Acid House Kings are a favorite in the indie pop world. Their songs are some of the most upbeat, perfect pop you can find anywhere. To continue their excellence in everything pop, the band has teamed up with Television Personalities’ front-man Dan Treacy who lends vocals on Music Sound Better With You track “Heaven Knows I Miss Him Now”. Texas Bob of TV Personalities also lends his expertise on guitar.

The song can be found on a new Acid House Kings single, out on vinyl and digital formats October 18 courtesy Labrador Records. Grab the song below, but don’t forget to keep an eye out for the single — in also features two new songs!

Download: “Heaven knows I miss him now” by Acid House Kings feat. Dan Treacy

Amanda Mair is back with another single on Labrador Records. The song follows her debut on the label, “House”, as a danceable track packed with pop hooks. The new track is “Doubt” and it finds Mair continuing her surprising ability to craft a magical pop track filled with a maturity well beyond her young (16) age.

A song like this shows that true artists still exist; prior to Labrador’s discovery of Mair, she had never performed live, had no web presence whatsoever (not even the dated former musical haven of MySpace), and had not sent out recordings to any labels or press folk like yours truly.

Download: “Doubt” by Amanda Mair

Listening to Pallers‘ new track “Come Rain, Come Sunshine”, I heard something familiar: the voice of Johan Angergård. To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten about his involvement in the band’s early single, Humdrum. What I do recall from that early single is light electronic dance music with trance-like beats and pop-like hooks. “Come Rain, Come Sunshine” fits that memory perfectly.

Pallers is poised to release their debut LP on Labrador Records later this year. “Come Rain, Come Sunshine” is the first single off the album. Expect to see the single available late July and the full album come late September.

Download: “Come Rain, Come Sunshine” by Pallers

“Under Water” is one of my favorite tracks off Acid House Kings‘ new LP, Music Sounds Better With You, out now on Labrador Records. So it’s exciting to hear the band and label are giving it single status (just released via Labrador on June 28) and a new video!

The video features old family footage and was, according to the vimeo description, “filmed on Super 8 in the 70′s by Kent Angergård and Britt-Marie Angergård.” However, the footage itself was edited and produced by band member Niklas Angergård, who lends his vocals on the song.

Check out the video below and head over to Labrador Records to grab the new single!

Download: “Under Water” by Acid House Kings

Acid House Kings “Under water” from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

Amanda Mair is the latest discovery by Swedish label Labrador Records. If you’re like us, you dig pretty much anything that comes from Labrador, and this should be no exception. “House” is part folk-pop, part Euro-dance track. Mair hails from an island outside Stockholm. And get this — she’s only 16!

“House” fits an interesting place between El Perro Del Mar and Saint Etienne, or maybe even an then-and-now clash from The Concretes. The song begins softly with only piano and vocals, ultimately growing into a full and very powerful pop song.

Produced by Philip Ekström (The Mary Onettes, Det Vackra Livet), the song is off Amanda’s upcoming release out June 8.

Download: “House” by Amanda Mair

I have absolutely no clue what Det Vackra Livet means, but I do know that they create some pretty amazing and dark pop music influenced by the early 80s. This is the new project from the folks behind The Mary Onettes, and it’s pretty obvious. The sounds are vastly similar, with exception to the lyrics. Det Vackra Livet comes to us in the band’s native tongue whereas The Mary Onettes dole out their songs in English. Either way, it’s really, really good.

The video features Philip Ekströms of Det Vackra Livet, who directed the video with Hampus Nordenson, and Philip’s brother. We see Philip with a rifle and his brother in the woods beating a drum while wearing some strange fur outfit. Videos like this have great cinematography, which make them very interesting to watch. “Viljan” is no exception; it will likely to maintain your interest for some time. Add the song, and it’s a total winner.

“Viljan” can be found on Det Vackra Livet’s self-titled LP, out soon on Labrador Records.

Download: “Viljan” by Det Vackra Livet

Acid House Kings is back next month with a new album, their first in about six years. As the previous, Sing Along With The Acid House Kings, has been a favorite of mine since its release, their new one is easily my most anticipated album of 2011. Last weekend, I pre-ordered Music Sounds Better With You on vinyl; the anticipation continues. Thankfully, Acid House Kings have given us another song to bide the time. The song is “Would You Say Stop?” and it will be released as the band’s first single off Music Sounds Better With You on March 3.

On “Would You Say Stop?”, we find Julia Lannerheim at the helm on vocals, backed by super upbeat melodies and playful, bouncy percussion. There’s good reason many (myself included) consider AHK Sweden’s number-one pop band.

“Would You Say Stop?” was the song selected by fans to be the first single. The band posted snippets of four songs off Music Sounds Better With You on their website, also including “Under Water” (originally my selection), “I’m In A Chorus Line” and “Waterfall”. All four were delightfully happy tunes and, quite possibly, the most infectious pop heard in quite some time. The band is calling it their finest work, and you can already hear the truth in that statement with “Would You Say Stop?”

Music Sounds Better With You is available for pre-order now from Labrador Records.

Above photo by Henrik Halvarsson.

Download: “Would You Say Stop?” by Acid House King

Swedish fuzzed out dream pop group The Radio Dept. returns with a new EP called Never Follow Suit. Featuring lead title track “Never Follow Suit” continues what the band has been doing of late, melding together traits of dream pop, electro-pop and fuzz pop. “Never Follow Suit” is off the band’s recent LP, Clinging To A Scheme. Both are now available via Labrador Records on iTunes.

The label and band have made the title track available for our collective enjoyment, along with a remix titled “Never Swallow Fruit dub by Pistol Disco.”

Download: “Never Follow Suit” by The Radio Dept.

Download: “Never Swallow Fruit dub by Pistol Disco” by The Radio Dept.

Of Johan Angergård’s three bands, only Acid House Kings stays fixed within its prior works’ roots. This band has always created lovable pop music and that hasn’t changed one bit in their first single in five to six years, “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?”

With what sounds like a bass clarinet (or maybe just a regular clarinet – my ears are a bit rusty on some of the more non-traditional woodwind instruments) stealing some of the melody, and a signature indie-pop guitar riff, brother Niklas Angergård takes the vocal lead. Behind him, you’ll hear some light orchestration courtesy Johan and backup vocals by Julia Lannerheim.

Acid House Kings is a band that dominates in their ability to create some of the best indie pop music in the world. Thankfully, this too is a trait Acid House Kings retain in their latest offering.

Download: “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?” by Acid House Kings

I am at a loss for words. The People’s Record, the latest by Swedish pop group Club 8, defies explanation. The band has always fit the pop mold, often flirting between dreamy electro-pop and indie pop sensibilities, but this new stuff has islands-ish percussion, playful guitars, and obscure keys. It’s as if their traditional Swedish pop took a tropical vacation. We heard it on the album’s first single “Western Hospitality” and it’s written all over their latest single, “Closer Now”. These new sounds are upbeat, fun and completely refreshing. There truly is nothing like it out there in the world of indie pop.

The People’s Record is out now on Labrador Records

Download: “Closer Now” by Club 8

This is the new Sambassadeur video, filmed by label mate Philip Ekström of The Mary Onettes and staring Ekström’s eight-year-old nephew Mattis. “I Can Try” is your standard Sambassadeur tune; the band consistently produces great Swedish pop music in the vein of their prior work, each new single slightly better than the last. And each new single is unbearably catchy, yet contains a hint of sadness. The video is an interesting one, reminiscent of a lonely childhood filled with unique realities and a world view much too mature for a young boy. As Mattis sends his wooden boat into the water, and as he swings his sword, fighting invisible battles to save made up princesses, it makes me feel a bit nostalgic.

“I Can Try” is off Sambassadeur’s latest album, European, out now on Labrador Records.

Download: “I Can Try” by Sambassadeur

Sambassadeur “I can try” from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

OK, I love this. True to recent videos by The Legends, a band fronted by Johan Angergård who also appears in Club 8, the video for “Western Hospitality” features dancing in a manner you wouldn’t typically expect. First, the mystic and masterful electro tune “Lucky Star” off Public Radio, then again briefly on “Always The Same” off the recent Over And Over. “Western Hospitality” is the latest hit by Club 8 and once again Angergård and counterpart Karolina Komstedt incorporate dancing into a video, this time by a young girl who plays the often ignored office outcast. I’ve already raved about this song; paired with this video, it’s stands true as one of Club 8′s best tunes yet!

“Western Hospitality” is off The People’s Record, out now on Labrador Records.

Download: “Western Hospitality” by Club 8

Club 8 “Western hospitality” from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

Sweden’s Pallers gave us the critically acclaimed “Humdrum” a year or two ago, and backed the single with a few remixes of the song. Time has passed, and they’ve finally blessed us with a new tune, this one dubbed “The Kiss”. The song flirts with the same chill, DJ-inspired electronica of “Humdrum” but there seems to be a bit more depth to the track. It’s emotive, like its predecessor, but it also contains a bit more warmth.

States Labrador Records, who released the Humdrum single and will do the same on its follow-up, “The Kiss” was inspired by a DJ-set by Tobi Neumann in Ibiza and offers an unrivaled blend of hypnotic electronica, sweeping synthesizers and embracing pop-melancholy that just keeps building.

The statement is fitting; the song builds from its brooding, moody beginning into a solid, danceable track with a hint of overcast sunshine. In “The Kiss”, Pallers has audibly created an aura of hope. And it’s no wonder, it features Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Club 8, The Legends) of whom I’m an extremely big fan. “The Kiss” hits all the right points — it has a good beat, inspires movement, and has a hint of depression that simply cannot be ignored.

Download: “The Kiss” by Pallers

Listening to much of The Mary Onettes growing breadth of work, one gets the impression they are surrounded 80s LPs, and that this is where they draw influence. From Echo to The Church, Go Betweens to The Smiths, this band pulls all the right elements to create one of the freshest sounds around today. The latest tune from these Swedes is “The Night Before The Funeral” and it’s right up there with past hits like “Dare” and “Puzzles”. Opening with a heavy guitar strum which soon gives way to chamber-hall stringed instruments, “The Night Before The Funeral” isn’t so much a progression for the band than a tune complementary to their library. With The Mary Onettes’ blend of influences, it’s precisely what you’d want.

Download: “The Night Before The Funeral” by The Mary Onettes

“The Night Before The Funeral” was released as a Record Store Day exclusive in the US last weekend (although not in Bellingham, unfortunately). The digital single hits on May 5, but you can get your fill of The Mary Onettes between April 19 and 29, as the band storms the US for select shows (also not in Bellingham). The good news is that they will hit the west coast! Here are the dates…

April 25, 2010: Sunset Tavern in Seattle, Washington
April 26, 2010: Holocene in Portland, Oregon
April 27, 2010: Rickshaw in San Francisco, California
April 28, 2010: Soda Bar in San Diego, California
April 29, 2010: Viper Room in Los Angeles, California

It’s long been my opinion that anything Johan Angergård touches magically turns to gold. This belief has stood strong with all his projects, from The Legends to Acid House Kings. Club 8 has consistently come third on that list, but with “Western Hospitality” from the forthcoming The People’s Record, everything is about to change. It’s not that The Boy Who Wouldn’t Stop Dreaming didn’t have merit — it most certainly did. It just wasn’t as powerful as more recent albums by the other two, Over And Over (The Legends, 2009) and Sing Along With… (Acid House Kings, 2006).

“Western Hospitality” is easily my favorite Club 8 song to date. Karolina Komstedt’s airy, smooth vocals have a wisp of cool to them, while Angergård’s jangly guitar shuffle is borderline latin. Add a 60s keyboard sound and back it by erratic African drums and one begins to get the picture as to why I call “Western Hospitality” the band’s best song yet. It’s cool, it moves, it’s undeniably catchy. I may need to rethink my Acid House Kings, The Legends and Club 8 hierarchy. Hear for yourself…

The People’s Record is due out in May on Labrador Records.

Club 8: Western Hospitality [mp3]

My first impression of the first track off Sambassadeur‘s new LP, European, is that the song is easily their finest yet. With an emotive piano intro and outro, orchestral pop sensibilities, and schizophrenic percussion, “Stranded” seems to be a turning point for the band. Sambassadeur has always been a group to flaunt instrumentation, but here it’s never been as clear and forward, from the strings that enter as the introductory piano fades, to the deep clarinet solo just past the midpoint.

And the lyrics are at their finest as well: When your feet are moving easily / and the fireworks are on / You’re exactly where you want to be… This song is truly Sambassadeur at their greatest. With powerful songs like “The Park” (Migration, 2007) and “Between The Lines” (Sambassadeur, 2005) populating their past releases, I’m sure it’s safe to say that European has great things in store for us.

European hits February 22 via Labrador Records.

Sambassadeur: Stranded [mp3]

Beginning with a sample (bonus points if you can pinpoint that voice) and leading into The Radio Dept.‘s now signature eletro-pop meets fuzzed out, jangle-worthy synth lines, “Heaven’s On Fire” promises great things for the band’s forthcoming record Clinging To A Scheme. It carries on precisely where the band headed post the release of their second LP, Pet Grief; songs like singles “Freddie And The Trojan Horse” and “David”.

Like these songs, “Heaven’s On Fire” drops in hints of post-punk (of the more minimal assortment) and capitalizes on the aptitude for blending seemingly countless genres for a sound quite unique and always burning with genius. The song is the latest single to be released by Labrador Records; it comes out March 24 and features a Sade cover (“All About Our Love”). On April 21, a mere month after the single drops, Labrador will release Clinging To A Scheme.

The Radio Dept: Heaven’s On Fire [mp3]

Oh I’m loving this! It’s the new video by (what seems like) Sweden’s only native-tongue-singing band [ingenting]. The song is “Dina händer är fulla av blommor” and it’s one of their catchiest yet, easily matching prior favorites like “Syster dyster”, “Har kommer solen” and “Slapp Inb Solen”. A loose, very poor translation (no thanks to very poor online translation systems) could be “In Your Hands Full Of Blossoms” or possibly even “Your Hands Are Full Of Blossoms”. It’s a sad song, one full of longing and loss. The theme is carried through the video quite nicely, making my forthcoming compilation of the year’s best videos even harder to pare down.

“Dina händer är fulla av blommor” is the fourth track off [ingenting]‘s latest LP, Tomhet, Idel Tomhet, out now on Labrador Records. You’ll find the video and a few tracks from the band below – “Halleluja!” is off the recent release and “Här kommer solen” is off a previous one.

[ingenting]: Halleluja!

[ingenting]: Har kommer solen

[ingenting] – dina händer är fulla av blommor from nadazipp on Vimeo.

Here’s an amazing little video by Sweden’s Little Big Adventure. True to the band’s name, “Happiest Times” features a man on a journey in the more unconventional of senses. What makes this a good video is the near eerie way it progresses, with time sped up and a good concept: the character moves forward on his stomach with flowers and a briefcase, a wanderer roaming the countryside.

He has a mission, but you can tell he’s a bit confused, or maybe lost. When he pauses, you can see real emotion, even with the double-time video speed. And the song itself lends greatly to the video, as it should. “Happiest Times” dons the signature Little Big Adventure vocal sadness and electronic backing that make LBA unique.

“Happiest Times” can be found on The Hateful Eye EP, out now on Labrador Records.

Little Big Adventure: Happiest Times [mp3]

Little Big Adventure “Happiest times” from Labrador Records on Vimeo.

With an orchestral intro fit for Camera Obscura, Sambassadeur‘s “Days” sees the band returning to their roots and expanding their inclusion of strings. With “Days”, Sambassadeur hands over yet another great pop song and their best vocal hook since “Between The Lines”. Buried in a 70s folk-pop influence and including an upbeat shuffle in the percussion, Sambassadeur is sure to please fans of Belle & Sebastian and fellow Swedes and label-mates Acid House Kings. The song is off their new album European, due out next February.

Sambassadeur: Days [mp3]