Nicolai Dunger - Here's My Song...

In a recent post on Spanish electro-pop duo 6pm, I remarked that I hadn't given props on C&T to the recent string of Swedish artists who have taken the blogophere by storm. Today, that no longer rings true. In what is surely a moment of great pride for the Swedish people and parliament, Nicolai Dunger today becomes the first Swedish artist to be featured on C&T.

Of the new music I've sampled recently, Dunger's is among the most impressive. This is polished stuff, and his voice is strong, commanding, and distinctive. For what it's worth, the artists of whom Dunger most reminds me are David Gray and Ryan Adams. This strikes me as the sort of musician that Lizzy from Come Pick Me Up might create in a lab if given the opportunity. I won't call Dunger an alt-country artist, but his sound certainly ventures into that territory. Other media outlets (is this a media outlet?) have compared him to Jeff Buckley and Van Morrison.

To date, Dunger has played with Calexico, Sufjan Stevens, Will Oldham, and Mercury Rev. In addition, he has gone on to work extensively with the latter -- Mercury Rev collaborated with him on his current album and acted as his band during studio sessions (with various additional musicians providing horns and strings). The album was recorded both in Dunger's home base in Stockholm and the Rev's turf in New York. The result was Here's My Song/You can have it... I don't want it anymore/Yours 4-ever, 11 tracks written in the wake of an unwelcome heartbreak that evolved into a damn fine album (see also Beck, Sea Change, etc., etc.). Coincidentally, it was officially released yesterday. I've grown to like this one even more with repeated listens, and it's made me curious about hunting down some of his back catalog. This is good stuff.

There are probably more slow songs than upbeat rockers on the album, but because of my personal tastes you're gonna get to sample more rockers than ballads. No sense bringing down the mood so close to the weekend, eh?

Nicolai Dunger - My Time is Now
Nicolai Dunger - Way Up High
Nicolai Dunger - Tell Me

Now crank up "Way Up High" and dance around your living room. You know you wanna.

Nicolai Dunger is currently at SXSW, and on Monday begins a tour with Leah's future boyfriend Rhett Miller (of Old 97's fame). Here are the Miller/Dunger tour dates (thanks to Brooklyn Vegan!), including an April 5 stop in Atlanta:

Mon Mar 20 '06 (9:00 PM) Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
Tue Mar 21 '06 (9:15 PM) Park City, UT Suede
Thu Mar 23 '06 (9:00 PM) Seattle, WA The Showbox
Sat Mar 25 '06 (9:15 PM) Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Mon Mar 27 '06 (8:00 PM) San Francisco, CA The Independent
Tue Mar 28 '06 (8:00 PM) Santa Ana, CA Galaxy Theatre
Wed Mar 29 '06 (9:00 PM) Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
Sat Apr 1 '06 (9:00 PM) & Sun Apr 2 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall
Wed Apr 5 '06 (8pm) Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Thu Apr 6 '06 (9:15 PM) Washington, DC Black Cat
Fri Apr 7 '06 (9:00 PM) Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
Tue Apr 11 '06 (9:15 PM) New Haven, CT Toad's Place
Wed Apr 12 '06 (8pm) Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Thu Apr 13 '06 (9:00 PM) New York, NY Webster Hall
Fri Apr 14 '06 (8:15 PM) Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater
Sat Apr 15 '06 (9:00 PM) Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall
Tue Apr 18 '06 (TBA) St. Louis, MO The Gargoyle
Wed Apr 19 '06 (8:30 PM) Indianapolis, IN The Music Mill
Thu Apr 20 '06 (8pm) Chicago, IL Park West
Fri Apr 21 '06 (9:30 PM) Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Sat Apr 22 '06 (8:00 PM) Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre

Sweden and Texas, together at last.

Buy Nicolai Dunger's current album here. He also has quite the back catalog, as you can see on his official website.

For more on Rhett Miller's new release, see Leah's 2/28 post at Confessions of a Music Addict.