| Daisy | Drowsy | Ethel Suspense | ||
|
Daisy showed early promise with their debut album , but since then
some unfortunate events have slowed down their progress. Thankfully
even a burned down rehearsal place wasn't enough to make them quit
and now things look bright for them. The new material is stronger
than ever. Some soft pop of the eighties seem to flavour some of
the new songs. That might sound scary, but instead it all works
beautifully. |
Drowsy is young finnish songwriter Mauri Heikkinen who got a record deal from excellent british label Fat Cat (also Animal Collective, Sigur Ros, Amandine etc) before no-one really knew him in Finland. Unfortunately it still seems that he is not very well-known eventhough he has two really good full albums out on Fat Cat Records. Drowsy's music falls a bit far from the centerpoint of this website.
People have been trying to categorize Drowsy into acid folk and
psych folk genres and it has been said that his music recalls Syd
Barrett, Robert Wyatt and Smog. But it's definitely not too weird
for pop fans either. There's beautiful melodies and atmospheric
tunes for us to enjoy. Drowsy makes hauntingly good material and
is definitely an artists that deserves much more recognition in
his homeland. |
There's never too many alt.country / power pop groups as far as
I'm concerned. And Ethel Suspense isn't just another decent band
in that excellent category. They certainly are one of the better
ones. If you've have soft spot in your heart for groups like The
Jayhawks, Wilco and Teenage Fanclub, you better make some room for
Ethel Suspense too. I'm sure you'll love them too. This is excellent
country-tinged guitar pop. |
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| The Everglades | Flannelmouth | Goodnight Monsters | ||
|
The Everglades writes melodic and colourful pop songs. There are
certainly some 60's influences and you can hear some Beatles here
and there. But that's never a bad thing. They categorize their music
as fockpop. I'm not really sure what that is, but it must be something
great, because I really like what I'm hearing. At least it's well-crafted
and beautifully arranged pop music. |
Intensive, passionate and emotional guitar pop. Flannelmouth is
creating dramatic pop music and therefore fans of groups like The
Smiths or Suede should take a notice. But it's not the whole thruth.
They are also able to write lighter beautiful pop tunes and the
dramatic side isn't always on the front. Anyway, if you're looking
for emotion-filled intensive guitar pop with strong vocals and plenty
of addictive melodies, Flannelmouth is a really good choise. |
Goodnight Monsters is a wonderful pop group and I hope great things
will happen to them. They might not be the greatest musicians on
earth, but they have something that all perfect masters of their
instruments doesn't necessarily have. Joyful approach, true love
for pop music and perfect pop sensibility are things I value highly
and these boys have those things covered well. Matti might be even
the best new pop songwriter in the country. During every Goodnight
Monsters concert, I just keep wondering how much I love his songs.
And because Valtteri can also write really good songs, the songwriting
department of the band is in great shape. Goodnight Monsters is
the band for you, if you love sweet and joyful indie pop. |
||
| Graceskull | Harry Hunks | Jadecroon | ||
|
Graceskull seem to be on a break at this moment in time and Ove
and Julius are mostly concentrating to their other music projects.
Anyway, this is really tender and beautiful music. Some might argue
that Ove's voice isn't strong enough to carry these beautiful songs.
They are totally wrong if you ask me. I even feel that the singing
is a huge part of their charm. Think of softly floating acoustic-based
material in the vein of Red House Painters. |
Harry Hunks is still alive and they are still the most charming
band in the country. Nowadays there's only two harry hunks Matti
and Antti, but they still have more charm than a room full of hollywood
hunks. Harry Hunks is a marvellous group and can do anything you
can hope for. Whether you're looking for beautiful and moody pop,
light and loungy treats or charming pop hits, they can provide it
all. I'm still hoping for a debut album to appear. if it happens,
I will be smiling for days, weeks or decades. |
Jadecroon delivers pop that actually has some power in it. Strong
singing, killer choruses, power chords in the vein of early Weezer
and not forgetting some angelic harmonies. Therefore Tampere-based
Jadecroon is a perfect selection if you are looking for a rock band
that merges vocal harmonies and pop melodies into their sound and
sight experience. Excellent stuff. |
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| Jolly Jumpers | Kevin | Kim Curly Band | ||
|
This is not pop music, but Jolly Jumpers is one of the best bands
in Finland and needs to be listed. They've been doing their own
thing for 20 years. You might call it desert rock or finnish americana
if you wish. I'm not sure what it should be called, but I know for
a fact that it sounds utterly wonderful. Rural blues, whisky-eyed
country, homegrown rock and two amazing guitarist. It just doesn't
get much better than this. |
You will fall in love with Helsinki-based group Kevin if you are
into psychedelic rock'n'roll. This is a great mixture of rock, psychedelia
and garage pop. A bit of classic rock and retro-ish vibes too. Kevin
is a tight and energic live group as well. They've played together
for a long time and it certainly shows. |
There's never too much of finnish americana. Helsinki-based Kim
Curly band is able to create marvellous songs that fall somewhere
between americana and folk rock. They are still in the early stage
of their hopefully brilliant career, but the first little release
shows bags of talent. Very captivating stuff and highly recommended
if you are into americana or country-tinged pop music. |
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| The Krispies | Kytäjä | The Latebirds | ||
|
I suppose The Krispies shouldn't be here anymore. It looks like
they won't ever return. Perhaps The Krispies was just a one-off
project. But a brilliant project nevertheless. Sometimes I wonder
have neither Knipi (Egotrippi) or Lasse Kurki (Lemonator) released
anything better during their wonderful careers in pop music. Solid
Gold Rockstars by The Krispies remain as one of the very best guitar
pop albums ever released in this country. |
Tired of all that pop music and looking for something different.
Jarno Alho & Janne Lastumäki do make wonderful pop music
in Sister Flo, but their other group Kytäjä is instrumental
music that takes you to the 70's. You can expect beautiful moods
and jazzy feelings. It's flavoured with soul, delivered with heart.
It's harmonic, it's captivating, it's even proge-ish. It can be
everything you want it to be. It's the escape to a dream of reality. |
The Latebirds seem to spend more time in america than in Finland.
And I suppose it's understandable, because there's not much market
for this kind of music in this little country. During their stayings
across the pond they've collaborated with folks like Wilco's Ken
Coomer. The Latebirds is basicly a rock group but there's a fair
share of country influences and pop melodies in their songs. It
all leans strongly to american songwriting tradition and major influences
are artists like The Band, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty. |
||
| Laurila | Leaky Soles | Le Futur Pompiste | ||
|
If I ever had any doubts, they completely faded away when I saw
Laurila's live performance. This is just one damn tight live band.
I don't think I've seen better live concerts from a finnish band
during the last year or two. This is quite rockin' pop, but there's
plenty of gorgeous melodies and Mr. Janne Laurila is one amazing
vocalist. They are quite versatile too. You can find sunny pop hits,
almost trendy rockers, good old power pop songs and even a ballad
or two. A wonderful band. |
Leaky Soles is a melodic indie rock / guitar pop trio from Turku.
Often compared to bands like Weakerthans and The Lemonheads and
they certainly take influences from US indie rock of the nineties.
Janne Rinne is an excellent songwriter and capable of writing some
of the finest indie tunes on these shores. Leaky Soles is a marvellous
selection, if you want some indie rock that is delivered with pop
sensibility. |
Sunny indie-pop sounds, easy-flowing colourful melodies and gorgeous
male/female vocals. Awesome thoughtful arrangements and some non-typical
instrumets like flutes and trumpets building up the atmosphere.
Le Futur Pompiste is a truly marvellous indie pop outfit. If you
want some guidelines, think of early Stereolab sharing their secrets
with 60's groups like Free Design. A great band and deserves much
more recognition. Thankfully the indie pop people know them all
around the globe. |
||
| Lemonator | Damn Seagulls | Lodger | ||
|
Lemonator is one of the first pop bands that I ever came across
with. Well to be precise, it is almost their fault that I became
a pop fan. Lemonator is also one of the better known bands on this
website. They started out in the late nineties by creating pretty
straightforward power pop, but the years have brought more colours
and more beauty to their sound. This is timeless, beautifully crafted
pop music. Music big enough to fill a stadium, songs small enough
to fill the hearts indie snobs. |
Damn Seagulls should have entered the bands section a few years
ago, but unfortunately I was totally blind and it took me until
spring 2007 to get my eyesight back and completely fall in love
with this group. This is gorgeous big sounding rock music with hints
of soul and punk thrown into the mix. Think of Bruce Springsteen
and the E-Street band, Afghan Whigs, Hold Steady. Fabulous soul-flavoured
rockers, but also plenty of slower material with pop sensibility.
A perfect live band too. |
You might have gotten to know them because of their wonderful animated
music videos. If you did you must have noticed that the music itself
is equally brilliant. It's gorgeous melodic indie rock. Think of
Beck who is focusing on guitar-orientated rock music for a change.
Twisted tales and great melodies. Pretty recognisable sound too.
|
||
| Johnny Superhero | Hell Cat | Eadweard Muybridge | ||
|
Johnny Superhero is a group that gives me mixed-up feelings. On
the other hand, they have some really wonderful pop songs in the
vein of Nada Surf and The Posies, but some of the material is a
bit too rock for my taste. But the good stuff is indeed really really
good and I do love half of their material. It also needs to be said
that Johnny Superhero has a fabulous vocalist. What a wonderful
voice. |
Hell Cat is a glorious mess and a whole lot of fun. But not without
really good songs and killer hooks. They don't take themselves too
seriously, but based on their myspace tunes there certainly are
lots of great pop moments in the songs. It also seems that anything
can and will happen in the songs. To be honest I don't really know
much about them, but perhaps I'm wiser after I've seen their live
performance. Right now I'll suggest that you judge it yourself and
hit the link below. |
Well perhaps not pop music, but wonderful music nevertheless and
deserves to be included. To Tirzah for example is such a perfect
song that pitchfork would praise it to heavens, if it was released
by some "right" label like Drag City or Fat Cat. Very
unique folky singer-songwriter material and I totally love his voice.
If some label wants an imaginary culture award from onechord.net,
release Eadweard Muybridge's myspace songs as an seven inch single
and you'll have it. |
||
| The Dance | Hundred Million Martians | Samae Koskinen | ||
|
The Dance is a promising new group that released a great Campfire
Call Out -EP in late 2006. Few months later lead singer Olli Noroviita
left the group in order to be able to focus on his other bands.
Therefore the future is bit unclear at the moment, but new lead
vocalist Ville Pelttari is also a really good one, so there shouldn't
be huge problems in the horizon and I'm fairly confident that they'll
continue to give us highly melodic and energetic pop music. |
Buzzing guitars, power chords, high energy. These are some guidelines
that lead us to the music of Hundred million martians. That description
didn't sound very pop (or maybe it did), but there's no need to
worry. Despite the inevitable rock and even glampunk elements, they
are familiar with the tradition of powerpop and haven't forgotten
catchy melodies. Hundred Million Martians continues to impress with
each and every release. |
Samae Koskinen is the frontman of Sister Flo, but when he finds
time he also makes solo releases and tours with his band called
Taikabändi. His solo debut Vol 1 gained a lot media interest,
because the lyrics had been written by finnish novelists and poets
(okay it gained it because it was a fantastic album). It proved
to be a good idea and some fabulous pop songs born out of these
collaborations. The next solo album is scheluded for the year 2008. |
||
| Janne Lastumäki | The Electric Crayon Set | I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper | ||
|
Janne Lastumäki is a busy guy. He is playing in wonderful
groups such as Sister Flo, Kytäjä, Tolbiac, Kevin and
still manages to find time for own material. There are no official
solo releases. Just some demos on his myspace page, but I'm already
impressed. This is music that has a heart that heals you and arms
where you can rest. If you look up the phrase "beauty in sound"
from the web dictionary, it probably links you to Janne's myspace.
The music might take you somewhere in the 60's and 70's where light
pop psychedelia emerges with canterbury's folk scene and is then
flavoured by jazzy elements and progressive structures. |
The Electric Crayon Set is a psych-pop group led by Timo Pääkkö
(experienced musician who was also a founding member of Penniless
People of Bulgaria). This is 60's and 70's influenced psychedelic
powerpop and modpop. They've also played at International Pop Overthrow
festival at Liverpool. It's a band that I've managed to miss almost
completely which is a shame because based on myspace samples they
do make my kind of music. Especially Good Girl is a fabulous pop
tune with a killer chorus. |
I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper comes from Tampere. It's hard
to describe them, but you might get close if you think about electroclash
with buzzing indie rock guitars and synth sound from the 80's. It's
rhythmic and dancable pop music and a whole lot of fun. Perhaps
not the finest choise for fans of traditional pop like myself, but
certainly provides a a good alternative. I
Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper Website |
||
| Esa Linna | Andy Lundström | Hi-Lo & In Between | ||
|
A little town called Ylivieska has brought a lot of pop talent
to this country of ours. Some of them are Linna brothers Esa and
Olli who started out with some punk pop in a group called Time Flies
in the early 90’s. Since then years have gone by and unfortunately
the years brought sadness inside them. A great songwriter, producer,
musician and all-around nice guy Olli Linna passed away few years
ago and left a giant hole in the finnish pop scene. Thankfully Esa
Linna continues to charm us with excellent homemade powerpop. There
are no releases available, but you can follow his talent on his
myspace page. |
Andy Lundström is a Vaasa-based pop singer-songwriter. I think
he used to play in Leopold Delloria, but nowadays he is focusing
on solo career. Anyway, he writes really good melodic pop tunes
and has a really good voice. The production might be too radio-friendly
for indie snobs like yours truly, but it can't hide the fact that
the songs are well-crafted and beautifully played. A new upcoming
talent and I certainly need to keep an ear on him. |
This is was a total last minute entry to this band section. I was
on streetcar myspace at 3 am and noticed this on their top friends.
Went to have a listen and instantly fell in love. Truly beautiful
down-to-earth country tunes. A great vocalist, beautiful instrumentation.
Totally my kind of stuff. And if that name has something to do with
Townes Van Zandt, I love them even more. To be honest, I know absolutely
nothing about them at this point. Only thing I know is that they
have two wonderful country songs on their myspace |
