Freur – “Doot Doot”

Get it at Amazon or iTunes

Here’s a track for the stupid fun I’m planning for the weekend.  Hope you have a similar agenda!

St. John’s Dance is like a Swedish hip hop supergroup consisting of Stor, Adam Tensta, Eboi & Dida.  Check it out if you’re into Madskillz and Maskinen.

St. John’s Dance – “The Plot”

St. John’s Dance – “The Plot (Swiss Chriss RMX)”

Get The Plot EP at iTunes

Remix via Deftjams

Adrian Lux – “Teenage Crime”

Stockholm-based Adrian Lux broke out in Sweden with the dream house singles “Strawberry” and “Can’t Sleep.”  He’s now signed to Ultra – and is ridiculously good looking – so I’m expecting more buzz for his next releases.

Visit Adrian Lux on MySpace

Get the Teenage Crime EP at Beatport or iTunes

ceo – “Come With Me”

Order White Magic via Modular

Get “Come With Me” at iTunes

I love Brit pop from Sweden.  Bye Bye Bicycle’s “Northpole” sounds somewhere between The Smiths and New Order – shit, I bet that would have been the most clichéd way to describe bands around that time had there been blogging then.  “Northpole” resides in the upbeat, catchy area of that overlap.  This single comes from their debut album Compass, out on Bonjour Recordings.

Bye Bye Bicycle – “Northpole”

Visit Bye Bye Bicycle on their site or MySpace

Get Northpole at iTunes or Amazon

I listen to party music and praised indie alike, and I enjoy Familjen’s pairing of big hooks with experimental instrumentation.  I really think pure indie-ists punish artists for good songwriting or at least overrate music with lazy songwriting.  Maybe that + thumping beats earn Familjen the undeserved demerits.  I don’t love every track on Mänsklighten, but the top tracks definitely make the album worthwhile.  “ridiculously goofy and saccharine” it is not.

The images are a collaboration between photographer Erik Wåhlström and the design studio Bergen.

Here’s another track from Mänskligheten.  More album art below.

Familjen – Viggo

Get Mänskligheten at Amazon or iTunes
Visit Familjen at its site or on MySpace

Lake Heartbeat’s debut has been pressed into limited edition vinyl for record store day, which is next week.

I love featuring bands with beautiful artwork – basically From and Lake Heartbeat.  lol me.

Lake Heartbeat – Southbound

Lake Heartbeat – Southbound (Kisses Remix)

Maskinen – “Kärlek Vid Sista Ögonkastet”

Maskinen – Kärlek Vid Sista Ögonkastet (Mats Norman Remix) by PopeRecords

Prolly wise for Swedish MCs to focus on the good times.  It’s hard to imagine rough neighborhoods furnished in Ikea or Volvos low to the ground, rims in sparkling chrome.  Swedes might point to raggare:

or Södermalm’s history as some “knife city,” but then now the most dangerous thing in Söder, Stockholm might be this game of dodge ball:

Visit Maskinen on their site or Facebook

Get their album “Kärlek Vid Sista Ögonkastet” (“Love at Last Sight”) on iTunes or Spotify

What elevates it is Alizée’s subtle performance.  She doesn’t do the brash, sexed up club vocals typical to the genre.  I just wish the hook came sooner – you have to wait to 1:08 for it – but it’ll def work for a driving mix.

The video was directed by Hawaii Fantôme, and the new album Une Enfant du Siècle comes out March 29.

Alizée – Les Collines (Never leave you)

Alizée – “Limelight”

Get Alizée’s music on iTunes

Visit Alizée on her site or Twitter

Name the Pet’s “American Boys” could very well be an inverted Swedish version of From’s “American Girl,” but I’m too close to the subject to judge.  Hanna Brandén is a much more accessible singer than I am, and our aesthetics are quite different as well.  I love high end fashion, innit.  So yeah, this song has been popular on the Swedish radio station I stream.  RMX below.  It’s my Valentine’s present to Annie and Robyn fans.  Observing holidays is a popular blog past time.  The other track is for Prexy Day and reminds me of Hot Chip’s “Ready for the Floor.”

Name the Pet – “American Boys (I Always Wanted a Pony Remix)”

Name the Pet ft. The Sound of Arrows – Falling

Get more Name the Pet mp3s at iTunes

Hanna is based in Stockholm, was previously half of CAT5, and has collaborated with The Sound of Arrows.  Visit Name the Pet on MySpace or Last.fm

Remix via Tracasseur