What happens when a girl from Sweden channels early 90's hip-hop via Jamaican dancehall? You get Elliphant's "Music Is Life", that's what. As I've mentioned here before having a Jamaican sound on your record is really hot right now, mainly because of Diplo's influence, but Elliphant brings her own unique spin to the sound like everything else she ( Read more... )

I'm so, so, so excited that The Knife are back together and doing their thing yet again. It's been seven years (seven years!) since 'Silent Shout' was released and rocked my world, way too long to go without a new album. Sure the Fever Ray stuff has been nice in the interim, and double awesome bonus points for their song "If I Had A Heart" ( Read more... )

"Whatever 4ever" is one of those songs you'll find yourself singing along with at the top of your lungs when drunk, every time, guaranteed, which is why this video is so appropriate for it. If Big Bushy Beard guy can sing along to it at a house party, so can you. I don't even feel like I'm drunk enough to properly write this, although in the long ( Read more... )

Kate Boy is an exciting new pop act out of Sweden who sound a bit like The Knife at their most commercially accessible mixed with someone like Kate Bush. Both songs that they've released so far, "Northern Lights" and "In Your Eyes", are fantastic. Both videos were shot in black and white, but for me it's the "In Your Eyes" video that really ( Read more... )

Despite having only released one song thus far, Saint Lou Lou have already made me a fan with their beautifully dreamy, "Maybe You". The band consists of twin sisters born and raised in Sweden and Australia, which as far as I'm concerned is the holy grail of pop music heritage. I've been consistently coming back to this song again and again for ( Read more... )

FAYE is a Swede who makes some pretty powerful electro vocal pop. While the song for "Water Against The Rocks" is utterly fantastic, the video is a little lacking. The entire thing is pretty boring actually, just her singing in the back of a cab singing away, so I decided to make the video more interesting by playing a little game of "Does she ( Read more... )

What is it about the Swedes that lets them know how to write a good pop song with ease? "I Love It" is so instantly addictive, a kind of "fuck you, let's have fun" anthem that will have you jumping up, dancing around and singing along in no time. If you're not in love with this aptly named song after listening to it then you've got ice running ( Read more... )

Elliphant is the newest female-fronted 'It' artist from Sweden, and they have the unique distinction of sounding nothing like the usual music you'd expect out of a cold Nordic country. Instead their songs contain infectious Diplo-esque tribal beats more normally associated sunshine, sand and palm trees. There's something really infectious about ( Read more... )

I just noticed that today's two videos both spell out the main word of their chorus. Let's get right to it, why don't we ( Read more... )

You know I love a good Scandinavian pop song. I just can't get enough music from my brethren from the cold Northern fatherland. The latest buzz band out of Sweden is Niva, who released a very good EP called 'Feverish Dreams' and have just released a new single called "Dirty Water". Niva do floaty indie pop songs that feel very much in the same ( Read more... )