ceo - White Magic

Some trivia: one of my favourite bands from the past 5 years is a Swedish duo called The Tough Alliance which has perfected the art of escapism, either with their own records or with the amazing releases - Air France, jj, The Honeydrips, to name just a few - from their own label Sincerely Yours. So escapism is something that is being looked for by a lot of people these days, including myself. And what this fact actually means, I'm not really sure, so let's leave it to each one's imagination.
With ceo, a side project of Eric Berglund - one half of TTA -, that art is again sublimed into a whole new level, but this time we are actually taken to a different and unusual destination. Yes, there are still the sunny and summery vibes by the seaside, but we also seem to be travelling timewise, visiting an ancient period inhabited by higher entities.
So is this the grown-up and wise version of The Tough Alliance, and are they going all religious on us? Well, in a sense, yes, but very much on their own terms. Meaning that this journey does sound like a cult celebration aimed to reach a personal epiphany, but one that is done through a very pagan perspective.
In the end, those pop hooks and catchy melodies - now added by lush orchestral pieces - really let no mistake be made: it's still the (individual) celebration that counts. And with pagan rituals? White Magic! (9/10)

ceo - Illuminata (mp3 via Fuck yeah! Go team!)



ceo - White Magic (mp3 via Part-time music)



www.ceoceoceoceoceo.com

Come with me

In a few moments I'll be travelling to Stockholm, and what better way to celebrate it than with a wonderful new video from a project related to one of my favourite Swedish duos ever? ceo is none other than Eric Berglund, a.k.a. one half of The Tough Alliance, and Come With Me is the first single to be taken out of his forthcoming debut album White Magic. Enjoy it below, have a wonderful weekend and see you soon!



www.sincerelyyours.se

GBG Belongs To Us (A Love Letter In 3 Parts)

There's a quote saying "a city is not just a home, it's a lifelong companion". And then comes the epic love letter in 3 parts to their hometown Gothenburg. One part is their own personalized guide to the city. The second, a new glorious song, free to download. And the third one is a gorgeous teaser video. I just have to add that all this comes from my favourites Air France and you'll know why the day suddenly got so much better:

gbg belongs to us (a love letter in 3 parts)

jj - My Swag, My Life / My Life, My Swag (video)

"Standing on the threshold of a dream"

One of the latest releases from The Tough Alliance's Sincerely Yours label is by mysterious act jj, and whoever he/she/they are, the two songs from this 7'' fit more than perfectly into the label's very own aesthetic. Blissful pop with a touch of lo-fi, spoken-word samples, echoed voices and some gorgeous arrangements. I can never grow tired of things like this.

And for no apparent reason... let's go to Sweden

"Brand new ways to fit in"

One of my favourite songs. Ever.

www.sincerelyyours.se

Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep (video)

Swedish label Sincerely Yours latest output is this video for the better-than-wonderful "Collapsing At Your Doorstep", one of the best songs of the year so far. I've already written more than a few superlatives over Air France's latest EP here, so this time just enjoy it with some idyllic windmill images (apparently filmed by none other than Eric Berglund from label mates The Tough Alliance). Really, with a song like this, it's easy to say: "This place is amazing..."

MySpace page

Air France - No Way Down EP

Slowly but surely, Gothenburg-based Sincerely Yours is becoming one of the most interesting music labels out there. A small independent structure created by the one-and-only The Tough Alliance almost 3 years ago, this has been home for some great projects like The Honeydrips, Jonas Game, Joel Alme, Skimret or Air France, besides of course the always-too-good TTA themselves, with a very intriguing catalogue that is worth exploring in its own entirety (you can do it here). One of its latest releases is this second EP from Air France, and the least we can say is that it lives up to Sincerely Yours very own spirit (creating art in general and music in particular as the ultimate form of evasion and escapism) and even manages to improve it, if that could ever be possible. A collection of 6 songs clocking in at 23 bright-sunny minutes, "No Way Down" uses traces of tropical and Balearic elements and inserts a whole lot of fantasy and sincere joy to create a new world of dazzling beauty. Full of affecting moments, gorgeous sounds and elegant catchy grooves, what then takes everything apart is the feeling of innocent fun that is all over the place, increasing even more the intensity felt in here. Make no mistake, these guys really had no shame in imagining an idyllic paradise very far from reality, making music that could be its aural translation: out-of-this-world. Or, as the lyrics to "Collapsing At Your Doorstep" go: “Sorta like a dream? No — better.” (9,5/10)

MySpace page

The Tough Alliance - Neo Violence (video)

A gigantic Babel Tower! Lasers! Glass Breaking! Flashing lights! White greek columns! Neons! Smileys! The Tough Alliance can never disappoint me and, after subverting the whole music industry scheme of things, starting their own label, re-evaluating the concept of live shows and showing the finger to myspace, they once again hit all (all!) the right pleasure centers in the latest video taken from "A New Chance", which, incidentally, was my favourite album of 2007. In other words, and as appears on their site:

"and they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven..."
born and raised in babylon.

Official site

The Honeydrips - Here Comes The Future

Out on Sincerely Yours (a label owned by none other than my current-favourite subversive-pop duo The Tough Alliance), "Here Comes The Future" is the first record from Gothemburg singer/songwriter Mikael Carlsson and it's another one of those luminous pop moments the Swedes seem so found of. Sometimes including synths and other electronic elements, other times using only acoustic instruments, influences range somewhere between Saint Etienne, Jesus & Mary Chain and New Order, using disparate vintage elements that subtly produce something truly unique. And out of nowhere, we have a beautiful collection of gentle and intricate pop songs in our hands, songs that dream about a love that never materializes, full of emotional highs and downs, reverb voices and praising the feeling of being lonely only because. Perfect to be heard on sunny winter days (9/10)

The Honeydrips - (Lack Of) Love Will Tear Us Apart - feat. Hanna Göranson (video)



Official Site
MySpace page

The Tough Alliance - A New Chance

It would be too damm easy to write-off The Tough Alliance. Wait, another synthpop duo? Wait, these ones are also coming from Sweden? Add their inclination to write absurdly-happy songs that are on the verge of being too camp or not afraid to sound ridiculous to more conventional ears and you have a potential object of infuriated hate. And let's not forget their tendency to provoke and confuse, using the best agit-pop tactics available, resulting already in some very funny comments written by the Swedish press. So they glorify violence! They embrace hooliganism! And they lip-sync in their shows! But look past this basic (way basic!) reaction, and enjoy the fact that there's a band out there that doesn't look to be consensual and just wants to shake things up a bit. And, as there's more to them than the eye first meets, listen twice to their music and be surprised. Maybe you'll find that, behind the optimism and beach-party-vibes there are actually immense songs full of complex elements and rich details. In many ways, their sound ends up incorporating many of the things that have been heard in the last few months, like balearic rhythms or candid tunes, along with some other sonic surprises (you can even hear Mid-Eastern samples somewhere), resulting in a big cauldron never afraid to sound excessive or worried about following preconceived codes. So think poignant happy songs, pop-deconstruction, musical anarchy... and just like that, here's one of the most political records of the year. Explosive stuff. Or just an enthusiastic "fuck you" delivered with a sincere smile in the form of excellent pop-music. (9,5/10)

The Tough Alliance - First Class Riot (video)



Official Site