Wow, this boy can sing!
I’ve been listening to Moto Boy a.k.a. Oskar Humlebo‘s debut album for a while now, and it is rare to hear male voices like that on a pop record these days… He has a very powerful voice and a magnificent range, from the deep to the really high falsetto-tones. The vocal lines are complex, but when Humlebo sings, he sounds relaxed and confident, – like this is the easiest thing in the world.

Moto boy’s music has strong roots in the early 80s synth/ new wave/ new romantics movement, and sometimes I get flashbacks to Midge Ure‘s vocals in Ultravox when I listen to Humlebo’s songs. I am also reminded of another "bloke" who in his early recordings used to stand up straight with his electric guitar and his powerful voice, and only that, – like Moto boy does on some of his songs. Motoboy is a "bit" more polished than Billy Bragg, and his lyrics are not close to Bragg’s in any way, but there is something about the power of an electric guitar and a strong voice that makes the connection.

The exterior of Moto boy is something you’ll probably love or hate. Lipstick and makeup, high heels, bare chest, leatherjacket and leatherpants, flying V heavy metal guitar…
I think it’s cool.

What about the songs? You can find both of his catchy singles here, "Blue Motorbike" and "Young love", and there are plenty of more good ones here. I fell for the intensely beautiful "Ride My Wild Heart", with a simple but effective arrangement built around Humlebo’s vocals and a wonderful melody/lyric. This is in my opinion one of 2008′s best pop-songs so far.

When I first heard the album, I had some trouble with the sharp and clean guitarsound that dominates the album.
It reminded me of everything that was bad with the 80s… Cheesy… 
It took a while to get used to, but now, I find myself enjoying it. The sound is right for the songs, and the guitar could not be different.  The album has some intuitive hits that you’ll like right away, and several beautiful songs that will only show you their greatness when you’re ready for them.

All in all a very good debut-album from an artist with a strong personality. The album is out now on Songs I wish I had written.

Moto boy – Blue Motorbike (from the label)
Moto Boy – Young Love (from last.fm)

Here’s a live video from Finland where he plays "Ride my wild  heart":

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A new single from Sambassadeur is out on Labrador records now. It’s called "Final Say", and it’s a bouncy little dance-pop song with french 60s glamour and addictive rhythms. The single’s b-side is a new song called "Crooked Spine", which I haven’t heard yet. The press release says that this is one of the few songs where guitarist/songwriter Daniel sings since the debut album. "- Imagine a collaboration between early Jesus and Mary Chain, Abba and Carol King produced by Phil Spector"… Can you?

The a-side can also be found on Sambassadeur excellent 2007-album "Migration".

Sambassadeur – Final Say (from the label)

Sweden’s Stars in Coma has recorded a new song THIS MORNING, and he is so kind to share this with us via his myspace pages. The song is a cover of the 60s sunshine pop band Eternity’s Children, and it is called "My Happiness Day". I had to check the title a couple of times, because there is a song with a similar title on Stars in Coma’s  upcoming album "You’re still frozen in time", called "My Sunshine Years". Well, not THAT similar, but…

Stars in Coma’s new album will be out on the 5th of March on Music is My Girlfriend/Plastilina, and after listening to it for some days, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. This is high quality pop music, and definitely recommended if you like what Stars in Coma has done before. The songs on the new album are a mixture of old re-recorded songs and completely new ones, and some of the songs have been available on his EPs in other versions.
Head over to Stars in Coma’s myspace and have a listen to some of the songs on the album. 

Here’s the superfresh cover-song:

Stars in Coma – My Happiness Day (Eternity’s Children Cover) (from Stars in Coma‘s website)

(Photo from WeePOP’s website)

I have been quite clear on this earlier, – I don’t like cds. Until the recent years, when it has been possible to buy good music without getting the actual cd, my view on "the thing" has been that they’re a necessary evil that fills up space I need for more beautiful and useful things.
I like SOME cds. The ones that comes without the plastic boxes, and that feels good to touch and look at.
And I adore the cds from the small label WeePOP! records.

WeePOP!-cds are 3", small and cute, and the cd-covers are all handcrafted and unique. Some of them come in small envelopes, made on high-quality paper that feels good to touch and hold. Some of them come in small plastic cd-boxes, but not the regular hard ones. These are softer, with rounded edges, and the notes inside are made on paper that feels and looks good. You can see that this is made by humans who loves doing it, not machines massproducing a product.

I will write more about my new favourite label later, because the music on these tiny cds are just the kind of music that I love. The overall quality on their releases is fantastic. It’s jangly and lo-fi, and wonderful…

I will mention one of the releases especially today, and I’ll get back with a few in later posts.
This one is from a band called The Darlings, and the EP is called "Photo EP". I’ll tell you more about the story behind the EP-name soon. The band is led by Elisabeth Darling, and counts five members who play guitars, mandolin, keyboard, ukulele, handclaps, french horn, tambourine, bass, drums and doing some very nice singing. The Darlings is based in London, but Elisabeth originally comes from Rockhampton, Australia. All copies of the EP have a different front cover, a photograph taken by members of the band or friends of the band. "Photo EP", see?

The three songs are all really good. One of them is a cover of AC/DC’s "You shook me all night long", and the two others are made by Elisabeth. All songs are streamed from the band’s myspace, and if you go there, you’ll also find an acoustic cover of Sugababes hit "Push the button"…

Here’s a taster from WeePOP!s excellent website, where you also can order these goodies for 3GBP + postage:

The Darlings – Emily

A little bit of news today:
Death Cab for Cutie‘s new album has got a name. It will be called "Narrow Stairs" and is scheduled for release in May.
If you can’t wait that long, Chris Walla released his solo album "Field Manual" yesterday on Barsuk. There’s an e-card from Barsuk here, where you can listen to some of the songs from Walla’s album. I’m not excited so far. He’s a great guitarist, but I’m having trouble with his vocals and his songwriting in general.

I used to be super-excited about new things from DCFC too, but I’m very neutral to this at the moment. I CAN wait for a new album from them, but I’m very, very curious, and I hope they will surprise me and do something different than what everybody will expect from them. I know Mr. Gibbard can write fantastic songs, but I’m worried that they will continue with the sound they had on their latest album, – which didn’t do much for me. I know they can surprise, and I really hope they will…
Death Cab For Cutie are confirmed to perform at the Coachella Music and Arts festival on Saturday, April 26th.

Chris Walla – Sing Again (from Barsuk)