Verandan Share Night Single

With a few singles under their belt in 2021, Finnish outfit Verandan have one final tune to close out the year, appearing on a compilation for Spanish label Kocliko. This tune doesn’t stray too far from the band’s sound, creating this natural softness that leaves tons of open space for reflective notes; it does feel like its something Phil Collins would have had his hands in crafting. Ville’s voice is just magical here, and I can’t get enough of each little note as it curls around the dense musical underbelly. The group are working on a new album for next year, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that news!

Color Dolor Announce Blurry Things

I was hooked the moment this pulsing note opens the new single from Finland’s Color Dolor; it’s got this driving nature, yet evolves into this more thoughtful vibe…and that’s just one musical element here. With the band’s announcement that they’ll be dropping Blurry Things this November, they’ve created this really superb pop tune to work with it. Stina’s voice seems calm, though she seems to be fighting with the notes in the chorus; this seems to allude to the influence of coping with anxiety that she claims influenced the track. Cool vibes on this new tune; they drop Blurry Things via Soliti on November 26th.

Finnish Shoegaze from The Here Todays

If you follow our site, or pop in a time or two, you might be aware of my affinity for Finnish tunes, mostly due to my friend Nick over at Soliti. Keeping an eye on that scene, I came across The Here Todays, who’ve just released this stellar new single for you fans of the modern shoegaze. Everything about this song just feels heavy, like the weight of the world crushing you, or in my case, a 3 year old sitting on your chest; the drums are pounding, smashing the sonic walls while your hit with wave after wave of heavy distortion from the guitars. It’s meant to disorient you, until the hauntingly soft vocal notes come and tie you to this Earth, tethering you to wade through the perfect balance of noisy ambiance and cool melody. Enjoy.

Astrid Swan Shares New Single, Luxuries

It’s probably fair to say that Astrid Swan doesn’t get a fair shake outside of Europe, but I hope by shining the tiniest light (on all 8 of our readers!), one of them will find her work meaningful. At first, the song takes on this delicate mood, Astrid’s voice soaring over a bare bit of piano. Carefully, you can start to hear some accompaniment creep up from the distance, plucked strings and backing vocals; it helps to uplift the spirit, which sort of coincides with the thematic elements that course through this song (and the LP); a cancer survivor, Astrid says this song is about “knowing death is near, and living life to the fullest while idealizing the state where one does not worry about each day and season because it may well be the last.” Her new album D/Other will be out on October 8th via Soliti.

Verandan Share Open Sea

We’re over a year or so into this pandemic, and we’re all tired. For me, the Zoom meetings, the lack of interaction with my students, etc just drains me, so this tune from Verandan (who I adore) is perfectly fitting, both in sonic feel and thematically. To paraphrase Ville Hopponen, the tune’s about putting work behind you at the end of the season and sailing off into the unknown…be it tragedy or adventure…you take it all on openly. Interestingly, the music feels similar, to me. It begins with pushing the musical boat out to see and raising the sail, catching a gust and moving a little quicker. But, the seas are mostly calm here, so you’re carefully cutting through the sea to an unknown destination. This single comes to you courtesy of Soliti!

New Silver Girl Return with Pale Statement Pieces

After their debut LP, Olli Happonen reconfigured the line-up for his group New Silver Girl; they’ve spent the last few years just learning to play together, jamming out and creating chemistry. Today, we get the band’s first recorded output, which shows the group returning to the top of their game. The rhythm of this song really sets it all up, using this pounding beat to allow Olli to craft these gentle vocal lines atop his careful strum. Still, the chorus has the whole band joining in, giving us this really steady musical climax that’s worth its weight in gold. Plus, the band are still into exploring the space in the song, as you can tell by the meandering solos in the song’s middle, leading to a soft moment that sets you up for another punch from the chorus! The song’s available everywhere via Soliti on Friday!

Stream Black Twig’s Was Not Looking for Magic LP

The last few months, I’ve personally been hyping the new LP from Finland’s Black Twig, Was Not Looking for Magic. Below…I give you an early stream, as well as my track by track breakdown. If you’re interested in picking up the album, it’s out this Friday via our friends over at Soliti, and I promise you, its got my stamp of approval! Leaving the stream at the top as that’s what’s most important, but my track by track breakdown lives below!

 

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Black Twig Return with Devils Please Be Gone

After a five year absence, Finnish outfit Black Twig return this year with a brand new LP, and we’ve got a sneak peek at what’s in store. While their early work had this heavy hand to it, I love how the group seem to have polished off the edges in favor of this darkened pop vibe; it almost reminds me of my faves The Black Watch. At times it feels gothic, but almost pastoral, perhaps tying into the band’s ‘secular gospel” theme on this particular song. Alas, you still get a heavy-hand as guitars dart towards the end, echoing and feeding back in this tailspin of squall. Both bright and dark, this song finds the band taking comfort in achieving a perfect balance. We expect great things when the group drop Was Not Looking for Magic on February 26th via Soliti.

Gim Kordon Drop New Jam

You know by now that I’m super into the Finnish scene, right? Well, I owe that entirely to my friend Nick, who at one point worked with Gim Kordon on his own Soliti label. But, the band’s own Aleksi has started a new label titled All That Plazz, who will be releasing future music from GK…for now they’re teasing that with a new single. This has a great 90s college rock feel to it, kind of hints at scuzzy, but plays a bigger role with a huge pop sensibility; its the sort of sound that wouldn’t be far out of line with a Merge or Sub Pop, particularly in the late 90s…so you know everyone here is on board. We’ll keep you posted on more, but just wanted to have you dip your toes in some jams from overseas.

Sonic Visions Take You On Kraut-Rock Journey

sonicWe don’t get too many six minute songs these days, and with the abundance of music out there, I guess (?) that’s a good thing. But, every now and then, you want a journey, like this Sonic Visions track. The propulsive rhythm section opens the tune, setting the pace early, but when the vocals come in, it looks upon the heroes of 90s Britpop…even Oasis. They employ other elements like cascading atmospheric guitars for layering purposes, then close the song out emphatically. If you’re looking for something that can hold your ears for longer than a minute, journey with us my friends. Look for the band’s Lost in Between EP in early 2017 from Soliti.

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