ARTICLES
Benoît Pioulard's Précis
Label: Dynamophone
Label: Hidden Shoal

ALBUMS
Aemae
A Lily
Arc Lab
Blotnik Brothers
Gui Boratto
Cagesan
Jeremy Caulfield
Loren Dent
Do Make Say Think
Eats Tapes
Enduser
Domink Eulberg
Explosions in the Sky
Michael Fahres
The Field
Frivolous
Maximilian Hecker
Hug
Hush Arbors
Jan-M. Iversen
Espen Jørgensen
Kattoo
O.Lamm
Bruce Levingston
Tobias Lilja
Lusine
Marcia Blaine School
The Missing Ensemble
Nebulo
Ölvis
Charlemagne Palestine
Palomar
Pornopop
The Postmarks
Propergol Y Colargol
The Retail Sectors
R/R Coseboom
Sankt Otten
Scratch Massive
Slow Dancing Society
Stars of the Lid
subtractiveLAD
Sunosis
Aoki Takamasa
Amon Tobin
Tokyo Mask
Kate Wax
Wes Willenbring
Windmill

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
Chaos.Lovers
Cryosphere
Hub: 2004-2005
Rufs
Satoshi Tomiie

3" /7" /10"/12"/EPs
Agnes
AM/PM
Arctic Sunrise
Audion
Characterize 1
Dartriix
Death is Nothing To Fear
Don't Be A Stranger
Einóma
Fusiphorm
Heartthrob
Human Nature
Infant Cycle / Antmanuv
Lilienweiss
Luci
Mauve
Paco Osuna
Ben Parris
Carola Pisaturo
Portable
Sutekh
System
Aoki Takamasa
Cortney Tidwell
Andy Vaz

Don't Be A Stranger: Ho Ho
ia!

Ho Ho by Don't Be A Stranger (the name lifted from the infamously bad The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds) finds the Värmland, Sweden sextet offering up an engagingly melodic mix of New Wave and pop on four diverse songs. Though the group's comprised of one-time Fidget and Honey Is Cool and current Hip Whips & Konie and Ebon Tale members, its foremost identifying characteristic is lead vocalist Liv Widell who sings in a style that vaguely recalls The Cardigan's Nina Persson and, in the leapfrogging chorus of “Perfect Problem” especially, Jane Siberry. In addition to that song's lazy swing and a laid-back vocal, the EP features the wistful pop of “Lonely Together” and the bluesy, piano-based “No Surprise.” The release includes memorable moments: an occasional strong hook (“We could be lonely but together / We could be lonely all the time”) plus dramatic tension generated by wobbly synths and brooding guitars in the night-time ballad “Yellow Moon.”

April 2007