"Julia" by At any cost

At any cost is a dark and moody band, that's for sure. But they know how to avoid the gothic cliches, they succeed in countering the hardrock cliches and they even try to bring a new approach of opera rock. You might have heard their first single "Julia" (about the famous cook Julia Child) but their new release "Large steps" might even be a bigger hit..

"Julia" by At any cost

"Blow up the planet" by Lilleshall Abbey

They're young and angry. They have their first album out now. And they don't seem to care. Playing live gigs is all that they want. But they seem to have forgotten that they're part of an industry (or they're trying very hard to deny that).
And is this album any good? Not really. We've heard it all before. But Lilleshall Abbey doesn't care. All they're focused on is playing songs, although it's sometimes hard to recognize a song in all this noise.

"Blow up the planet" by Lilleshall Abbey

"If we can connect in some tiny way" by French Impressionist Cinema

This is one of those bands that nobody will ever understand. They have nothing to do with French Cinema nor with impressionism. Their average age is 18, they don't have any experience, they don't know how to play an instrumentt, and they can't sing. But they're girls. And they sound sweet. Probably that is enough nowadays to sell millions of records worldwide.

"If we can connect in some tiny way" by French Impressionist Cinema

"What comes next" by Paul Bence

It's been quiet some years ago that the the Principality of Andorra had an entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. They wanted to participate this year but their entry arrived too late at the EBU. The artist that should've gone to Dusseldorf would've been Paul Bence, an Australian born singer who was raised in Spain. Despite the fact that his song "What comes next" was turned down for the contest both the single and the album became a big hit in Spain and France, the neighbour countries.

"What comes next" by Paul Bence

"You do it" by Etna Green

You're getting old when you actually can remember the eighties. For everyone who's younger than 30 there's the eighties revival band Etna Green. You can recognize a lot of influenes on their debut album "You do it", from New Order to Fad Gadget, from Heaven 17 to Tears for Fears, and from O.M.D. to A Flock of Seagulls. If you've never heard the names of these bands, enjoy Etna Green. If you do, stay away from this album... and listen to the originals.

"You do it" by Etna Green

"Meet a human being" by Carlingue

We know Britain's got talent by now. But the hugely popular Simon Cowell show has travelled all over the world and found a very talented young lady in Portugal. Of course she's one of many singers that bring you modern soul, like Adele, Duffy, Rumer or Amy Winehouse. But I've never heard soul in Portugese. Open your mind and give the beautiful Carlingue a chance, and don't go comparing her with the forementioned ladies.

"Meet a human being" by Carlingue

"At least try to grow your own brain" by Current Events

At least the Norwegian gothic-band Current Events understands that gothic music is dead (if that ain't a gothic subject!). So they slowly switch to less symphonic tunes and to more eighties-orientated rock. And it's not that bad after all. Leadsinger Joerg Smetlinck has a very powerful voice and makes me think of bands like Saxon and Uriah Heep. If they pull the trick and start a new hardrock revival, I'm a fan.

"At least try to grow your own brain" by Current Events

"I seek not to convince" by Cliff Pearce

Cliff Pearce should never have used the word "convince" because that is what he never will achieve. He might have won the Danish edition of "X-factor" and he might be big in teen magazines but he'll never be considered a musician or a singer. The only thing he'll ever be is a poster boy or a modell. So I ask myself why the record company chose to put a flower on the record sleeve. The only convincing element on this release is the looks of the singer.
Soon to be forgotten.

"I seek not to convince" by Cliff Pearce

"Essentially a channel" by Spirit of the border

Ambient and New Age is so last century, but Spirit of the Border manages to go on, and sell millions of albums. They broke through in 1997 and sold a mega amount of their debut single "Whisper". And they keep having succes all over Europe and Asia. Founding members Klaus Wambach and Christina Morgenstund never changed their sound and probably never will.
If you like listening to the same sound over and over again, you won't be dissapointed by the new album.

"Essentially a channel" by Spirit of the Border

"Abuse a man unjustly" by Taluba

Americana and country music aren't really my cup of tea. So I didn't get captured by "Abuse a man unjustly" the new album by Taluba. Once again it's more of the same. The band from San Antonio (Texas) has been releasing the same album over and over again for the last years. At least you know what you're going get on a Taluba album. It's predictable. So if that tickles your fancy, buy "Abuse a man unjustly". If not, stay away from it.

"Abuse a man unjustly" by Taluba

"What you don't see with your eyes" by Emma de Caunes

Emma de Caunes (London, 1981) has been living in Sweden for some years but she moved to France to record her debut album. "What you don't see with your eyes" is not a bad album but sounds like Baby Spice now and again, and that's a bit to far away from the quotes you read in the papers, where Emma states she wants to be the new Bjork. In some songs she sounds like Agnes Obel or Emiliana Torrini, but she'll never be considered as the new Icelandic ice queen...

"What you don't see with your eyes" by Emma de Caunes

"Capitalism is alcoholism" by Libel Act

With all the things going on in Tunesia and Egypt nowadays, "Capitalism is alcoholism" by Libel Act might be a great introduction to non-Western thinking. Libel Act sings about authenticity and tradition, but in a modern way, and with an open mind. The most important message on this distintive album is about recognizing your own culture without denying evolution.
This edition is the international version in English. So for the whole world to understand.

"Capitalism is alcoholism" by Libel Act

"Knowing God" by Alex Nunez

Alex Nunez broke through in the dance scene in 1998 with his millionseller *High hopes". It brought him fame, a huge fan base and loads of money. But many years have passed since. Nunez tried time after time to make an album as good as his debut, but he never succeeded. This new album nevertheless is much better than what he made in the past decade. A new Nunez album will never get close to his first one but "Knowing God" is a good try.

"Knowing God" by Alex Nunez

Covering Christmas Compilations

Each Christmas I present seasonal compilations on my mp3 blog. Every sampler has a different cover but always designed in the same style with a similar typography.
Here's a couple of examples. Any favorites?

"Species of sea snail" by Hydronym

Hydronym is a Croatian band and even in Croatia nobody has ever heard of them. But that will soon change. If you like weird voices, athmosferic music and strange sound effects this is your record of the year. There is surely no second band like this, and their debut album will not become a huge succes. Because it's so unique.
If you're in for a very original sound experience from a contraversal band that always keeps in mind that there always needs to be songs, do buy this album.
You won't regret it.

"Species of sea snail" by Hydronym

"Don't take away my heart" by Paul Cameron

 Paul Cameron has been singing for years but never broke through to a bigger audience. His new album "Don't take away my heart" is a lot poppier than his previous CDs. Maybe that's because he left the production to Roy Crombie (known from the likes of Journal, Polish Prams and Severe Society). The album sounds solid and powerful and talks about more mature subjects. I guess Cameron has grown up and is ready to confront a large fanbase.

"Don't take away my heart" by Paul Cameron

"By the hand of the father" by Dimtri Kortnev

Dimtri Kortnev is one of the megasellers in Russia but he never succeeded in having a career in Europe. He tried though by releasing the album "By the hand of the father", a kind of Biggest Hits compilation of his Russian successes translated into English. I'm sorry to say that his English is very poor and his songs don't appeal to Western European listeners.
Maybe we're spoiled.

"By the hand of the father" by Dimtri Kortnev

"Reason should direct" by Francesco Lotoro

The career move of Francesco Lotoro is a bit ackward. Just like James Blunt, he left his country (being Italy) after just one hit record ("Bugiardo") and went to live in the United States. He never made a decent songs since then. Obviously he must have made a lot of money with this huge success, I guess.
On this album there's no second "Bugiardo", so I'm afraid Lotoro will be forgotten before the end of the year.

"Reason should direct" by Francesco Lotoro

"See every problem as a nail" by Nabira

Nabira Garmin al-Gun was born in Iran (Yezd, dec. 19th 1987) but moved with her parents to London when she was only 4. She started singing at the age of 17 and recorded a first demo at 19. After three minor hits ("Yesterday", "Is it over?" and "Get up") she recorded this album "See every problem as a nail" and all of a sudden she's all over the pop magazines. It seems a star is born without entering any TV-show. How long will she be everybody's darling? Maybe her new single "Within seconds" will prove she's here to stay.

"See every problem as a nail" by Nabira

"The least amount of effort" by Ogden Avenue

Describing Ogden Avenue is simple: four times Jason Mraz. These four boys know how to write a song. "Angel eyes", their debut single that features as the opening track on this album, makes me spontaniously fall in love. The new single "Clouds" sounds as the first birds in spring and "Hidden" and "Solero" are true gems. They might be a bit too poppy but they sure know what craftmanship is.
"The least amount of effort" is an album to look out for. Highly recommended.

"The least amount of effort" by Ogden Avenue