Music Monday: Fanfarlo (London by way of Sweden)

Last week the Hype Machine churned out this sweet little gem of a band for me. Fanfarlo formed in 2006 but I'd not heard of them until CMJ 2009 was approaching. I'm not sure how this one escaped my attention because, as is well documented, I love Swedish musicians, even if they later move to London, like Fanfarlo's Simon Balthazar.

The band plays around with lots of instruments - mandolins, drums, xylophones, horns. Balthazar's voice is an instrument in and of itself -- very unique and, at times, haunting. This summer they offered their album for $1 online (kind of like "pulling a Radiohead," if I can say that and get universal understanding) and I hope they sold a bunch of copies.

"Finish Line" (posted by BrooklynVegan) makes me to be a shoegazer.

Here are some other good tracks using a MySpace pop-out player

For fans of Matt Pond PA, Belle & Sebastian, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, trumpets, lazy days

Caren Explains: Swedes Please!

Don't let my surname fool you: I come from a strong line of Scandinavians. To confuse things more, my mother is almost entirely of Scandinavian descent and yet she is an Irish citizen, while my father, who is of mostly Irish heritage, will never be able to achieve this status. If my mother moved to Ireland, my father would have to get a J1 visa to work at her B&B.

But ANYWAY... I'm partial to Scandinavians, particularly Swedes, particularly Swedes who make indie rock music.

There's a fun blog called Swedes Please that keeps track of the latest Swedes to arrive on the rock scene. I particularly like their IKEA-inspired t-shirt:



Most of my favorite CDs of the year have come from Sweden. I've been tracking this at PasteMagazine.com in Part One and Part Two of "The Year of the Swedes vs Year of the De(e/a)rs" debate. Here's the short list:

Loney, Dear: Loney Noir
Download: "I Am John" (my favorite song of the year) courtesy of BrooklynVegan

Shout Out Louds: Our Ill Wills (out 9/11/07)
Download: "Tonight I Have to Leave It" courtesy of Spinner.com

Peter, Bjorn & John: Writer's Block
Download: "Young Folks" courtesy of Yellow Stereo

Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature (out 9/26/07)
Download: "Down the Line" courtesy of The Glorious Hum

Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala (out 10/09/07)
Download "Friday Night at the Drive In Bingo" courtesy of Stereogum

Tobias Froberg: Somewhere In the City
(Can't find a sample for you)

I'm From Barcelona: Let Me Introduce You to My Friends
Thank you to You Ain't No Picasso for turning me onto this band back in late 2005, well before they even had a MySpace page. And thank you to the band for sending me an I'm From Barcelona kazoo. Here's the terrific video for the catchy single... and that's how big the band is, btw...