Photo Credit: Julie Pinzur
Photo Credit: Thomas Green
Photo Credit: Thomas Green
“Sofia Hardig doing exciting things … beneath the surface bubbles Sonic Youth .. combine the blue-bottomed vocal rock temperament” Dagens Nyheter, National Swedish Press
“The wild wolfwomanstyle she has done well. It is wonderful grinding and darkness and thunder … Sofia sings with aggression and drags her hair in the dirt and is a chick with raw potential.” Expressen, National Swedish Press
The multi-instrumental Sofia Härdig is the latest example of another world class Scandinavian export that’s been dominating the music scene for a while now. Having worked with household Swedish names like theGrammy Award winners The Hellacopters and Bob Hund, as well as having collaborated with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore’s Julia Crafitz on Free Kitten, she is now ready to expand onto the world with the release of her upcoming new single Sitting Still.
It’s hard to take something as raw as the blues and make it sparkle with unadulterated sheen but on Where the Bees Come to Die, Boy From the Crowd manages rather effortlessly over a mere handful of tracks. The sound never strays far from its initial source leaving the sting of the scraped soulful rock throbbing throughout the EP. Rather they find their corner in the garage, stomp it to their liking, then settle in for the long haul.
Bent Up Halo, the debut album from New York’s Broken Guru, infuses ’60s garage pop and proto punk influences with raw modern energy and impact to create a swaying, gaunt phantom of pure onyx rock ‘n’ roll. Garage bands are often comprised of hep ghouls with one bony hand rifling through an enviable record collection and one foot in the grave that doesn’t want them and in this way Broken Guru don’t break tradition. They’re every bit the lithe revenants you’d expect, but between their sonic mastery and penchant for crafting catchy pop tunes, you’re still likely to succumb to the distinct shimmer in their psychedelic black hole.