Maribel

Myspace // "Ecstatic" [Audio] // Aesthetics [Buy]

Lately, it seems that a simple analogy could be used to sum up the musical preferences of two of the Scando territories: Sweden is to sunny pop what Norway is to dark shoegaze. Norway has taken over and added to this decade's shoegaze, especially when you look at bands like Sereena-Maneesh, Simon Says No, and the Megaphonic Thrift.

Add to that list Maribel, who just recently released their debut album (out now in the US and Norway), who take fuzzed out dreamscapes to a new and exciting level. Long-player Aesthetics is nine tracks (plus a bonus song only available on a Norwegian 7") of what we have come to love from this genre. Now the next thing we want to know is this -- when are you coming to the States?

Pony the Pirate

[Photo Credit: Britt Merete Aase]

Myspace // "Walk the Shame" [Audio]

One of the problems with writing about bands from other countries is the lack of biographical information in English. Listening to bands sing in another language may be a different story -- good music is good music, but if I can't educate my readers about a band, then I have a little problem.

There are a few things that I can tell you about Oslo's Pony the Pirate. The Norwegian group has just recently relocated to Oslo and they feature a total of eight members, which may seem like quite a mess onstage, but they manage to make it work quite well. The band's soaring indie rock brings to mind bands like the Arcade Fire, and they are already grabbing a lot of fans, including the folks at NRK P3, which is Norway's largest radio station.