Erik Hassle Hurtful:
Newly shot video, much better. I think he has a cute mouth, though he seems to be getting younger, doesn't he? Some Benjamin Button shit going on there. What happened to the Erik phenomenon though? I feel like the momentum stalled a bit. Maybe they have been working on ways to relax his curl? (ed: leave his curl alone) This song was available on American iTunes and has now been pulled. The album is due in June in Sweden. Everything good is in Sweden. Hassle website
Fibes, Oh Fibes! Love Child:
Speaking of Sweden, I am obsessed with the new TV series Wallender. Either the Swedish version or the Kenneth Branagh version - look for it. Thanks to Poster Girl for this band - the video is actually a proper short film. Very intriguing. We're trained to think about what might happen to this tiara-clad boy and then our expectation is turned upside down. Gladly.
Röyksopp w/Robyn The Girl And The Robot:
The scenes with (Swede) Robyn in her boudoir are so sleekly shot. She looks beyond. The real kicker is at the end, a wry joke. And look for the Röyksopp men, uber geeky.
Bat For Lashes Pearl's Dream:
My favorite song from this album, Pearl's Dream is exactly the kind of music Bjork abandoned a few years ago. Smart pop for adults. The song has a strange structure and the chanty middle eight is wicked cool. The imagery reeks of Star Trek, the original TV series.
Hurts Wonderful Life:
This comes from the lovely Worrapolava and PopJustice. Apparently the band used to be called Daggers and now, logically, they are Hurts. Next they may be Deads, we'll see. The video is so very arty 80's, but the music is more modern pop, barring that Spandau Ballet sax at the middle eight.
Newly shot video, much better. I think he has a cute mouth, though he seems to be getting younger, doesn't he? Some Benjamin Button shit going on there. What happened to the Erik phenomenon though? I feel like the momentum stalled a bit. Maybe they have been working on ways to relax his curl? (ed: leave his curl alone) This song was available on American iTunes and has now been pulled. The album is due in June in Sweden. Everything good is in Sweden. Hassle website
Fibes, Oh Fibes! Love Child:
Speaking of Sweden, I am obsessed with the new TV series Wallender. Either the Swedish version or the Kenneth Branagh version - look for it. Thanks to Poster Girl for this band - the video is actually a proper short film. Very intriguing. We're trained to think about what might happen to this tiara-clad boy and then our expectation is turned upside down. Gladly.
Röyksopp w/Robyn The Girl And The Robot:
The scenes with (Swede) Robyn in her boudoir are so sleekly shot. She looks beyond. The real kicker is at the end, a wry joke. And look for the Röyksopp men, uber geeky.
Bat For Lashes Pearl's Dream:
My favorite song from this album, Pearl's Dream is exactly the kind of music Bjork abandoned a few years ago. Smart pop for adults. The song has a strange structure and the chanty middle eight is wicked cool. The imagery reeks of Star Trek, the original TV series.
Hurts Wonderful Life:
This comes from the lovely Worrapolava and PopJustice. Apparently the band used to be called Daggers and now, logically, they are Hurts. Next they may be Deads, we'll see. The video is so very arty 80's, but the music is more modern pop, barring that Spandau Ballet sax at the middle eight.
Labels: Erik Hassle, Fibes Oh Fibes, Norway/Sweden, Robyn, videos
I like the new Bat For Lashes video. She's just purely amazing.
I read someone comparing Bat For Lashes to Danielle Dax, the look, the gothic pop, and especially circa The Company of Wolves film, and this video confirms it.
I sincerely hope Hurts don't disappear like their former band. There isn't any justice when they remain unsigned while others are... And Deads is a great name...
yes what on earth happened to the erik hassle love train? i get so disappointed when there seems to be a huge momentum built up for decent acts that then just fizzles out :(
Erik is the cutest kid. I hope he becomes a big star. His record is as good as M5, Paulie. We love the Swedes. Look out Stockholm, XO is coming.
I am over the moon about this Hurts song. Makes me wanna buy a real copy RIGHT NOW.
I think what's up with Erik is that his record company/management transferred the momentum back to Sweden for the moment--"Hurtful" had only ever danced around the fringes of the charts without ever going mainstream in his native country, whereas now it's really getting a proper push and doing well. It seems like the usual phased release schedule (which can still be problematic)--hopefully when he comes back to the UK it will be with a commercial, crossover push.
I missed Daggers; having Hurts is great, but as I said over at Worrapolava, I hope the entire album isn't as restrained as their music--"Wonderful Life" is great, but if the three tracks we've heard so far represent their new sound, I think I'll be able to admire their music but not love it and get quite as worked up about it as in the past.
WOW at the Bat For Lashes video and song. I still have not listened to that album, despite my adoration for "Daniel;" I kind of wish she'd release every song as a single on it, spaced out--it might be the way I'd fully appreciate it.
oh, Hurts. Brilliant!!! Thank You.
I find and downloading this song. :-)
Fibes Oh Fibes is on here and over at my pal Sheena Beaston's blog which is telling me something!
I'm gonna have to buy their album.
Just discovered iwhile reading new issue of Q that Bat For Lashes originally comes from Rickmansworth... where I have lived for the last 9 years. I never knew!
Wallander seems good, but I haven't been able to make myself watch it yet. And I like Branagh a lot. I think the uber-sadness of the Swedish stuff is what I'm having problems with. But, it's a cheat sheet way for me to get a sense of Henning Menkell who does it and have heard good things about.
Babs, Wallander is very dark and depressing. One of those cops who punishes himself with excessive work (a la Prime Suspect) until he becomes so tightly wound that something snaps. Watch it in daylight!
Or watch something bright and cheerful immediately after. Like Disney or keeping in sync with the detective genre, the old Miss Marple movies from the 60s. They are b. and w. and very light and non-sticking to your soul. And the music is very catchy. I can only deal with so many intense Swedish movies/shows. I have just seen Bergman over Christmas so it'll probably take awhile. And it was happier Bergman.