In the autumn of 2009, we were fans of Them Bird Things debut album to the point of almost being shameless groupies. Less than a year later, the Helsinki band has recorded a new batch of songs by unsung sixties heroes Steve Blodgett (on the photo) and Mike Brassard. The album, Wildlike Wonder, will be out in August, but Underground, the first single, can already be heard on the band’s MySpace and purchased on iTunes. The lineup was augmented by the arrival of two new members, bassist Jarmo Vähähaka and multi-instrumentalist Arttu Tolonen who will help to recreate the rock, folk and psychedelia mixture of Them Bird Things. Accompanying the single, there is a new video beautifully shot by Lawrence Dolkart. Enjoy the song and the cross-dressed band after the break. Watch those legs!
»»
Americana, or alt country or roots music or whatever label you want to use for the music done by the likes of Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams, is a quite unexplored genre by the Finnish artists. Or perhaps is that when it comes to singer-songwriter stuff, it makes more sense to go the Finnish folk way. Whatever the reason, we were pleased to received on our mailbox the debut album by Kim Curly Band and listen to a bunch of traditional American rock tunes. With the alias of Kim Curly, singer Kimmo Numminen delivers a songwriting that alternates intimate moments with the piano and the acoustic guitar with the full-band americana inspired by The Jayhawks, Wilco and The Wallflowers. Clocking at just 35 minutes, this first album feels a little bit short and we can only hope that the Kim Curly Band will have the chance to develop their skills with a prompt second album. Click to watch the band performed Passerby live at the YLE M1 studio. »»
Rubik is slowly becoming the most international Finnish band, at least when it comes to the indie scene. Dada Bandits, their second album, was released in Finland a year ago already, but it keeps on being released in different countries while the band tours around the world and collects good reviews. Let us go back to Dada Bandits once again with a very special live version of the song Goji Berries filmed at the Botanical Garden in Oslo for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Watch it right after the break.
»»
This month’s MAP post offers a bunch of good song as it has done monthly for more than one year. Always with the support and permission of the artists, MAP has helped new bands to be heard worldwide and all the participating blogs can say that bands have been very grateful and proud to see their music available across the planet. Unfortunately, the copyright police knows no boundaries and Bloggers, the blog publishing tool owned by Google, has shut down The Pop Cop, the blog maintained by Jason, the man who started MAP and has dedicated countless of hours to it. The full story is posted here. Jason is seeking access to the blog so he can change platforms and keep his blog and the MAP going. You can help by contacting support@blogger.com and asking that they review this case and reinstate The Pop Cop.
While you show your support, enjoy this month’s selections. From Finland we have selected Captain Cougar, a band that has put together a beautiful concept album.
»»
Tampere’s The Props cannot deny that they grew up during the nineties, listening to Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub and The Posies, so in their new album Mt. Karma they turn the guitars to 11 and throw some pop melodies. Even though the influences might be very clear, the album includes a few good songs that make justice to the genre. Listen to We Need a Revelation after the break. »»
