Friska Viljor :: "Larionov"

The first seconds of "Larionov", the first single from Sweden's Friska Viljor's forthcoming album, are a little like getting dropping to the middle of a Springsteen bridge. Horns ride up the tonal scale and then back down, legs kick out and the glasses on your table rattle from the din and your fist. This brassy in medias res opening eventually crops back up in the chorus, only this time with hook-laden lyrics about "the answers to my beating heart". It recalls a more fun version of The Rumble Strips' 2006 "Motorcycle", with the setting changed from a grey, British lane to the back room of a rock club that only allows major keys and never lets you sit down. Irrepressible in their ebulliance, Friska Viljor, who have been doing this brass-driven indie rock for awhile now, have the LP The Beginning of the Beginning of the End out on March 25th.

Friska Viljor - Larionov by Cryingbob

Magic Bullets :: "Lying Around"

There's more than a little nihilism in Magic Bullets' "Lying Around", a mournful, deeply textured piece of post-punk. Sounding like it could easily slide into a early-career Cure compilation (listen for the Robert Smith yelps), the San Francisco-based indie-poppers rely on a playful bass line and bits of acoustic guitar to keep things light while unleashing lyrics like "I'm setting you up/and letting you down/doesn't mean a single thing." This repeated and insistent denial of meaning is the light motif, a not-so-hidden action plan for your departure, "since you've gone/I've only been lying around." It isn't a threat, but it is a description, meaningless or not.

Listen :: Magic Bullets - "Lying Around"