And so, it’s time for another playlist. I’ve restricted this one to the original 10 per month which means that some very good songs are again omitted. They are mainly September releases but several are from October.
This month there are two artists who were featured last month as well. In both cases the reason is simply that I think they are exceptional songs and deserve to be heard.
Kicking off this month is Denmark’s Vince Chinaski with ‘Opportunities’, a sad tale of the demise of a young refugee that shook the world a couple of years ago.
Also from Denmark is the duo Between Mermaids and Me with ‘Somethingaboutyousomethingaboutme’, an edgy and disturbing piece of glitchy EDM.
Iceland is represented twice in this month’s Playlist, firstly by Inki, who is ‘Playing with fire’ as you do in that country I suppose, where you can easily put your foot in a crevice full of lava before you know it. Less experimental than her song in last month’s Playlist she actually sings for the first time and you have to wonder why she left it so long.
Denmark’s Lydmor was also in last month’s Playlist with a song from her new album which has just been released. But I just had to include another of those tracks, ‘Heard you the first time’, which is one of those sumptuous piano ballads she all too rarely writes. Incidentally there is a new official video just out for this song which is well worth checking out.
Denmark again for Rebebe with ’Prozac’, which I described as “a tuneful banger in which she sounds, in turn, like a sort of cross between Kate Bush on one of her wackier numbers, and Poly Styrene.”
Back to Iceland and Brynja and ‘My oh My’, a song which reminded me of Fiona Apple at her best on her ‘Extraordinary Machine’ album.
You can always count on Sweden’s Helena Montgomery for thoughtful, philosophical work and that’s exactly the case here with ‘Just like Trees.’ Our verdict? “The perfect soft-pop song.
Denmark yet again and he is tall, the moniker of Troels Sørensen, an innate storyteller who weaves this one (‘New York’) about a North American road trip that started in the state and city and which have since become symbolic of “a more careless period in my life” and a reminder of the deep friendships he made.
Sweden’s Le Lac Long 814 have featured in the Playlist several times and on this occasion it is ‘Le Mousse’, a song from a forthcoming album that is based on a poem, written in Swedish and published in 1922 which they have translated into French. And they bring a whole new sound, as usual, to the song.
Finally, Vinyl Floor, another band from Denmark, which has dominated this month’s Playlist. ‘Funhouse Mirror’ could have come from The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and with a bit of later Brit-pop thrown in for good measure. From a new album of the same title which is stuffed with variety.
Enjoy!
You can find links to all the artists in their individual review pages.
