Songs You May Have Missed #413

adolf

Adolf Fredrik Girls Choir: “Vem Kan Segla (Who Can Sail?)” (2006)

Founded in 1971 by Bo Johansson, the Adolf Fredrik Girls Choir of Stockholm, Sweden is now ranked among the foremost in the world. It represents the Adolf Fredrik Music Classes, Sweden’s oldest specialized school, which dates from 1939 and was founded to allow children ages 11-16 an opportunity to develop their singing talents free of charge.

The results, as you can hear, are angelic.

“Who Can Sail?” is a solemn, dirge-like folk song from Swedish-speaking Finland.

Vem kan segla förutan vind,
vem kan ro utan åror,
vem kan skiljas från vännen sin
utan att fälla tårar?

Jag kan segla förutan vind,
jag kan ro utan åror,
men ej skiljas från vännen min
utan att fälla tårar.

Translation:

Who can sail without wind,
who can row without oars,
who can part from their
friend without shedding tears?

I can sail without wind,
I can row without oars,
but I cannot be separated from my
friend without shedding tears.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/04/15/songs-you-may-have-missed-775/

adolf 3

Songs You May Have Missed #412

pac air

Pacific Air: “Roses” (2012)

Info on this Los Angeles band is pretty scarce other than the following facts: They were formerly known as KO KO. Their 2012 EP is titled Long Live Koko and their full-length debut album is due June 11 of this year.

That and the fact that “Roses” is a catchy tune is all I can tell you. Their story has yet to be written.

Songs You May Have Missed #411

winterpills

Winterpills: “Rogue Highway” (2012)

On Winterpills’ fifth album the Northampton, Massachusetts band have crafted another winsome batch of indie chamber pop and Shins-style rock. They’ve been at this for a bit now, and still undeservedly under the radar.

The harmony-tinged jangle-pop of “Rogue Highway” might bring Fleetwood Mac to mind just as the album’s gentler acoustic ballads evoke some of Christine McVie or Stevie Nicks’ softer moments. They share with the Mac and the Shins a knack for the less obvious, more insinuative harmony line.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/03/05/recommended-albums-10/

Songs You May Have Missed #410

marina

Marina and the Diamonds: “Valley of the Dolls” (2012)

From Marina and the Diamonds’ second album, 2012’s Electra Heart (on Elektra Records no less). Marina and the Diamonds is actually Welsh-born Marina Diamandis who, in an era when “indie pop” is used pretty loosely, is truly a self-made artist whose idiosyncratic style, distinctive voice and quirkily interesting arrangements may bring Regina Spektor to mind.

Songs You May Have Missed #409

kino

Kino: “Leave a Light On” (2005)

Like the more recent Flying Colors project, Kino combined the talents of some of neo-prog’s most respected bands on a collection of melodic rock (or prog lite if you wish).

Any project involving the likes of John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites) and Pete Trewavas (Marillion) is likely to yield tasteful, well-produced stuff, which this is.

Songs You May Have Missed #408

cherry
Cherry Twister: “Maryann” (2000)

Cherry Twister are Steve Ward and a few of his similarly retro-pop minded buddies. As the title suggests, At Home With…is a collection of their homemade demos, recorded with obvious musical nods to sunny 60’s pop and maybe Fountains of Wayne, and occupying a place toward the bubblegum end of the power pop spectrum.

For pop fans with a sweet tooth.

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries