I don't really do this that often, but here's a (mostly Scandinavian) new music megapost if any of you care.
Much of it has been posted elsewhere on the site or in this thread, but I think it's necessary to point out stuff I find worthwhile rather than bitch and whine all the time:
Royalan already alerted us to
Agnes' amazing new single, "
One Last Time", but it's worth re-emphasizing how great it is. It's the lead single from her very very very long-overdue fourth album, and it suggests that the wait could bring good things instead of a chaotic mess. I'm very fond of the production, which as Roy pointed out smartly avoids gimmicks and instead allows the song's melody and Agnes' voice room to breathe. The video is also really pretty. I doubt she'll make a dent in the US market (despite having a record deal over here), but hopefully she makes waves in Europe.
It's also worth pointing you to her two major international club hits, both of which were sublime: "
Release Me" and "
On and On". She's not an irrelevant flop! She has potential, and her stuff really deserves a listen.
Next is an absolutely
incredible "debut" single from
Faye, formerly known as Fanny and formerly of the Swedish girl group Play. She did some solo stuff as Fanny, but she's relaunching herself as Faye and the result is this heavy, modern pop powerballad, "
Water Against the Rocks". The song has positively exploded on all the popular music blogs, so assuming she continues to release new stuff you'll be certain to hear about it.
It is yet another example of a Swedish pop outfit using production techniques built around dense, arpeggiated synths—the calling card of iconic acts like ABBA, The Knife, and Robyn. The vocal performance could have very easily come across as annoying and affected (especially with the melodramatic lyrics), but it's paced wonderfully and swoops and dips at the right times. This is how hype trains leave the station, folks.
Up next are a few songs from British musician
Delilah, whose "
Go" tore up charts in the U.K. and which caught my attention because of the very smart way the song was produced—the actual song is pretty boring. I'm glad I did some research, because her sound is interesting and worthwhile. The Go EP featured a song called "
I Can Feel You" which was too boring for me to really get into. Thankfully, there exists a
high-quality live version of the song with percussion and synths. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I'm hoping they record a studio version.
Her latest single, released just last month, was "
Breathe", a swirling, pretty song with a pulsating bass line and lush instrumentation. It sort of flopped on the charts, but it's really great downtempo pop with nods to electronic music (particularly UK bass) and R&B. I really love the way the song ends, too. Most of the attention she's gotten has been from the electronic music community, partially because her first major appearance was on drum and bass duo Chase & Status' song "
Time" (which is pretty terrible, but she's great on it). Hopefully "Go" ends up not being her only major hit and she isn't relegated to doing vocals for substandard electronic producers.
One of the great pop newcomers of 2011, Swedish youngblood
Amanda Mair now has a video for the fantastic song "
House", which made waves late last year with all the right people. It's another song that's paced wonderfully, starting with simple piano chords and building through the bridge to a frantic, wonderful finale. She gives off vibes that remind me a bit of
Stina Nordenstam, but with a decidedly modern aesthetic and a less dreary outlook.
And finally, yes, you can roll your eyes as much as you'd like, but Eurovision winner
Loreen's "
Euphoria" is now sitting atop the charts in more than twenty countries and is climbing the charts in several more—including non-European countries like Australia. She returned to Sweden with a lot of pomp, of course, and in case you thought the song and the performer were all glitz and no substance, listen to her give a
stunning rooftop performance at the beginning of this video, complete with strings and a different percussion than the Eurovision and single versions of the song. Also, for one of the reasons we love her, skip to around
6:10 or so in the video. Assuming my ear for Swedish is correct, she says "tack för att ni kom -- det här ska jag ta med mig
for the rest of my fucking life!" (rough translation: "thanks for coming; I'll take this moment with me for the rest of my fucking life") before launching into a more routine performance of the song.
Also, even if you don't like Euphoria,
please check out one of her earlier singles, "
My Heart is Refusing Me" (
here's a link to a live performance at Melodifestivalen). The production on song is embarrassingly shitty - we're talking really, really bad here - but the underlying song is fantastic. It gives me a lot of hope that if she can move away from the cheese, she could have a remarkable pop career. Her talent and sensibilities are there.
Need more convincing?
Here's a version with her and a guitar. It's superb.
Alright, I'm done. You can return to talking about your relevant faves, or whatever.
