Second SpaceScan of 2010 presents two very different acts sharing no common ground other than the fact that they can both be described as music. First up are Stockholm duo Mackaper, who dabble in instrumental and blue pop performed on organs with built-in drum machines, and they are followed by Finnish quartet The Friend, who serve up catchy indierock with solid hooks and playful beats.

Mackaper (SE)
February 10 Stockholm organ duo Mackaper aka Markus Hulthén and Per Nyström release their debut album ‘When All Is Sad And Dawn’, but already first single ‘Tale Of Tales’ is out and about. As the album title hints and the songs on MySpace prove, their music is on the blue side, sometimes even gloomy, but the organs with built-in drum machines that are the primary instruments add a very pleasing, naïve innocence to the whole thing.

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The Friend (SF) (Photo)
Solid hooks, playful beats aimed at legs and arms, excellent guitars, and a lead singer (Anders Vuorimaa) with impressive skills – it’s all here in this Finnish rock quartet. Acts like Kasabian and Editors rear their heads in the background, but these serve mainly as a discrete pointer in terms of style. The Friend released an EP, ‘Sports’, back in 2007 and are currently working on their full length debut. An album I will begin looking very much forward to starting… now!

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WHO DO YOU THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD HEAR?
Although we spend a lot of time out there, we can’t claim to have heard every band on MySpace, so please feel free to recommend bands – Scandinavian, of course – you think everybody deserve to hear. We do reserve the right not to feature your band(s), but we guarantee to check them out. Drop links to: spacescan (a) allscandinavian.com