Finally, new material from KC BABY. Kajsa Magnarsson and Conny Nimmersjö follow up their strong debut with a single featuring Mattias Alkberg and Insomnia Taxxi.
The band KC BABY release the digital single “Till Berlin” (‘To Berlin’), a prelude to the album to be released in May. The song features guests Mattias Alkberg and Insomnia Taxxi. The latter is a pseudonym for Iryna Novikova, an experimental musician from Charkiv, Ukraine, with a style somewhere between Nico and Sisters of Mercy.
“Till Berlin” is a song about movement – away from something, towards something. The verses are about being stuck and looking for a way out – to a friend, to another place, to a better state. The lyrics could have felt out of date. They don’t.
The album “Nästan perfekt”, which will be released on 9 May, has evolved over five years – through a pandemic, separation, war and the toddler years.
“The songs have become a soundtrack to all this”, says Conny Nimmersjö, who forms the core of the band with Kajsa Magnarsson.
“Everything that is sung is true”, says Kajsa. “The record might be a bit noisy in its form, but that’s okay. It came out that way, like so many other things.”
Guests on the forthcoming album include Amanda Werne (Slowgold) on accordion and choir.
Release date for “Till Berlin”
“Till Berlin” is released on 4 April 2025. The song will initially be released as a digital-only track, but will be included on the LP to be released later this spring.
Since 1992, Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks have been internationally recognized as the undisputed kings of surf rock. Now the band’s twelfth album is out, and the group shows no signs of stagnation – quite the opposite. Always challenging and confounding their own genre and audience, Robert Johnson and his punchdrunks twist and turn b-sides and obscure references until you’re dizzy. And you’ll love every second of it.
The new album “Pills, Thrills & Acting Smart” contains twelve powerful original songs. The band features Conny Nimmersjö of bob hund and Finnish guitar legend Pekka Laine of The Hypnomen. Conny Nimmersjö also has been involved in the recording and mixing. The album will be released digitally only.
A few words about some of the songs:
“Flamboyant Persona” features Robert’s son Gordon Presley on drums and Lady Murena on vocals. A return to the pure surf we know from the band’s early records.
“Unitar Swag” is exactly what it sounds like – a tribute to the strange instrument unitar. Here it is Conny Nimmersjö who plays lead guitar.
“Cooling Board”. Hawaiian music has long been unexplored territory for Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks, although the band has touched on the exotica genre a few times. Now the band is taking the plunge and going all the way with the help of the Nordic region’s foremost expert in the field – Pekka Laine. Although Robert Johnson and Pekka Laine have been walking side by side musically since the 90s, this is their first collaboration.
“Pills, Thrills & Acting Smart” is the only surf rock album you’ll ever need. Okay, keep the ones with Link Wray, Davie Allan and Ike Turner. But you can throw the rest away and you won’t miss them.
The Mommyheads releases their new album “One Eyed Band” on the 8 November 2024. After delving deep into concept record territory with last year’s “Coney Island Kid”, they’ve come back to push the boundaries again, but still sound like they’re having a great time, not worrying about genre or pigeonholing in the slightest. Seven LPs in six consecutive years has only strengthened their commitment to staying active and original in an ever-changing landscape. Well-crafted songs, deft musicianship and progressive arrangements keep them sounding fresh and relevant after 37 years together.
“Chicken Soup” opens with a swirling barrage of 12-strings and synths, setting the stage with a bittersweet yet rebellious undertone found in all those dusty record collections from the late 70s, early 80s. Adam begins the conversation with a mantra of “Breathing, Searching, Failing, Dreaming”, leaving the listener wondering what Genesis would have done if they had made ‘Duke’ Part 2. Complexity mixed with simplicity, akin to the concept of chocolate mixed with sea salt, is the strength of One Eyed Band. The influences are strong, but never clashing with originality or sentiment. “Life is a Dream” kicks in the door with a dissonant, passionate assault of guitars, disco-inspired horns and string arrangements that would make any Elvis Costello/ABBA fan proud. Sonic exploration mixed with storytelling is prevalent from the first acoustic guitar note of ‘Season of our Sound’ to the last strum of ‘Human Being’.
Side 2 kicks off with the reggae-inspired “Risk It All”. Has anyone ever played a reggae groove in 7/8 time? The lyrics were inspired by recent events involving Russian political prisoner Alexei Navalny. The lyrics “They want to silence you ‘Cause they see that many can be changed by one” seem more true than ever. “The Gift” could be at home on a modern version of The Who’s “Tommy” soundtrack. Over-the-top horns and synths shift between serene acoustic verses as the band pushes through to the final uncompromising note.
“One Eyed Band” defines the band’s ongoing quest for originality, which ebbs and flows like a river making its way through our cultural landscape. You never know where the journey will take you, but you know that the journey is as fruitful and fun as ever; at this point in their career, The Mommyheads feel no need to compromise musically, and we are the beneficiaries.
Solen Skinner has released their debut album ‘The Lathering’. The LP takes us straight to hell and shows that there is hope for experiences on the fringes of extreme culture.
Finnish trio Solen Skinner is as much a performance group as a band. Where the boundaries lie is not that significant, and perhaps the thing about Solen Skinner is that they dissolve boundaries. Gender, person, genre, artist, audience. Nothing is important and everything is important.
Solen Skinner is a relatively young constellation. When they played at the Norberg Festival in 2023, they were still in their infancy. Yet their performance, in an almost deserted industrial memory, seemed incredibly finished. Maybe it’s silly to compare today’s bands with industrial pioneers like Throbbing Gristle, but Solen Skinner have got there – to the same core.
The beautiful and the brittle lure you into their yarn, the brutal knocks you to the ground just when you’ve relaxed the most. And who the hell is that hissing at the end of ‘A Drop Falling’? Is it the Devil himself, peering out of the pit? ‘The Lathering’ is a testimony to something big that happened in the crushing plant on the 7th of July 2023. Something that finally made everyone who was there scream in happy ecstasy.
At the time of writing, it is exactly 40 years since Enhänta Bödlar recorded the cassette album “Lychgate Threnody” in a terraced house in Södertälje. The world may not have shaken, but hell appeared in the form of industrial music.
Enhänta Bödlar was one of the first Swedish bands to explicitly devote themselves to the then budding genre of industrial music. The band was formed in Ljungby in 1982 by Uddah-Buddah, or Valiant Dunkeldäld as he is actually called, and over the years he has been the backbone of the band. But from time to time, collaborations have arisen. In the 1980s, industrial music was a truly obscure underground movement in Sweden, and the few people involved in the genre made sure to keep in touch with each other.
Uddah-Buddah got to know Conny Nimmersjö, who would later become a member of bob hund, KC BABY and other well-known bands. But at this time, Conny was in college and spent his time recording a strange and angst-ridden kind of industrial music on his own. One summer day Uddah-Buddah came to visit and in Conny’s room at home in Pershagen they recorded what would later become the cassette album “Lychgate Threnody”.
The conditions were primitive. The vocals are said to have gone through a pair of headphones and the bass rumbles through ordinary gramophone speakers.
This could be dismissed as two teenage outsiders trying to be odd (which it may well be), but 40 years later the feeling is even more obvious than when the cassette was first released. There is a total presence and energy, not least in Uddah-Buddah’s vocals. Welcome to pure hatred, pure obsession. Welcome to the 40th anniversary of the opening of the gates of hell in Södertälje.
On the 40th anniversary on 19 July, Fanfar! releases a restored and remastered version of “Lychgate Threnody” on digital streaming services. Fanfar! will also release “Lychgate Threnody” on vinyl in the autumn, in a very limited edition.
Jonas Siöström at Dynamic Audio is responsible for the master. The original cover is made by Valiant Dunkeldäld and the vinyl edition is by Daggan Stamenkovic.
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.
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)
