It was only a few weeks ago that Webcuts and half of Gothenburg invaded Slottskogen for Way Out West, but this weekend it was Stockholm’s turn for the charming Popaganda to lift my post-festival blues. Popaganda started as a free festival in 2002 at the university campus in Stockholm. After five years the festival was canceled due to conflicts between the student union and the organisers but was resurrected in 2008 with a change of venue to Eriksdalsbadet a public bath in central Stockholm. Since then the festival has focused on Swedish and international acts and has been graced by artists such as bob hund, Lykke Li, The Hidden Cameras, Camera Obscura and MGMT.

Popaganda Day One – 27 August 2010

This year we were presented with a fine mix of domestic and foreign indie and electronic bands as well as some coordinated swimming on both days. The first band on was Navet (The Hub). The group have just recorded their debut album in the reclusive island of Fårö where Ingmar Bergman used to live. Navet’s music and performance are a lot more approachable than Bergman’s movies luckily being electro pop to the core with the keyboard steering the direction and singer Julia’s crisp vocals following right behind. Even with one member short the band still put on decent show and the forthcoming single “Hello hello” showed a lot of potential. While First Aid Kit’s lovely Söderberg sisters might not consider themselves as “exotic” since they live ten minutes away with the tube they sound like the daughters of June Carter. Klara, on guitar, has a powerful voice while Julia, on keyboard and cither, has an equally beautiful, if slightly softer, tone. They complement one another well especially on new song “I Just Need a Friend”. Their love for country music was demonstrated by Gram Parson’s “Still Feeling Blue”, which were followed by two other covers, their now famous interpretations of Fleet Foxes’s “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up by Fever Ray” (Karin Dreijer Andersson is their neighbor). The girls finish with a new song “The Lion Roars” which if I didn’t know better could’ve been another Fleet Foxes cover.

I have to be honest here — dance pop is not my thing, give me a good guitar riff to techno beats any day, however while Familjen (The Family) might not have got me over to the dance floor just yet, especially with “It began in Hässleholm” (Johan T Karlsson’s home town) a repetitive techno song that was first out of the gate, I was still pleasantly surprised by Johan and his friends. Johan’s lyrics are unexpectedly catchy live and his joy of performing was contagious. His friends included Andreas Tilliander and two well-known faces from the Swedish music scene Martin Sköld, the bassist player in Kent, and Markus Krunegård, solo artist and singer in Laakso. Towards the end Johan seemed a bit out of breath but when their first hit “Det snurrar i min skalle” (“My head is spinning”) started it got him and everyone else twirling.

Popaganda differs to Way out West in that it pleases a younger crowd (being cheaper no doubt helps) and during the first few hours of the festival I felt like I was part of a big sister program. However as the sun started to descend our favorite Scots came out and the grown-ups gathered for their treat. Belle & Sebastian started with a new song, “Didn’t See It Coming” with Sarah Martin on lead vocals, but was soon followed by “something for the old people” which was the early B&S classic “The State I Am In”. According to Stuart Murdoch the band didn’t quite know what to play, so they opted for a mix of songs since they felt they were among friends. Favorites like “If You’re Feeling Sinister” were definite crowd pleasers but it was the new song “I’m Not Living In the Real World” that became the sing-along tune thanks to Stevie Jackson who taught the audience the complicated “ooohh oohs” of the song. The only thing that was disappointing was the guest appearance by Linnea from Those Dancing Days since you could barely hear her voice in indie-country classic “Lazy Line Painter Jane”.

Robyn has gone from being a cute teen star in the 1990s to the queen of Swedish pop and the embodiment of a professional singer. Since she was playing in her own backyard (she went to school five minutes away) I expected something a little extra and while a great concert was delivered it lacked any special guests or extra oomph. Beginning with “Fembot”, a cute song about how robots also have feelings, she let her music speak (or sound) for itself. She didn’t exactly stand still much of the time and for the harder edged “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do“ she let go of the microphone and just danced and shadowboxed the whole song through. How I wished I was in her shape or had half of her energy. Robyn ended by thanking Stockholm and “With Every Heartbeat” you got the feeling that all of us there just want to say thank you Robyn.

Popaganda Day Two – 28 August 2010

Saturday began with The Concretes but I just couldn’t wake up and the band has always been better on album than live so I walked to the small stage where Vit Päls (White Fur) were about to start. I didn’t need to worry about being sleepy for long because it turns out that Vit Päls are like a strong cup of coffee in the morning, their energy was revitalising. Their lo-fi-pop is filled with witty lyrics and this is a band that should be seen in a live situation. Carl Johan Lundgren is one of the most charming singers I’ve seen for awhile but the band work as a whole with everyone in tune and engaged the entire time. “Kärleken bryr sig inte” (“Love Doesn’t Care”), an unreleased upbeat song was an instant favorite and had everyone singing along. Carl and the others didn’t really want to leave and after a short 30 minutes the stage crew had to tell them to stop to everyone’s disgruntlement.

Shout Out Loads are veterans when it comes to Popaganda having played four times at the festival and according to singer Adam Olenius the band had been waiting all summer for this night. This didn’t really come across during the show but the band delivered a competent mix of songs from all three albums. Highlights such as “Very Loud” and my personal favourite The Cure influenced “Tonight I Have To Leave It” came quite early. A nice touch was a version of Band of Horses’ “Is There a Ghost” translated into Swedish. Maybe Adam is getting a taste for singing in Swedish since he also translated the end verse of “Impossible”.

Popaganda is without a doubt the festival with the best looking audience I have ever seen. The hipsters and indie kids of Stockholm take fashion seriously, just like the evening’s next band Hurts. In their tailcoats and black suits the Manchester boys looked like a young Depeche Mode that had been groomed by the stylist on Mad Men. A more handsome band would be hard to find. It is not just looks though. Hurts starts out with the dramatic “Silver Lining” which brought you back to the ‘80s, whether you liked it or not, with their heavy use of synthesiser and infectious melodies. With their debut album, based on there performance at Popaganda we can expect more keyboards, dramatic songs, some choirs and perhaps even a power ballad or two.

If Hurts is the best looking band of the festival then The Magic Numbers are the friendliest. The two set of siblings had huge grins on their faces and seemed at home as soon as they clambered onto the stage. Starting out with three oldies “This is a song”, “Take a chance” and “Forever Lost” was a real treat and it continued in that pleasant manner, but sometimes things got a bit too comfortable. Still while The Magic Numbers didn’t surprise neither did they disappoint. To help interpret the Roches’ “Hammond Song” members of Shout out Louds, The Concretes and First Aid Kit came on to lend a hand but by then it was time to head over to the small stage for some cool Brooklyn youngsters. While Neon Indian looked good and sounded good, their songs blended into one another and after awhile my thirst took over. I thought I’d be back in jiffy but oh, how foolish! I was in the land of permits where alcohol was served in a closed off area. The queue to get into this inner sanctum was roughly forty metres long and by the time I had the first sip of my drink Neon Indian were rounding up.

To finish off this year’s Popaganda a blend of disco, a touch of pop and a dash of soul was served in the form of Hot Chip. After seeing trendy people all day it was refreshing to see Alexis Taylor in his white PJs, bright yellow jacket and glittery cap. What was he thinking? Well he doesn’t have to look cool, he just is cool. Hot Chip’s selection for the night was a good mix of old and new, including “Over and Over” and “Take It In”. Due to a lesson learned on Friday night I left before the end to avoid being stuck and queuing with 12 000 other people trying to get out and so Popaganda was over as the festival summer of 2010.

Arcade Fire
Dalhalla-Rättvik, Sweden
June 30, 2010

After eight and a half hours in a small crowded car with a backpack stuck on my lap and the rain pouring down I was wondering what the heck I was doing in the middle of nowhere. Could one concert really be worth this much trouble? The rain stopped and walking down the hill into the Dalhalla arena my doubts started dissipating and when the band came out on stage I knew I was in the right place.

Arcade Fire’s visits to Scandinavia have been few and their last visit in 2007 ended with Win Butler having surgery. This time he seemed to be in perfect shape, somewhat dazed to be playing in the middle of an old limestone quarry set in a forest far away from any well-known town. Dalhalla is truly a special place, or as Win put it “we should be thankful to the alien overlords for creating this beautiful place”. As stunning as it is it also demands a lot from the artists that play there. Firstly, the arena holds around 4000 people so the band has to attract a large number of people to come out into the woods. Secondly, there is natural distance between the band and the crowd created by the ten meter wide moat that surrounds the stage. Thirdly, the surroundings raise expectation and a normal show is just not enough.

Arcade Fire had a tough competition with summer holidays, the World Cup, the Peace & Love and Roskilde festivals all being on at the same time. Just over 2000 tickets were sold which felt like an injustice towards the band. The Canadians did do their best though to decrease the distance,  encouraging the audience to come closer. As the band struck the first chords of the second song of the night, “Keep the Car Running” people left their seats and flocked near to the stage. The band seemed to be living up to people’s expectations when they continued with two old songs “No Cars Go” and “Haiti”. Win and the rest seemed genuinely happy to be there and were swapping instruments with one another like chefs swap recipes.

Four songs from the upcoming album, The Suburbs, followed “Haiti”. It was interesting to get a sense of the new album. If it’s anything to go by judging from the songs played at Dalhalla it will not be as grand or as epic as the previous albums, instead being more scaled down. What was epic though was the interweaving of “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” and “Rebellion (Lies)”, two huge crowd pleasers. As I looked around the crowd were all smiles and the energy was flowing from the stage. One band member had more energy than the rest and appeared he needed to cool down. After almost falling into the moat by dancing near the edge William Butler threw a drum in and jumped into the water after it.

After about an hour I was surprised to hear Win say that “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” was their last song. Of course there was an encore which consisted of three great songs, including my favorite “Intervention”, but I couldn’t help feel let down. The night was still so young and the sun still up. Maybe I’m greedy, an hour and a half is a decent gig but I just expected more. It was a beautiful concert but it could have been legendary. A few more tickets sold and the band playing a few more songs as the sun set and it could have been the concert of the decade.

Summer is picnics with rosé wine in plastic cups, melting ice cream, freezing body parts after night swimming, road trips to the country side, strawberries and cream, a bad tan and of course a good tune to go with all of that. With Dansette Dansette, the third album from London’s Tender Trap, you’ve got all the summer tunes you need.

Four years since their last album 6 Billion People, Tender Trap have returned a different band, reinforced by new guitarist Elizabeth Morris from Allo Darlin’ and drummer Katrina Dixon. The band’s first two albums had something of an electronic touch while Dansette Dansette is a timeless pop album with similarities to both that of Talullah Gosh and Heavenly, Fletcher and Pursey’s previous bands. It’s difficult to tell whether this is due to the influence of the new additions or if it were a case of Fletcher and Pursey simply returning to their roots.

Opening with the album’s title track, “Dansette Dansette” is a sweet but conventional ode to the old fashioned portable record player. Second track “Fireworks”, one of the singles of the album, is more charming and Amelia’s voice is nicely framed by the backing vocals from Elizabeth and Katrina. “Do You Want A Boyfriend?”, one of the highlights of the album with its catchy lyrics that combines sweet girl pop with a bit of wit. When Amelia sings that potential boyfriends have to like The Jesus and Mary Chain I have to restrain myself from not singing along (I don’t like inflicting pain to my surrounding so I try keep my singing to a minimum). Another highlight is “Girls with Guns”, where the pace speeds up and Amelia and company add an ounce of punk into the mix. The softer and more twee pop side to Tender Trap comes out clearly in “Suddenly” and “Capital L”.

Tender Trap is not an all girl band but one easily forgets the two lads in band. Amelia’s voice and the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of Katrina and Elizabeth reminds me at times of classic 60′s girl-group harmonies.  Dansette Dansette has many highs but no real lows. If there is any justice people should at least have one song, if not more, from the album represented on their soundtrack of the summer of 2010 (or winter if one is trapped in the southern hemisphere).

Mumford & Sons
Loppen, Copenhagen
11th April 2010

A great band once sang “I’m beginning to like country music. They say that’s the first sign of age” and during the last few years I have seen more and more friends go over to the side of banjos, boots and beards. Maybe age is catching up with us but it could also be that country has sneaked its way into the indie scene more and more, being mixed with folk, rock and pop. Mumford & Sons is a band that has embraced flannels shirts with style, evoking images of a windy day on the prairie, not as your Nashville country kind of band but one belonging to the London folk scene. Their debut album Sigh No More was well received and as they are embarking on their European tour most shows have already been sold out, the Copenhagen gig being no exception.

As a support Marcus Mumford and his boys brought another band from the British folk scene, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit. I normally don’t bother with the support but I’m glad I was early this night. With no expectations these young lads surprised me with their bluesy English folk music and I look forward to the release of their second album.

With all respect to Jonny Flynn and his band members the night turned a corner when Mumford and co came out on the stage. Starting with “Sigh No More”, the title track from their album, the boys entrapped the audience straight away and they couldn’t have asked for a better start of their first European tour (as cocky Brits the boys don’t count the UK as part of Europe). All four band members couldn’t stop smiling more or less the whole gig through and where pumped with energy as they were stamping away on stage. The boys seemed genuinely happy and moved by the response they got from the Danes. When the whole audience sang along to “White Blank Page” Marcus seemed dazed and a bit chooked that “a bunch of Vikings” were singing their song. WBP was followed by a new song which didn’t diverge much from the tracks on the current album but it was clear the audience preferred well-known songs like “I Gave You All” and “Little Lion Man”.

Swapping instruments like you would swapp clothes the boys were tight the whole set through and could easily have made you believe they’ve been playing together for a decade or longer instead of a couple of years. Their confidence never swayed and neither did their enthusiasm. Probably for good reasons since the audience couldn’t have been more receptive. If the rest of the tour will be anything like this show Mumford & Sons have a great couple of months ahead of them. Or as Marcus said “We got towels on stage now and when you have towels, you know everything is going to be alright as a band”.

Could it really be that this is the year we finally get to see a new album from Swedish indie popsters The Radio Dept.? According to Labrador Records, their third album Clinging To A Scheme is being released on April 21. Webcuts remains a bit skeptical.

Rumors of a third album started circulating already in 2007 and when the single “Freddy and the Trojan Horse” was released at the beginning of 2008 it seemed the wait was almost over but as an old Swedish proverb says “the one who is waiting for something great can never wait too long”.

Judging from the first single ‘David’, released earlier this year, and the second single “Heaven’s on fire”, it will be worth the wait.  The follow-up single “Heaven’s on fire” arrives on March 23 through limited release via Labrador Records. Only 2000 copies of the CD single are being released so head to Labrador’s website and get your copy. The single features a sample from Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and also includes a cover of “All about our Love” by Sade.

The band is also heading out on tour, starting off in Asia with a handful of shows in Japan and one in Singapore. The boys return to home for spring shows in Scandinavia, the UK and Italy and of course for the traditional some summer festivals.

The Asian and European live dates are as follows:

03/04/10 Japan: Osaka –Sunsui
04/04/10 Japan: Nagoya – Tight Rope
05/04/10 Japan: Tokyo – Fever
07/04/10 Singapore – Zouk
08/05/10 Sweden: Uppsala – Västmanlands-Dala Nation
13/05/10 Sweden: Linköping, – Herrgår’n
14/05/10 Sweden: Malmö – Kulturbolaget
15/05/10 Denmark: Copenhagen – Lille Vega
20/05/10 UK: London – Bush Hall
21/05/10 UK: London – Stag & Dagger Festival 2010
22/05/10 UK: Glasgow – Stag & Dagger Festival 2010
22/05/10 Sweden: Stockholm – Debaser Medis
27/05/10 Sweden: Hässleholm – Siesta!Festivalen
02/06/10 Italy: Milan – La Casa 139
03/06/10 Italy: Ravenna – Hana-Bi
04/06/10 Italy: Rome – Circolo degli Artisti
05/06/10 Italy: Turin: Spazio 211
29/07/10 Sweden: Emmaboda – Emmaboda Festival
14/08/10 Sweden: Göteborg – Way Out West

When Victoria Bergsman left the Concretes a few years ago it appeared as if she was finished with the music industry. Leaving a band about to make it big is not often a smart career move but then again Victoria doesn’t seem to be the person that is afraid to break norms or take alternative routes. Her new album demonstrates this more than anything. In recording East of Eden, her second album as Taken by Trees, Victoria took the path south of the Himalayas and east of Persian Gulf to the city of Lahore in Pakistan to discover the rhythms of the east.

By overcoming cultural differences, struggles to keep the electricity going and through encounters and cooperation with Sufi musicians an album out of the ordinary has been created. While Open Field was a minimalist album with few instruments on every song East of Eden contains far more layers. The South Asian influences can be heard more or less throughout the album with local musicians doing backing vocals, traditional South Asian drums and various flutes frequently being used. It would however be erroneous to place the album within the category of world music. Victoria is after all the Swedish crown princess of indiepop. Her twee-like voice  and the straightforward and somewhat melancholy lyrics on the album verify this.

Opening track, “To Lose Someone” best encompasses the different influences. It‘s a gentle pop song but with an extra spice to it through the various Pakistani instruments being used. The mark of Dan Lissvik (one half of Swedish production team “Studio”), who helped produced the album, is also noticeable with certain rhythms and the beats of soft drums (not bongos but dholak and tabla) which brings to mind his band. East of Eden is also at times reminiscent of El Perro del Mar’s new album, perhaps a result of both being produced by members of Studio with Sarah Assbring (El Perro del Mar) herself contributing backing vocals on the album.

East of Eden at times does suffer from tracks running too similar to each other, but there are some exceptions. In “Tidens Gång” Victoria sings in her native tongue and sadly enough it doesn’t seem to fit. It’s not that she sings in Swedish (“Bekännelse”, also in Swedish fits beautifully), it’s rather the sound of the song which departs from the rest of the album, bringing troubadours from the early 1970s to mind. It all falls into place though with Victoria’s reinterpretation of Animal Collective’s “My Girls” in “My Boys”. Victoria makes it her own by mixing the influences from her past with her current surrounding just right. The second album can be the hardest one to produce and Bergsmen hasn’t taken the easy path. The end result is delightful and one that surprises. Hopefully it will inspire other acts to choose more unconventional routes in their creative process.

Way Out West – Slottsskogen, Gothenburg – Saturday 15 August 2009

Day two and the weather forecast in Gothenburg is grim. The sky is overcast, rain predicted and the bill for Saturday favours the more eclectic music fan who likes a little world music with their rap, rock and pop. The deluge of American bands that played Friday are no doubt at their airport chasing their next festival date, while the rest of us are deciding whether to pack a poncho and wondering if Patrick Wolf will throw a tantrum. With today’s reduced number of A-listers Wolf manages to attract a big crowd to Linné, but he keeps them there too. Charming the audience with wonderful violin melodies and lederhosen Patrick captures the moment and makes full use of it, especially when his hit song “The Magic Position” generates a great deal of moves amongst the audience.

First out on Flamingo for the day is Jenny Wilson, the smug sweetheart of Swedish pop. Like a peacock Jenny trots around the stage smiling until she pulls out the silver rifle and becomes a hunter. Despite the moisture hanging in the air and the thousands simultaneously pulling out their ponchos Jenny captures the attention of the audience who keep grinning and dancing. Jenny gives us tunes hard to place within one category as she makes her own kind of pop music with influences drawn from R&B and disco to jazz and soul. Favourite moments during the show: “Let My Shoes Lead Me Forward”, “Hardships” and “Clattering Hooves”.

The last twelve months last year has been busy for Vampire Weekend. The debut album of the American boys from the east coast is a top seller (or top downloader) and the band has toured around the world. Looking like colleague boys out on dates Ezra Koenig charms all the fourteen year olds crowded in front of the stage. When the band plays hits such as “Blake Got a New Face”, “Oxford Comma” and “I Stand Corrected” the girls in attendance go nuts. While the songs are all solid something is lacking. Maybe the boys are tired, only Ezra seems to be bothered while the rest are looking a bit bored or a little scared even, if we are to be honest. A few new songs are added here and there which makes things a little more interesting and judging from a first listen the new album is going to be pretty similar to their energetic, groove-pop debut. Koenig ended by saying “see you next year” so who knows we might see the boys back in town before too long.

Having threatened to interfere with the festival all weekend, the rain that came down during Vampire Weekend’s set lingered on for the next few hours, sending the Webcuts team running backstage for cover and liquid refreshments. It is with great sadness to report that we missed Dead Prez and Nas, who I’m certain put forth outstanding performances, but perhaps if rain had to prevail at all this weekend, we’re glad it happened then.

Suming up the the Wolfmother gig in two words would be; sweat and sweet. After an afternoon filled with rain, some dancing and rocking was just what the cold and wet Way Out West crowd needed and that is what Wolfmother delivered. It’s impressive what Andrew Stockdale has managed to create considering in the last six months or so he’s the only original member left. The band gives their all on stage and the audience respond appropriately with the loudest roar of the festival arriving when Stockdale plays the riff to their Guitar Hero hit “Woman”, the audience collectively losing their shit in a fit of moshpit mania.

The highlight of the festival for many Swedes was obviously My Bloody Valentine, but even those in attendance would agree that their sound was the worst of any band to perform. The vocals were inaudible and the performance lacking in any cohesion, and were we to speak against the hipster’s ten commandments, Loveless ain’t all that, and My Bloody Valentine as a live band weren’t all that either. Noticeably silent throughout the entire set, the band stagger through key Loveless tracks like “Only Shallow” and fan favourite “Soon”, but it was the less complex and more noise driven pop tracks from the Isn’t Anything era that picked things up. The band acknowledged the crowd toward the end, Kevin Shields offering a polite thanks before “You Made Me Realise” tore a hole through the Gothenburg night sky. Even with the benefit of earplugs liberally handed out before the set, the extreme noise terror breakdown seemed like less of an endurance test than the rest of their set was.

Lily Allen closed the main festival proceedings sashaying across the stage to the tune of “Everyone’s At It” , wearing a zippered up black hoodie that she progressively removes to reveal a see-through black mesh top that had all the photographers in the pit falling over themselves to get a shot of, and will have everybody in the audience talking about on their way home. Fair play to Lily, she had our complete attention after that. A surprising delight in concert, Lily deserves much more credit for her music than her mouthy countenance takes away from. A set balanced with tracks from her debut and follow-up It’s Not Me, It’s You, Lily adds a choice cover into the mix of Kaiser Chief’s “Oh My God”, but it’s the pop brilliance of tracks like “LDN” and “Smile” that add some festival flavour. If the English acts brought anything to the Swedish audiences it was their fondness for profanity, with Lily leading the audience singalong on every mother’s favourite track “Fuck You” and Webcuts bidding her a fond “fuck you very much” farewell.

Way Out West – Trädgå’n, Gothenburg – Saturday 15 August 2009

In what we promise is the last mention of Deerhunter in these pages (for a while) what should’ve been a triumphant end to the festival, closed with a whimper. Whilst the venue was near capacity for Gang Gang Dance who bored us into submission with the tribal motions, numbers thinned out considerably afterwards as time ticked on and Deerhunter took forever to get their gear ready. You can only wonder about those who queued waiting to get in outside and gave up. Such was the complaint of many who tried to get into these clubs, including ourselves who had been turned away earlier when trying to see Jay Reatard at Sticky Fingers. Luckily we had a photo pass and the tenacity to talk our way in for Deerhunter tonight (and the previous days), otherwise we probably wouldn’t have had any luck at all with these Stay Out West club shows.

Deerhunter walked onstage around 2:30 am, Bradford uncharacteristically quiet and seemingly unimpressed with the couple hundred people still milling around. Working their way through a short set of eight songs that began with “Calvary Scars”, new track “Rainwater Cassette Exchange” and “Dr. Glass” from the Flourescent Grey EP, it was clear the band, Bradford in particular, were not into it. They played a few more tracks, fulfilling whatever set minimum they’d agreed to and then pulled down the festival curtain with the hypno-disco of “Octet”. There were a few upturned faces left feeling a little cheated. Such high hopes we had.

All things considered this was a step-up from last year, not in terms of big name acts, in which there was a significant drop from the likes of Nick Cave and Neil Young, but definitely in the form of some inspired selections and thorough utilisation of the city’s locations for after-festival action. These additional Stay Out West concerts were a good idea in theory but impractical when considering the quality of the bands and the size of these venues. Obviously there were bound to be some disgruntled people locked outside, but often this shouldn’t have been the case. Regardless, we had a ball, and we’ll definitely be back next year.

Way Out West 2009 – Part 1 (Thu-Fri)

Text: Craig Smith, Lisa Hallquist, Tommy Karlsson
Photos: Craig Smith, Lisa Hallquist

When citing Nick Cave, Sonic Youth and PJ Harvery as influences you might expect an artist with dark lyrics and raw tunes but Mélanie Pain is far from sinister. Even when she describes a particularly bad break up it feels like she’s got a little smirk on her face. With her sweet, gentle voice and cute appearance she’s more like a young Françoise Hardy than a cool Kim Gordon.

Although My Name is the debut album from the French chanteuse she is no stranger to recording or touring. Pain has been one of the lead vocalists in Nouvelle Vague (“New Wave”) since they started in 2004. Nouvelle Vague does beautiful versions of some of Webcuts’ favourites songs from the ’70s and ’80s (including Echo and the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon” and New Order’s “Blue Monday”) and while My Name is not poles apart from Vague it’s good to hear Mélanie do her own thing. Like her primary band’s albums, this could probably be played at a hotel bar or in a Crabtree & Evelyn store. However the gentle bossa nova beats of Nouvelle Vague have been replaced by a hint of soul, a tiny splash of folk and a big dose of mellow pop. Mélanie herself describes the music as “somewhere in between pop, folk, Americana and chanson Française”.

We all know that breaking up can be hard but sometimes it can take awhile before you realise what a relationship actually caused you mentally, physically or both. Mélanie sums it up succinctly in “Bruises” — “I was sitting on my bed just pretending to be sitting on my bed when bang… I have so many bruises but you have such a smile/I have so many scars I can see them in your eyes”. Another stand out is the title song, “My Name”, a gentle tune that brings Harry Nilsson or Simon and Garfunkel to mind but the other English language tracks don’t really leave a lasting impression. That’s left to those sung in her native tongue such as “Helsinki”, a heartbreaking duet between Mélanie and Julien Doré, about love at a distance, which evokes the richest emotions and provides the greatest depth on the album, and “La Cigarette” a Enio Morricone western style epic.

Mélanie’s voice is soft and comforting but somewhat hampered by a minor range. She could easily fall into the “three songs trap” (i.e. you love about three songs then you start getting bored). The mix between French and English keeps things interesting and there are some real gems here. Most of all it’s a charming effort — she could be singing about beating up grannies and robbing five year olds of their pocket money and it would still sound cute. My Name is a bit like candy-floss, light and sweet but at the risk of becoming too sickly.

This summer seems to be the season for some of Webcuts Scandinavian HQ’s favourite acts from the ’90s to butt their way out of a prolonged hibernation and start on new pastures.

Webcuts already reviewed Yvonne’s comeback gig in Gothenburg but now it is time for Swedish lo-fi and alt.country fans to get their own special treat. Christian Kjellvander and the rest of the boys from Loosegoats will reunite for three concerts, including one at Pustervik during the Way out West festival in Gothenburg. Shows in Malmö and Lund,  although still unconfirmed, are also on the cards, according to an interview with guitarist Magnus Melli Anderson conducted by Sydsvenksan.

Loosegoats formed in Malmö during 1994, and were influenced by both country rock and grunge. After they released three moderately successful albums, Kjellvander went his own way in 2001 for a successful solo career. The band started stiring again a few years ago and recently they started jamming just for laughs, but now feel ready to share their old gems with the rest of the country. But don’t expect any new treats, no new tracks have been recorded and there aren’t any on the way either. Instead they will recycle the set list from their last concert eight years ago. Hopefully the band will be encouraged by the response to the concerts and bring us some new tracks in the coming years. We can dream…

For the third year in a row the brains behind Way Out West bring us a great mix of interesting newcomers, some artists who are just beginning to find their stride and a couple of absolute legends. On the 14 of August 2009 it is time, once again, for lovers of good music to take over Slottskogen in Gothenburg. Webcuts was there in force last year and this year is shaping up to be bigger and better.

The festival actually starts the day before at different clubs around the city. Expect big crowds queuing up to get into these venues to see artists such as the energetic Jay Reatard who brings a mix of garage rock and punk, Crystal Antlers with their noisy retro-pop, the melancholic yet charming Vetiver, Woodpigeon, who continue the tradition of quality indie-folk acts from Canada, the singing Bird called Andrew and the list goes on. But special mention goes to Liverpool’s Echo and the Bunnymen who will perform their classic Ocean Rain album in its entirety.

So who should we look forward to see in Slottskogen? Well, skip eating ‘cause it’s going to be a tight schedule. To help you out here’s a look at what’s on the menu. If you don’t want to feel left out Antony & the Johnsons backed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will be a must see and likely to be on everyone’s lips the following week. Just imagine Antony Hegarty’s remarkable voice accompanied by over fifty people playing violin, cello, trombone, clarinet and other instruments… will it be anything but amazing?

There is plenty more to look forward to though. Some of Sweden’s finest ladies will be out in force including Jenny Wilson and her soul infused beats, El Perro del Mar (playing at a club, not in Slottskogen) will remind us of our broken hearts and Fever Ray who will not only showcase her out of this world music and vocals but also a light show that won’t be soon forgotten.

But it is not just the Swedish acts that lure us to Way Out West. Managing to secure artists from around the globe 2009 boasts appearances from the magic couple Amadou & Mariam who will bring a bit of Mali and world music spice into town, Calexcio who will transport us to the American South with their mix of country, rock, folk and latin, while Zach Condon’s Beirut will enchant us with their Balkan indie pop and their friends in Grizzly Bear will likely to divide opinion as it has on this site. Who’s right? You be the judge.

Scotland’s Glasvegas need no introduction; their debut album last year was widely lauded from many including ourselves. Their last show in Gothenburg sold out in minutes so expect the stage to absolutely rammed. But it is the thought of seeing legendary My Bloody Valentine that has Webcuts enraptured. If it’s anything like their gig at Roskilde 2008 it’ll be worth the almost twenty year wait. But please, bring your earplugs!

Not on Webcuts “too see” list but sure to draw considerable crowds are hip hop heavyweights Nas and Dead Prez and pop princesses Lily Allen and Robyn.

Other bands not to miss: Vivian Girls,Vampire Weekend, The Big Pink, Bon Iver, Wilco and Hajen.

We’ll see you there! (Make sure you come back after the festival for Webcuts’ in-depth review and photos).

www.wayoutwest.se