Taken Too Young

The Tough Alliance were responsible for one of my favourite releases of 2007, A New Chance. Not included on that album was the excellent single 'Taken Too Young', released back in August. The track is actually a remix; the original is by Taken By Trees, the project of fellow Swede Victoria Bergsman (formerly of the Concretes). The original is great, and TTA's remix is possibly even better.

The Tough Alliance - Taken Too Young
The Tough Alliance - Taken Too Young (zipped)

- a.m.p.m.

Tough Shit

Hey kids, I'm back from the dead. November was the most BTA-unfriendly of months due to lack of internet access (moving to a new place in London is an extreme hassle), a punishing workload (jobs suck) and international travels (AmsterDAM).

But enough with excuses; let's get to the music. In the quiet interim, I've amassed a huge amount of excellent new music to share and the 2008 "best of" list grew in leaps and bounds.

First off, The Tough Alliance. A few weeks ago I promised more sweet Swedish sounds, and today I finally deliver. Hailing from Gothenburg, these guys self-released their incredible second album A New Chance in May on their label sincerely yours. It’s unquestionably electronic music, but with strong pop sensibilities and an 80s new wave vibe. Every track is solid, but reggae-infused masterpiece ‘Looking for Gold’ is without a doubt one of my favourite tracks of 2007.

Oh yeah, the duo (Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund) is also known for swinging baseball bats during performances, and have been thrown off stage during a show in Stockholm. Nice.

Check out the tracks below and then get the rest here. The whole album is only £3.50 and totally worth every penny.

The Tough Alliance - Looking for Gold

The Tough Alliance - First Class Riot

The Tough Alliance - Neo Violence

- a.m.p.m.