The Next Big Thing

Andreas Söderlund has quite a pedigree for a guy so young. Not only pivotal in Hello Saferide, his other combo Dreamboy doesn’t slouch any either. I saw someplace that Annika referred to him as a scamp and thought that was pretty cool. His first solo outing “Daustralien” is ram-jammed with the most sensory-gratifying tuneage. The lyrics are all in Swedish but I’m sure they kick the ass of anything The Killers (has there ever been a group that begged investigation by the trades description authorities) ever recorded. The music sure does, while retaining that grandiose swoop that would appear to be that combo’s only redeeming feature.

Or should that be whoop, being in mind the war paint and the head dress that he’s wearing on the cover. The opener “Def Leppard Bil” is pretty amazing with a vibe that sound like it was recorded in a church. That cut isn’t on his myspace but as always, in this day and age, you don’t have to take my word for what anything sounds like – you just plug into the interweb. Coming at you by those fine Razzia folks. A trademark of quality in any lingo.

From Rijeka, Croatia - My Buddy Moose are a seasoned rock’n’roll band that have all the bases covered. It’s a very accomplished melding, taking elements from all aspects of stuff from down the ages. “Wonderful Feeling Of Emptiness” will leave you with anything but that. It’s a mature but not in the sense of the limitations of that M word.

Imagine Radio Birdman or The Nomads with a side order of Americana. The mandolin that is used liberally throughout sets things a bit of kilter. This isn’t folk or country or anything specific. This operates in the zone outside of any given pigeonhole where familiarity needn’t necessarily breed contempt. I’d expect that anyone with an open mind that might enjoy say Dire Straits could dig this as much as someone who digs The Skeletons. Or a bit of NRBQ

The duet “Tonight” is a total delight that reminds me of Robbie Fulks and Kelly Willis and “Dance” is a full on, organ-fuelled rock out. These sit snugly beside the conjuntifried “Las Nubas Peligrosas” with barely a hair out of place. Abetted by Chris Eckman and Howe Gelb – the Moose are loose enough to be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere who is craving a bloody good fix of why we care. While other people bang on about how the internet is killing music, MBM are plugging away with everything to play for. This stuff could really travel because it’s for real, not concocted in a modular fashion from a fantasy record collection.

Britta Persson’s third album “Current Affair Medium Rare” just came out Selective Notes, part of the illustrious Razzia family. Seems like the two she made for Amigo were building up to this and what she does is a perfect fit for her new roster. Specialising in sophisticated pop with a completely contemporary sound, this should make her a lot of new friends. I didn’t realise that she had a connection and appeared on recent recordings with Glasgow’s excellent Camera Obscura. It seems to me that their audience would probably really love this. Being that their crowd seems to have an open mind that would react positively.

The first “single” – “Meet A Bear” sets out the stall just fine and if you like that then this’ll be a good investment for those impending winter nights. “Some Boys Some Girls” seems like a contender too as a track that would really stand out on radio. But is there such a thing in conventional terms these days? This is the kind of stuff that builds a staunch audience person by person and that those people get an urge to tell all their friends. It doesn’t sound quite like anything else but it has all the hallmarks of appeal. Let’s hope that we get a chance to hear it live before too long.