a pretty tiring job. Above all, setbacks of this kind affect the artists, who are both extremely eager to meet their audience and are without income.
Do you want to help? There is a lot you can do. In our eyes mainly:
Help yourself. Listen to The Mommyheads and dive into their music.
Tell others about The Mommyheads. Give examples of your favorite songs.
Buy New Kings of Pop. Go to your local record store and ask them to take the record. (If you live in a territory where we don’t have distribution, you can always order it from us.)
Is there a good playlist with The Mommyheads?
Not all records with The Mommyheads are available on the digital platforms, but many do. We have compiled a playlist if you want to have a taste of the band’s music.
With the album Morte di Seeburg, Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks ended a two-decade-long renewal of rock music. The final album was supposed to be a soundtrack, but the film never came true. However, it turns out that the album inspired the author Maria Grund, when she wrote the crime novel Mortal Sin.
Detective Commissioner Sanna Bergling is the name of the hero in the crime novel Mortal Sin (or Dödssynden in the original Swedish language). The book is Maria Grund‘s debut as an author. She is already a screenwriter, and has been based in New York and London. Which may explain why there has been a great deal of interest in translations of the debut book in advance. The Swedish original edition is published by the publishing house Modernista.
She turns off the radio, turns on the old CD player, and accelerates. Robert Johnson and Punchdrunk’s “Rabbia Fuori Controllo” crackles from the speakers as farms and crofts pass by. Meadows, fields and dark forests…
If you are the publisher of the said album, it is of course a bit dizzying to see this in writing. But the album turns out to have marked Mortal Sin even more. On her Instagram account, Maria Grund herself writes:
The soundtrack for my book. Or rather, for me while I was writing the book. It meant so much to me that my favorite track on the album – Rabbia Fuori Controllo – is actually IN the book. The song is the heartbeat of my opening scene and it is was playing inside my mind as one of my main characters – Sanna Berling – came to life. But more than anything, it is incredible music. Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks are sadly no more, but they have shapeshifted into a new group – Cantona Gut System – launching new music in April. Stay tuned. Find Rabbia Fuori Controllo on Spotify!
The Mommyheads are back and record label Fanfar! releases their album “New Kings of Pop” on vinyl and digital. In connection with the record, the band will tour Scandinavia together with Sweden’s indie cult heroes Eggstone.
It is difficult to place the American band The Mommyheads within any specific box. No single genre is broad enough to capture the band’s imaginative and willful pop music. This is especially evident on the new album, New Kings of Pop, which is released by the Swedish label Fanfar! in August.
The Mommyheads was formed in New York in 1987, while the band’s members were still in high school. Early on, the band’s music was characterized by experimental ideas and rule breaking. Influences from British post punk bands like XTC were evident from the beginning and over time The Mommyhead’s own sound has evolved into a kaleidoscope of unexpected flashes of classic pop and rock like The Beatles and Queen.
It went so well for the band that they got a deal with the major label Geffen. This also marked the end of the band’s first incarnation. Their introduction to the music industry resulted in the album The Mommyheads, negotiations at the law office and the fact that the members completely lost their interest in playing music ever again. The Mommyheads disbanded in 1998.
But the fans had not forgotten The Mommyheads. On the contrary, the rumor about the band’s unusual music began to spread in Scandinavia. This led to the attention of the band’s members and around 2008, The Mommyheads was again a band that wrote songs together, rehearsed and released records.
Since the last album, Future You, The Mommyhead’s albums are released in collaboration with the Swedish label Fanfar!
The LP “New Kings of Pop” will be released on vinyl and digital on August 14, 2020. In conjunction with the release, The Mommyheads will be touring in Scandinavia with Eggstone.
