Label compilations are either a good way of getting to know great bands that has something similar to another band on the label that you like, OR a few good songs and a lot of boring stuff you’re absolutely not interested in. The label-compilations from Matinée Recordings are usually of the first category, and since I like most of the music this quality-label releases, I often love their label compilations…

Matinée is a very style focused label. All their bands have “the Matinée sound”, – highly melodic, warm, friendly indiepop. It’s usually quite jangly, but never too noisy, and always with a strong pop-focus. This consistency in sound also makes their compilations good as albums, not only as a lot of individual tracks thrown together in a compilation.

Another good thing about the Matinée compilations, is that they usually feature unreleased tracks by the label’s band.
2010′s label compilation is called “Matinée Grand Prix” , and features 11 songs from bands like Northern Portrait, The Lucksmiths, Bubblegum Lemonade, Strawberry Whiplash, The Electric Pop Group, Clay Hips, Tender Trap, Simpatico, Cats on Fire, Math and Physics Club and The Guild League. All songs are new, except The Guild League‘s beautiful “Bookmark”, previously released on Candle Records’ “Hamper” compilation, and The Clay Hips‘ sweet pop-track “Disappointed”, which were on Eardrums’ “A Good Crop“-compilation from last year.

There are several real goodies on this new compilation:
* The Lucksmiths‘ last ever recorded song, “Get-to-bed birds” is amazingly beautiful, and could stand proudly next to any of their older songs.
*The Electric Pop Group can make popsongs that speak directly to my heart, and their contribution to this album is one of those. It’s almost worth buying the album for on its own, but I guess most of these songs are…
*Tender Trap are back again, and they sound fresher than ever with this new girl-group sounding song, “Danger Overboard”. Lovely chorus, the right amount of fuzz on the guitars and lots of aaahhhs, and ooooh’s in the great backing vocals. (Before I started looking at the titles, I hummed along and sang “Danger of a boy”, silly me…).
*The acoustic sound of Cats on Fire‘s “The Hague”  gives me a little “Kings of Convenience-feeling”, and the song itself is one of the better ones I have heard from these guys.
*Bubblegum Lemonade‘s jangly 60s inspired popsong “Cuts like a dream” may be one of my absolute favourites here, – it sounds like summer, warmth and sunshine.
*The song I was most curious of was the new song from Math & Physics Club, “I keep to myself”, who sound quite different than on their album and eps, with a more electronic approach, – but this is so so so good! It took a while to get used to the synth-sound, but it’s an incredibly catchy song and a very good lyric. I am still in love with Math & Physics Club, and I guess it’s a love that will last forever.
*The Guild League‘s “Bookmarks” is the perfect ending of an almost perfect label-compilation from Matinée.

Buy this album from directly from the label, or digitally from  emusic or itunes. It’s also available for streaming on Spotify.

Here’s a song from the compilation:
Cats on Fire – The Hague

Matinée Recordings have some very interesting releases this spring, and one of them is from Denmark’s Northern Portrait. This trio is by many called “Denmark’s The Smiths”, and although it may be a cliché, it’s an accurate description of the band (I guess the band themselves aren’t too happy about this constant comparison…). Northern Portrait have so far released to stunning EPs, “The Fallen Aristocracy” and “Napoleon Sweetheart”, and now their debut album “Criminal Art Lovers” is available in the shops.

I have waited for this, – many people have-, but for some reason, I have always seen this trio as an EP band, not an album band. The songs on the EPs have been so strong, – no fillers at all -, so I have feared that it would be difficult to keep this quality-focus throughout an album. But, I have hoped, of course, and after listening and listening and listening, – I still have a smile on my face. My hopes were right, – It IS possible.

When I first started to listen to “Criminal Art Lovers”, the first track “The Munchhausen in me” did disappoint me, and I feared that I was right. As soon as track 2 started, my fear was blown away. “When Goodness Falls” is an amazing popsong with a verse equally catchy as the chorus, and some incredibly melodic guitar-riffs.

After track 2, it’s all victory for the Danes.
Great songs all the way until the end, from the single “Crazy“, which is the only song previously released on the album, via wonderful tracks like the warm and rich “The Operation Worked But The Patient Died“, the upbeat and jangly “What happens next“, to the melancholic and slow “That’s when my headache begins” (amazing song!) and the ending track “New Favourite Moment“, – another super-catchy song that absolutely may be the band’s next single. The cool thing about this last one, is that it doesn’t have a vocal chorus, – only a very catchy guitar riff where the chorus should be, but it works!

I am also impressed by the vocals of Stefan Larsen, who, with his very characteristic and strong voice, manages to keep the vocals and the songs varied and interesting. I never get tired of listening to him singing, and he puts so much into his vocals that I am sometimes very emotionally touched by listening to him.

The album is available to order directly from Matinée Recordings, or you can buy a digital copy from emusic or itunes. It’s also avaialble for streaming on Spotify.

Here are two tracks from the album:

Northern Portrait – My New Favourite Moment
Northern Portrait – Criminal Art Lovers

Hexicon is a wonderful (please add 7 more superlatives here) band from London, UK. Ever since I heard the beautiful (add at least 7 new superlatives here) song “Narissa, I won’t” that we featured on our own “Birdsongs, Beesongs” compilation, I have been addicted to Hexicon’s music. There has been one problem, though, – there hasn’t much music available to buy by this band, – until now!

Hexicon’s new single is called “Something Strange Beneath The Stars”, and it’s the first single from their debut album “The Blossom Sighs”, which will be released in March. Like “Narissa..”, it’s a lovely indie pop-song with a touch of  folk. Both songs on this single has a wonderful warmth to them, and the arrangement-details, especially on “Something Strange…” is impressing. This is pure pop, very catchy and nice, but the details in this song could make any “serious” musician jealous. Very creative rhythms, lovely french horns, beautiful choir, handclaps and as usual, the warm vocals of Mike Collins.  I also have to mention the fantastic backing vocal harmonies sung by Collins’ songwriting partner Paul Rains and probably also by Thomas Allard, who play French horn and keys in the band. I think I can hear a female voice back there too, and I imagine that this may be Elizabeth Morris of Rains/Collins’ other band, Allo, Darlin’.

The second track on this single, “Still here”, is also a beauty. It’s more laid back than “Something Strange Beneath The Stars”, and I believe it was meant as a b-side of “Narissa” a while ago, but for some reason, the single wasn’t released.

Rains and Collins will also be releasing both an album and a single with Allo, Darlin’ soon, so I expect that these guys will have a busy spring this year!

You can order a physical copy of the single from Hexicon’s own shop, or buy it digitally from iTunes, emusic or Amazon.

(…and I just have to say that I love the cover art, made by the band’s own Paul Rains).

Here’s the song we had on our “Birdsongs, Beesongs” compilation, “Narissa, I won’t”, a song I expect will be found on “The Blossom Sighs” too.

Hexicon – Narissa I Won’t

Inlets, photo by Kristianna Smith

A long time ago, in 2006, Sebastian Krueger released a free ep under the name Inlets, and I have been waiting for more music from him ever since. In 2010, my waiting is at an end, – Inlets will release his debut “Inter Arbiter“ on the 20th April.  When I said “..more music from…” in the above sentence, that’s actually not very precise. Krueger has delivered music through all these years, but mostly as a musician for other artists, like My Brightest Diamond, Feist, DM Stith and others. On his own, he makes delicate compositions, in a genre somewhere between folk, classical and pop. He reminds me sometimes of Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy, both in the instrumentation, the compositions and especially the voice.

On “Inter Arbiter” he gets help from several of his multi-talented friends, including Angel from the Dirty Projectors and Zach from Beirut, as well as cellist Maria Jeffers and violist Marla Hansen of the string quartet Osso.

The free 8 track “Vestibule EP” is still available for download from the netlabel Luvsound, still as beautiful and timeless as it were in 2006.

Here’s a new song from the new album:

Inlets – Bright Orange Air

Here’s a concert he did at the Music Hall of Williamsburg 2/4/2009, recorded by Baeble Music:

Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com

The third album from Sweden’s Pascal is called “Orkanen närmar sig” (which in English should be “The Hurricane is approaching”), and it definitely is a  hurricane of an album. It’s rough, it’s loud, it’s sharp, it’s straight-forward rock’n'roll and full of power.  The music of Pascal says a lot with very few words, – it creates a lot of feelings with very few effects. Impressingly fine-tuned and to the point, and at the same time as jangly, dark and dirty as it can get.

I think this is what I love about this trio. They really do something to me, – I can’t listen to this without being affected by it, -  it affects both my body and my mind. I really FEEL their music, – I feel their frustration, I feel their anger, I feel their love. I want to jump around and scream with them, I want to get it all out. Pascal like to call their own sound “cave rock”, and in many ways this is primitive music, but it’s also much, much more.

Their Swedish lyrics are unique, and although I see that this is music it’s possible to enjoy to the full without knowing the language, I kind of feel sorry for the listeners who don’t know Swedish…. Very few bands can say so much about life, relationships, desperation and love as Pascal can with a few, simple repetitive sentences. Pure poetry.

Both their previous albums, “Förbi fabriken” (2006) and “Galgberget” (2008) are among my absolute favourite albums, and I think I actually like “Orkanen…” a little bit more. The songs are very strong, they perform and sing as if it was as important as life itself, and the production is better than ever. Music like this is probably not the thing a hi-fi enthusiast would put on to prove how good his new equipment sounds, but I really don’t think I have heard drums kick with more punch and guitars so sharp as this before.

To get the most out of this album, you have to “live with it”, – let it guide you, and don’t try to understand it or explain it, just feel it. Or as their label Novoton write in their press-release:
“Let the “Hurricane” hit you with full force. Then you will easily understand Pascal’s greatness.”

If you like this, be sure to check out Pascal’s singer Isak’s sideproject SKRIET. It has a lot of Pascal in it, but the energy is used very differently.