CANDY APPLES AND RAZOR BLADES

I don't have alot of time this morning so I am going to post some videos to celebrate Halloween. Be safe out there tonight!

Swedish Fish

Okay, so this is not about candy. Anyone that has a general interest will know that Sweden has a gigantic Indie Pop music scene. There are so many great bands that come out of that country its nearly impossible to keep up with all the happenings and things that are constantly going on. There are a few stand out bands that I have followed with a keen interest for the last few years, one of them being the dream pop sensation The Mary Onettes. Hailing from Jonkoping, Sweden, their sound harkens back to the 1980's and bands like A-ha, The Cure and Modern English.

There are so many bands capitalizing on the New Wave retro sound these days but the Mary Onettes stand out from their counterparts in such an unforgettable way. They have the sound down to a science but as we all know, music isn't just science, its heart. If theres one thing they add to their music its heart. The Mary Onettes are influenced by so many bands but they have a distinct style all their own.

Formed in 2000, they had it rough from the beginning, signing a record deal only to have the label go under before they could even record any material. They then signed a deal with Columbia/Sony BMG 8 months later and released their first critically acclaimed ep "Make Me Last" in 2005. Due to lack of commercial interest they were dropped by Columbia/Sony BMG and found themselves without a record label once again. Luckily, Swedish Indie Pop Label Labrador Records did the smart thing and snatched them up. The Mary Onettes then recorded their fantastic self titled full length debut album in Gothenburg, Sweden. After the subsequent release of their first album, the band released two singles "Lost" and "Void".

Fast forward to 2009...After a long wait, the much anticipated second full length album "Islands" has been released and boy, was it worth the wait. There is a back story, as there is with all things with this band shows them overcoming the odds. Between the release of their self titled first album and their new album, members of the band suffered great personal losses in the death of a close friend and family members. This can be heard in the lyrics of the song "The Disappearance of My Youth". The original recordings that were in the process of being completed after long long hours of hard work, were stolen (they were stored on a computer, which was in a car that was burglarized). After that unfortunate event, the backup files were fried on a hard drive due to a powersurge leaving the band at square one.

The band was forced to re-record the entire album, which apparently has worked out in their favor because the sound is full of raw emotion, lush production and an addition of strings and a childrens chorus that were absent from the original recordings.

All this adversity has built a character that was not so evident on their previous material. "Islands" is a sublime example of what good pop music is supposed to be. Anyone that enjoys this particular style of music is urged to buy this new album along with their previous releases.

A United States Tour has been announced:

The Mary Onettes - 2009 Tour Dates
Nov 3 TT The Bears Boston, Massachusetts
Nov 4 Union Hall W/BLACKLIST Brooklyn, New York
Nov 6 Webster Hall@The Studio New York, New York
Nov 7 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 8 Mercury Lounge New York, New York
Nov 12 Debaser Malmö, Skåne län
Nov 13 Debaser Medis Stockholm, Stockholms län
Nov 14 V-dala, Nation Uppsala
Nov 18 Bang Bang Club Berlin
Nov 19 Bunker Ulmenwall Bielefeld
Nov 20 Gloria @Sublime Regensburg

Nov 21 Silber@hit the north Hamburg

Here are some videos of songs from both of their albums.

The Mary Onettes 'Puzzles' from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

WELCOME!

Thank you for checking my blog out! I've tried this once before but lacked drive and direction, so a second go i felt was necessary. I hope you all enjoy the music and other things i will be sharing on this Blog. Theres thousands of other bloggers out there doing the same thing, so whatever feedback i get on here is truly appreciated. Enjoy the music.