A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: Forty-Two Songs to Fika to

"Fika, a social institution in Sweden, is both verb and noun in Swedish and has a broad definition. Essentially, it refers to a break from one's activities in order to drink coffee or other drinks with friends, family or acquaintances. This tradition of a coffee break with a snack is central to Swedish culture, and Swedes are one of the world's top coffee consumers."

The mix includes tracks from David Crosby, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, The Zombies, Real Estate, Devendra Banhart, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Fred Neil, Traffic, John Phillips, Kurt Vile, Old 97's, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, The Felice Brothers, The Strange Boys and many more.

Invite some friends over, stick this on and fika Swedish style. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Open 'Forty-Two Songs to Fika to' in Spotify 

The Strange Boys - Be Brave (2010)

The Strange Boys' new album, 'Be Brave', was released 22nd February and is now available on Spotify. I'm on my first listen and it's not disappointed me so far. The album has thus far received some pretty mixed reviews, with most people sitting on the fence at 3/5 stars. They just have a sound that really appeals to me and have a nice combination of slower, more ballady moments blended with more upbeat, straight up rock n roll that make for a fun listen. The album seems to have a more varied sound than their first, with elements of country ('Friday in Paris'), blues, rock and folk evident throughout. This was never going to be a groundbreaking album, but it's as good as any other garage rock albums out there today and now that the sun is finally shining here in Sweden, it feels like a perfect time for an album like this.

Listen to 'Be Brave' in Spotify

New from The Strange Boys!

The Strange Boys will be releasing their new album on 25th January, after last years '...And Girl's Club' which was one of my favourites of 2009. The album is caleed 'Be Brave' and can can be bought over at Rough Trade Records. The band have put up their new single on their Myspace page and features their newest member Jenna Thornhill. I also recently came across a cover of the Amboy Dukes' 'Baby Please Don't Go' on Buddy Head, which was first recorded by Big Joe Williams in 1935:

The Strange Boys - Baby Please Don't Go

Albums I Enjoyed In 2009

I think it would be impossible to even attempt to compile a Top 50 of 2009, simply because one, I probably haven't listened to 50 new albums this year and two, if I had there's no way I could've given them all the attention they deserve for them to become a favourite. Therefore, I thought I'd list some albums I enjoyed from 2009.
Obviously, you'll probably read it and say "I can't believe he missed this or that", but if you think I should give something a listen please leave a comment. Sure, there are a few albums that featured heavily in major lists that I didn't care for too much, but there are just as many that I just never got around to listening to.

There are quite a few albums I'm just getting round to listening to and would probably make the list, but I haven't given them enough attention yet for the to join the list. For example, I recently got into Kurt Vile, but haven't got round to listening to his latest album 'Childish Prodigy' and I love Espers, Bob Dylan and Sufjan Stevens but haven't listened to their latest albums as of yet. Also, I've recently been listening to Dam-Funk's 'Toeachizown', Dinosaur Jr's new album, The Mantles and Flaming Lips' 'Embryonic' and I like the sound of them, but just haven't heard them enough to warrant a place in my favourite's list.



Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Grandes Exitos (tour release only)
Atlas Sound - Logos
Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
BLAKROC - BLACKROC
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer EP
Bon Iver - Blood Bank
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Beware
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Smoking Acid EP
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - One EP
Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
Cass McCombs - Catacombs
Conor Oberst - Outer South
Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
Devendra Banhart - What Will Be Will Be
DOOM - Born Like This
The Duke & The King - Nothing Gold Can Stay
El Michel's Affair - Enter The 37th Chamber
The Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
Ganglians - Monster Head Room
GIRLS - Album
Grizzly Bear - Veckamist
The Horrors - Primary Colours
Lee Fields & The Expressions - My World
Leonard Cohen - Live in London
Leonard Cohen - Live at The Isle of Wight
The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Monsters of Folk - S/T
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract 
Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Linx II
Real Estate - Real Estate
Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
The Strange Boys - The Strange Boys and Girls Club
Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom Live
Ty Segall - Lemons
U-God - Dopium
Wavves - Wavvves
White Denim - Fits
Woods - Songs of Shame

The Strange Boys

 The Strange Boys released their debut album, 'The Strange Boys And Girls Club', earlier this year after having released their first EP back in 2004 ('States Newest Noisemakers EP'). As with many new bands, it's rare for me to actually listen to an album at it's time of release and I have only really got round to listening to their debut for the first time in it's entirety today. The band is on In The Red Records, where fellow garage-punks Black Lips and King Khan & The BBQ Show have also released albums. The band are from Austin, Texas and kinda sound like a rawer Brian Jones era Stones with Pete Doherty ('Up The Bracket' era) as the singer. The band play a mixture of RnB, garage psych and acoustic songs that barely last 2 or 3 minutes. If you're a fan of The Brian Jonestown Massacre's mid-90s work (especially 'Take It From The Man'), this will definitely appeal to you. Chech the album out for free on Spotify:

The Strange Boys And Girls Club


the strange boys -this girl taught me a dance. from george trimm on Vimeo.