The Best in Nordic Music, Music Festival and Travel!
Coska (FI) – “1991”
Last year, nostalgia for the ’90s reached a massive pop music peak with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s “1999” song and video. The song is replete with references to boy band stars of days past, which the video matches with over-the-top costume design and choreography. It was so widely discussed and beloved that it became […]
Rain on Monday (SE) – “Fever Dream”
It’s not at all difficult to understand what Raimond Dagfjäll says when he sings, but the lyric video for his song “Fever Dream,” the title track of his newest EP as Rain on Monday, is far from unnecessary. In the video, the song’s lyrics appear in blocky text against grainy, slowly-moving bays of static, and this combination […]
Madeleine Grace (SE) – “Tombé”
Madeleine Grace is a Swedish/Congolese singer whose voice boasts the suppleness and heavenly aura of R&B luminaries. She uses this vocal talent to great effect on her recent single “Tombé,” which skews ever so slightly towards the realm of dancefloor bangers. The song initially lights up with a shimmering, radial melody that remains consistent throughout […]
Elsa Åborg (SE) – “I Cave”
Endings are seldom appreciated unless they’re immediately succeeded by the chance of renewal or rebirth. Both a TV finale and New Year’s Eve suggest the closing of a chapter, sometimes involving the loss of something special; only the latter, though, comes with the prospect of a new chapter. Though realistic hope for a new beginning […]
Le Corbeau (NO) – “Psycho at the Wheel”
Le Corbeau is nothing if not ambitious. Øystein Sandsdalen’s pet project—many might know him best for his years playing guitar in Norwegian shoegaze outfit Serena Maneesh—dropped three albums at once back in November, with little in the way of advance warning. The trilogy, titled IV V VI, comes with a whopping 27 songs; “Psycho at the Wheel,” a […]
M. Rexen (DK) – “Henrï”
Michael Rexen has traveled a ways to get here. The artist better known as M. Rexen was born in the United Arab Emirates before traversing the Middle East and Africa over many years. He ultimately settled in Copenhagen, and in Denmark, he’s already become known for the rambunctious live shows he and his ten-piece band […]
Lokoy & girl in red (NO) – “Malibu”
Although Lasse Lokoy appears to be a newer name in the world of forward-thinking Norwegian artists, he’s no stranger to success. He’s already well known as the bassist for incessantly buzzy Norwegian band Sløtface, which kept itself insanely busy in 2017 and 2018. The constant craze around that band’s agitating punk seems to have not […]
Linnea Ellis (SE) – “Warmest Winter”
Ah, winter. It’s that wonderful time of the year when all the trees die, hot chocolate sales soar, and the mere thought of going outside sends shivers down the spine. During this grim, frostbitten season, it’s probably best not to set outside at all, instead clinging to blankets upon blankets and playing some wintery tunes […]
Lerin/Hystad (SE & NO) – “Taken to the Skies”
Although psychedelic music doesn’t always need vocals—think about the many endless instrumental interludes that defined psych rock’s earliest days—to convey the sense of wonder, joy, and innocence that drugs can incite, sometimes, vocals can reveal hallucinatory depths otherwise inaccessible. Swedish/Norwegian duo Lerin/Hystad understands this vocal-instrumental balance quite well: Starmap, its newest album, is its first to feature vocals. […]
Spielbergs (NO) – “4AM”
As the story goes, some industry insiders saw the Oslo band Spielbergs play a small venue way up north in Trondheim, and they were so blown away by the band’s set that they started a label just to release the power-punk trio’s music. It worked: Spielbergs’ debut EP, Distant Star, premiered inside a Stereogum Band to […]