We have written about the Norwegian project Cold Mailman earlier here in Eardrums, and now we are very happy to tell you that CM’s debut album will be released on the fifth of May. I said debut, but it’s not really his debut. Cold Mailman has released several homemade cd-r albums in very limited editions, but this is his first “proper” album.

Cold Mailman is basically Ivar Bowitz, and whatever friend he’s got around at the time of recording. The last year, the Cold Mailman-crew has been more stable than ever, and at the moment, these people are most often present on his live shows and recordings: Ivar himself plays guitar and vocals, his brother Martin plays bass (ex-Spectacle), the drummer is Stian H (Käthe Kollwitz), Ingeborg Selnes does a lot of things and sings, Martin Larsen (Scarlet Monroe) plays guitar and Torbjørn Hafnor (Lukestar) plays guitar.

Several of the musicians who is and has been involved in Cold Mailman has a background from the hardcore-scene in Norway, but in Bowitz’ project they play delicate pop, sometimes close to acoustic folk and other times louder and more noisy, but always with the pop-structure in focus. References may be as diverse as Nick Drake/Joni Mitchell/Iron & Wine on one side, and Pavement/Motorpsycho/Sonic Youth on the other side.

The fine pop melodies are always present, but not always as obvious and immediate as you would get them in a hit song. They can arrive late, or be hidden under other elements, just waiting to be discovered by some serious listener.

The album is called “How to escape cause and effect”, and it’s released on a small (but very interesting) Oslo-based label called Spoon Train Audio. For those of you who are interested in new, Norwegian indie, they have just released an impressive high-quality compilation with lots of new, young Oslo-bands. Order it from their website.

Here’s the first single from the album, “The great escape”. Can you hear the hardcore-people in there?

Cold Mailman - The Great Escape (from nrk urört)

Just a short note:

Sweden’s Audrey has a new album out called “The Fierce and the longing”, and it is wonderful! Their debut was one of the top albums of my year-end list in 2006 (I think), and this one is definitely a good follow-up album. Dark, dreamy, lush, beautiful pop music. It’s available from most good cd and download shops on the web, so get it now! While you’re there, get their debut too.

Listen here:

Audrey - Big Ships (from last fm)
(and since last.fm is experiencing some technical problems these days, here is an alterative link)

The German high quality label Morr Music has an intensely calming and beautiful album out these days. The album is called “Everybody loves” and it is a collaboration between two really interesting musicians, the German musician and composer Frank Schültge Blumm, a.k.a. F.S. Blumm and the Swedish Ellinor Blixt, probably better known as Bobby Baby, which currently is her stage name. Together they call themselves Bobby And Blumm, and the music they make is the perfect mix between the two.

According to the press release, they sound dreamy, detailed, soft and fragile. I can confirm that. The press release also says that they “add purity and warmth”, “find beauty inside hiss and rustle” and that they “make silent-songs”. I can definitely confirm that too.

Stripped down to just Ellinor’s warm and expressive voice and one or two other instruments, - probably a bass played very melodically or a low-tuned guitar, and I think I can hear a piano/keyboard and some glockenspiel somewhere in the music. The focus is always the melodies and Ellinor’s vocals.

It’s not what I had expected from these two, but when I listen to it, the result is a perfect mix of the “core” of the two artists. Ellinor has been making wonderful tunes like these throughout her whole carreer, but she has often packed them in with organs, casios and lo-fi drum-machines, while Blumm has been working with everything from electronic listening music to more jazz oriented stuff for a long time. His latest release “Summer fling” (also on Morr) points directly towards this new one, - warm, melodic and organic.

I have listened a lot to both “Bobby” and “Blumm” in the past, and it is a pure delight to be able to listen to “Bobby AND Blumm” now. I hope to hear much more from them, and recommend this new album warmly! (It should be available in most decent webshops).

Bobby and Blumm - Not at Home

You know how I love to talk about my favourite labels, and here I go again… Matinée Recordings has two goodies ready for release, - both are among their best releases ever, and both are from the Nordic countries.

The first is from Sweden’s The Electric Pop Group, a band we’ve written about here in Eardrums a couple of times before. “Sunrise EP” is the band’s first release on Matinée, and they do not disappoint this time either. 4 jangly popsongs with everything we have learnt to love about The Electric Pop Group. The “Electric” in their bandname is not 100% true on this release, since they have included acoustic guitars to their repertoire.

Listen to “I Could See the Lights” from their ep:

The Electric Pop Group - I could see the lights

The next one is the one I’m most excited about. The Danish indiepop trio Northern Portrait has released a fantastic debut-ep called “The Fallen Aristocracy EP”. All the four songs could have been the leading single-tracks here. I love everything about this EP, - the sound, the guitars, the melodies, the vocals, the Smiths-influenced cover-art… everything.
The opening track “Crazy” is a modern pop classic. Have a listen:

Northern Portrait - Crazy

Both of these, and all the other brilliant pop records Matinée has released, can be ordered directly from the label’s webshop.

(Photo taken a couple of days ago, very close to my new house)

Hi again, friends of Eardrums!
I’m finally back online after almost a month without a computer and without internet access. A couple of weeks ago, I moved from my suburban home in the south of Norway to a nice, large house on a small island in the north of Norway. We’re about 400 people living here, surrounded by the sea.

So far, I don’t miss much of the city-life at all. We’ve even got a music festival on one of the islands nearby, the Træna festival, every summer. Please stop by if you are in the area!

The people I’ve met so far are very nice, the surroundings are astonishing, the nature sounds are the best music you can get, and everything I need to have a good life is right here where I am now. So I guess the rest is just up to me.

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