Page are Sweden’s original poptronica band. Founded when Eddie Bengtsson traded in his drum kit for a couple of monophonic synths, Page’s melodic signature has been a key feature of the Nordic electronic music scene for more than three decades. In that time, the line-up has sometimes changed, as have the commercial fortunes of the band, but the arrival of a new Page release is still a reason for excitement.
“Lägger Av” (Energy Rekords) doesn’t break the mould. Upbeat, Moog-driven, singalong pop is what a Page single should sound like. It’s music for parties, driving with the roof down and catching the eye of someone cute. The gloom of a Swedish winter cannot penetrate the harmonies and handclaps.
That’s a theme taken more literally in the virtual flip track, “Det Syns Ingen Snö.” A remake of an early Page favourite, this is a bouncy and punchy update from Bengtsson. First rolled out in a live setting in 2014, the “Music Lover’s Version” begs for remix treatment and release as a 12″ single. Marina Schiptjenko’s synth lines could eat most dance music for breakfast, while Bengtsson has transformed the song into an uplifting, romantic classic.
There are two other tracks on the release, including a version of “Sånt Som Inte Går” by Johan Baeckström and an industrial remix of “Spottar Långt” by Covenant’s Joakim Montelius. They apply very different treatments to the raw material, which makes for interesting listening. At this pace, the forthcoming Page album might be the first to invite its own remix companion.
DJs of the world, take note.
“My life is my art,” says Cosey Fanni Tutti. On the flip side, “My art is my life.”
The musical history of Throbbing Gristle has been told and re-told by its participants, but Cosey’s Art, Sex, Music (Faber) reveals just how complex and emotionally charged the personal relationships between its members were. As the sole female member of the group, Cosey spent time in bed with each of her bandmates, separately or together (though, in Sleazy’s case, it must be said, in the interests of an anatomy lesson). This fueled tensions that eventually pulled the band apart: P-Orridge, who initially encouraged group escapades, grew to resent Cosey’s independence and used violence to show his feelings; while Cosey and Carter sought relief from P-Orridge’s tantrums in each other.
If you’re going to call your band Cosmic Overdose, you’re going to have to deal with some preconceptions. The first is that you are a bunch of hippies, sitting in fairy rings and tripping on mushrooms. The second is that your material consists of overblown guitar solos. If your music is actually varied and complex, inspired by dada, punk and experimental electronics, and you are meant to be warming up for New Order, then it might be time to rethink the name.
If there is a surprise in the recently issued 
The first album they shared with the world was Dada Koko. From the opening number, “Investera i Framtida,” with its synthetic waves, it was clear that something new was being born. “Modern Dadaister” isn’t a million miles from XTC’s jerkier sound, when it starts, before growing into something trippier. There is a moment of calm in the arc of the album before “Tanten” explodes with a burst of dark energy. The Arp synth returns on the album closer, “
The second album, 4668, showed that the Swedes had absorbed something from Joy Division. As the Manchester doom-meisters had done, Cosmic Overdose were starting to push through the punk chrysalis to emerge as something more electronic. Their transformation into Twice a Man would put them at the forefront of the Swedish synth scene and keep them in its top tier for a generation. In the meantime, fans had the brooding “Android,” the well-crafted “Nina Fontanell” and the charming “Liten Storsint” to contemplate.
The third CD in this package collects live recordings, singles and strays from the archives. “Observation Galen” from 1979 is here with its B-side, “Isolatorer.” Then there are live versions of “Suicide Case,” “Ruta Nr 1” and “Läckan” from a show the same year in Kalmar. They reveal a band confident in its presentation with spellbinding material. Further live sessions follow from shows in Oslo, Lund and Stockholm (with an appearance by Lars Falk on “Väx och Njut”) before the album closes with the single, “To Night.”
The first FRKTL release, Atom, popped up on a Soundcloud stream one day about five years ago and immediately stood out as a work of excruciating beauty. Highly processed electro-acoustic material is rarely crafted as finely, and the album felt as if it had been spun from the most delicate threads. A little digging revealed it as the output of Sarah Badr, a young Anglo-Eygptian artist immersed in the digital stream of the 21st century.
The track is lifted from Covenant’s new album, The Blinding Dark. It sits nestled among tracks of remarkable strength, pointing out the sounds of burning homes and broken souls. It is a unique statement from Covenant, and sits alongside Portion Control’s “Refugee” as a song about mass displacement that you can dance to. Perhaps, if we weren’t bombing their homes and arming the mercenaries who attack them, the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa wouldn’t need to move to colder countries – a point your DJ can make by spinning one of the excellent remixes that feature on the single release.
The elements of A-Z, Newman’s first solo album, took shape at the same time as Wire’s 154. Properly regarded as the pinnacle of Wire’s first period, 154 was supposed to launch the band into the stratosphere; instead, after Bruce Gilbert panicked at the idea of commercial success, they adjourned sine die and let the moment pass them by. While Lewis and Gilbert retired to Blackwing Studios to record loops and drones, Newman was able to develop the material that was left behind into a formidable album of alternative pop. Although “Alone” became the best-known track from A-Z, after it was used in the soundtrack for Silence of the Lambs, the album is also notable for the original version of “Not Me,” which was covered on the first This Mortal Coil album. It also features “&Jury,” the kind of track that would keep teenaged Canadian kids awake all night listening to Brave New Waves.
For his second solo album, Newman veered into more conceptual territory, drawing upon his prog rock roots. Provisionally entitled the singing fish eschewed distinctive song titles in favour of a series of consecutively numbered “fish” tracks. Recorded entirely by Newman as instrumentals, albeit with some engineering help, PETSF owes something to Brian Eno’s ambient offerings, and the result was ostensibly described by 4AD’s Ivo Watts-Russell as an album waiting for the technology to catch up with it. The additional tracks on the CD release don’t add much to the canon but will suit completists; particularly those who have been hunting for “Here Come the Fleeing Rabbits.”
The third solo release from Newman, Not To, returned to more traditional terrain. “Remove for Improvement” is one of those tracks that can’t be called “lost” because it never went away but always deserved a wider airing. There are also reworkings of songs developed with Lewis or Gilbert, including “We Meet Under Tables.” Not To is half-way to being a Wire album, and it features not only the crisp drumming of Robert Grey throughout but also a guest appearance by Gilbert.