Finnish music, General

One Chord to Another hits 23 + All About Chad, Olva, ITE EEROLA & Hattara

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Here we are. Twenty Three Strikes. A few years back I considered that it would be good to get to 23 years and call it a day by posting All About Chad’s Räkärodeo classic Twenty Three Strikes. Well here we are, but I will only fullfill one half of that idea. I will post the song, but I have no intention of quitting. Maybe someday if I lose the love for new music, but I just don’t see that happening. During the recent years I’ve fallen in love with artists/bands like ITE EEROLA, Kristiina and Hattara just as intensely as I did with Bridget, The Sugarrush and Office Building back when I started this thing in 2001. I hope I will never lose that almost childlike enthusiasm for new music, because that’s the best part of this. Hearing something new like Olva’s song Mehiläisille this year and just instantly being so wholeheartedly in love with everything about it. I understand if that can get a tiny bit annoying too, but if you are reading this anniversary post, you are probably well aware that this blog has nothing to with music critique and everything to do with passionately loving music.

One Chord to Another is a big part of who I am and I’m proud that I’ve been able to keep it going for such a long time. Sure it has its flaws and shortcomings and maybe it could be more if I was less lazy, more brave and not hindered with self doubt. Still I do think this has a lot of value. There’s so much beautiful new music in this messed up world and a lot of it won’t be covered in the actual music media at all or it will be just a sidenote there. And well unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot of that music media even left these days. There’s definitely still a need for the music bloggers that spend their spare time finding the new gems that fly under the radar. In the future it would be nice to find the time and energy to write a bit more and maybe organize some live concerts, but most likely things will stay relatively same and I’m quite content with that too. So I don’t think there will be a whole lot new on the horizon, but I hope you stay with me on this new music adventure. It means the world to me.

All About Chad – Twenty Three Strikes

There wouldn’t be this blog without Miettinen and his Räkärodeo radio show. These days I also cover a lot of music that maybe wouldn’t have been played on Räkärodeo, but it’s the clear foundation of my music taste and I owe everything to Räkärodeo. This song was a usual request whenever some of us listeners turned 23. That’s why it has to play on this blog’s 23rd anniversary. This is an indie pop classic from 1995. So not a new one, but extremely highly recommended.

Olva – Mehiläisille (Minna Records)

And then a few 2024 songs that I love. First my favorite song of the year. That’s the aforementioned Mehiläisille by Olva. A poignant and profoundly beautiful song where bees try to thrive on this planet after the humanity failed. Sounds devastating, but there’s a mountain of warmness and comfort in that song too. I have zero need to see Oasis live, but oh how I would love to see Olva.

ITE EEROLA – Näidenkin seinien takana (Panama-levyt)

I think I’ve mentioned it a few times that my favorite songwriter during the last few years has been ITE EEROLA. Everything just feels so heartfelt and resonates deeply. This latest single Näidenkin seinien takana is again something so pure and affecting and hits close home on a personal level too. I’m shy, quiet and socially clumsy and curling up inside four walls isn’t at all uncommon. Thankfully there’s live music that drags me out and songwriters like ITE EEROLA that make me at least open the window to shout their name to the world or the surprised upstairs neighbour who is walking the dog.

Hattara – Halla (Cotton Candy Company)

Let’s pick up the pace a little and share one song from the album I’ve listened the most in 2024. It’s the debut full-length Ehkä me nähdään huomenna from Helsinki-based dream pop band Hattara. They have quickly become one of my favorite bands. I loved all the singles last year and this new album is equally brilliant. But it’s way past midnight so time to quit the anniversary ramblings and just play Hattara on repeat until I fall asleep. Maybe more video/song posts later in the week. This is Halla from the new Hattara album.

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Playlist

OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #296

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I was away for the weekend, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time for this. I’m sure I missed a lot, but here’s a quick late sunday night edition of the new music weekly.

Album of the week is the new one from long time favorite Adam Remnant. There’s also new albums from Willie Watson, Native Harrow, Jack Barksdale (EP), Golden Everything, Eliza Thorn, Nick Lowe & The Los Straitjackets, Lunar Vacation, Bad Moves, Nada Surf, Owen Marchildon, Sunbuzz (EP), Daryll-Ann, Rubber Band Gun, Allegra Krieger, Terra Spencer, Malin Pettersen (EP), Kevin Gordon, Mac Leaphart and Tim Poovey.

Big Finnish release week too led by the new Iron Country Sisters and Samanna albums. Love them both. Also great new albums from Saimaa, Papa Reino, Matti Salo Quartet plus singles gold by The New Tigers, Jari Raaste, Joose Keskitalo & The Mystic Revelation of Teppo Repo, Kanerva feat Asa and Rakkaudella Janne.

And lots international singles too. Some early favorites came from Andre Ethier, Juliet McConkey, Adeline Hotel, Alex Dupree, St. Lenox, Snowgoose, Julianna Riolino & Adrian Underhill.. again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. Twenty three strikes on Tuesday, so maybe some blog anniversary posts this week. No other celebrations. Unless some unofficial ones like the Rosita Luu concert on Friday. Oh and Christopher Paul Stelling is in Finland this week. Go and see him. I’d love to, but pretty much impossible due to work. Love love love.

1. Adam Remnant – Big Doors (BIG DOORS, Coiled Myth Records)
2. Willie Watson – Sad Song (Willie Watson, Little Operation Records / Thirty Tigers)
3. Jack Barksdale – Insanity Defense (Exhibit A) (Out of Order EP)
4. Native Harrow – Divided Kind (Divided Kind)
5. Golden Everything – Weighed Down (Sweet Old World, Rancho Deluxe Records)
6. Eliza Thorn – I Tried (Somebody New)
7. Nick Lowe & Lost Straitjackets – Crying Inside (Indoor Safari, Yep Roc)
8. Nada Surf – Second Skin (Moon Mirror, New West Records)
9. Bad Moves – Sorry That I’m Not Better (Wearing Out the Refrain, Don Giovanni Records)
10. Lunar Vacation – Just for Today (Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire, Keeled Scales)
11. Owen Marchildon – Weather Gurl (Dangling Towards Heavy Sunlight)
12. Sunbuzz – Let It Ride (Hello Again EP)
13. Daryll-Ann – Tom, Wilko and the Strange Bunch (Spring, Excelsion Recordings)
14. Rubber Band Gun – Falling Up (Role Player, Historic New Jersey Recordings)
15. Allegra Krieger – Roosevelt Ave (Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine, Double Double Whammy)
16. Terra Spencer feat Stephen Fearing – East to West (Sunset)
17. Malin Pettersen – Ain’t Love Wicked Friend (Seasons EP, Die With Your Boots On Records)
18. Tim Poovey – Watercolors (Vanishing Country)
19. Mac Leaphart feat Ben Chapman – Walking Slow Down a Busy Street (Motel Breakfast)
20. Kevin Gordon – Tammy Cecile (The In Between)
21. Juliet McConkey – Horses Around (single)
22. Iron Country Sisters – Set Fire To Your Name (Grace, Soit Se Silti)
23. Samanna – Mittasuhteet (Mittasuhteet, Humu Records)
24. Joose Keskitalo & The Mystic Revelation of Teppo Repo – Väriympyrä (single, Helmi Levyt)
25. Papa Reino – Voi Luoja! (Hiljaiset hautajaiset)
26. Matti Salo Quartet – F.Y.B. (4 + 4, Luova Records)
27. Jari Raaste – Kanava kii (single, Minna Records)
28. Kanerva feat Asa – Aikamatkustaja (single, Texicalli)
29. Rakkaudella Janne – Menkää te juhliin (single, Stupido Records)
30. The New Tigers – Säbä (single, Soliti)
31. Saimaa – Tappajii ja luppakorvii (Vol.7, Love Records)
32. Andre Ethier – Kids Are (single, Telephone Explosion Records)
33. Adeline Hotel – I Will Let Your Flowers Grow (single, Ruination Record Co)
34. Alex Dupree – I Deal (single, Trapdoor)
35. Snowgoose – Better Listen (single, Violette Records)
36. Julianna Riolino & Adrian Underhill – Against the Grain (single)
37. Erisy Watt – Sandhill Crane (single, First City Artists)
38. Merce Lemon – Crow (single, Darling Recordings)
39. Anne Malin – River (single, Dear Life Records)
40. St. Lenox – Quasi-Nichomachean Ethics (Drunk Uncle Advice) (single, Don Giovanni Records)
41. Terminally Phil – Crawl (single, Super Canoe)
42. Andrew Gabbard – Ramble & Rave On! (single, Karma Chief Records)
43. Thee Sacred Souls – Waiting on the Right Time (single, Daptone Records)
44. The Bures Band – Mono Masking (single, Love Police Records & Tapes)
45. Mike Viola – The Bansch (single, Lojinx)
46. Heavenly Sweetheart – HSP (single)
47. Jim Nothing – Wildflowers (single, Meritorio Records)
48. Curling – Radio King (single, Royal Oakie Records)
49. Danny & the Champions of the World – Sooner or Later (single, Loose Music)
50. Skinny Dyck – Out of Control (single, Victory Pool)
51. Lea Thomas – River Runs Through (single, Triple Dolphin Records)
52. Joan Shelley – Mood Ring (single, No Quarter Records)
53. Jacksonport – Don’t Get Hurt in the Dark (single, Ay Caramba Records)
54. The Satchel Kid – The Big One Way (single, Ella Ruth Institutet)
55. Jack Fister – Sweet Mary (single, Sweetheart Records)
56. Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms – All About Love (single, Free Dirt Records)
57. Two Runner – Late Dinner (single, Gar Hole Records)
58. Cactus Lee – Sister (single, Western Vinyl)
59. Bailey Bigger – Nancy Jo (single, Madjack Records)
60. Kendall Lujan – Boston (single, ROLA Records)
61. Jesper Lindell – Bulbs (single, Brunnsvik Sound)
62. Richard Laviolette – Catacombs (All Wild Things Are Shy, You’ve Changed Records)
63. Kaita Isari Seppälä – Korpit kyselevät (Korpit kyselevät, Soit Se Silti)
64. Rosita Luu – Sätkynuket (Yöeläin, Playground)
65. Huonosti puetut lapset – Kauniimpi kuin kukaan (Kaikki on Hattaraa EP)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each weekend.

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Playlist

OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #295

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What a monster release week. Way too much for a one guy to listen on one weekend or ever, but here’s some kind of take on what new is out and available.

MJ Lenderman and the late great Richard Laviolette can share the album of the week spot. There’s also great new albums from The Deslondes, Bob Sumner, Jeffrey Foucault, Elise Leavy, Wayne Graham, Young Scum, The Junipers, Peel Dream Magazine, Gold Star Gold Star, Love, Burns, JPW (EP), Tamar Berk, Dagwood (EP), Laura Jane Grace (EP), The Heavy Heavy, Björn Peter Thisell, Tami Neilson, The Peawees, Astrologer, PW Warson, Well Well Well, Oh Rose, Mo Kenney and John Blek.

A really big Finnish release week too led by the fabulous new albums from Rosita Luu and Kaita Isäri Seppälä. My big obsession earlier this week was the Huonosti puetut lapset EP that came out a month ago. I really love it and therefore I included a song here too. Credit to Lotta Savolainen and her Uusi ääni show on Radio Helsinki for that find. Other Finnish gems this week are albums from Eerie Deer, Iris Kukka and AK-77 plus singles from Susanna Leppänen, Sina Viola, Sanni Reilin (also a bit older one discovered from Uusi ääni), Joni Ekman, Cult of Stenman (new band led by Tom Stenman), Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink, The Skiffs, Ilja Karsikas & Erik Bäckman and messier. Also revisiting a few awesome albums at the end of the playlist. I had to go back to Hattara too, because I finally saw them live on Friday and that was one of the highlights of my concert year. Oh how I love that band.

There was ridiculous amount of new albums, so the international singles are a bit buried on the second half of this monster playlist. But there’s plenty of great ones. Some early favorites came from Flora Hibberd, Sam Blasucci, Charlotte Cornfield, Christo Graham, The Innocence Mission, Zachary Lucky and Shelley Short. Again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. One more new music weekly as a 22 year old music blog. Soon twenty three strikes. Love.

1. Richard Laviolette feat Bry Webb & Cots – All Wild Things Are Shy (All Wild Things Are Shy, You’ve Changed Records)
2. MJ Lenderman – Wristwatch (Manning Fireworks, Anti)
3. The Deslondes – Grandjunction (Roll It Out, New West Records)
4. Bob Sumner – Baby I Know (Some Place to Rest Easy, Fluff and Gravy Records)
5. Jeffrey Foucault – Crushed Ice and Gasoline (The Universal Fire, Fluff and Gravy Records)
6. Wayne Graham – I Had Plans (Bastion, Hickman Holler Records / Thirty Tigers)
7. Elise Leavy – Weight of the World (Memorandrum)
8. JPW – I Miss That Song (Raw Action On Route EP, Fort Lowell Records)
9. Peel Dream Magazine – Central Park West (Rose Main Reading Room, Topshelf Records)
10. Gold Star Gold Star – For the Time Being (Sunday’s Fine, Earth Libraries)
11. The Junipers – You’re My Sugar and Spice (Imaginary Friends, Cuckoo Records)
12. Young Scum – Buy Some Time (Lighter Blue, Pretty Olivia Records)
13. Love, Burns – Just For a While (Blue, Jigsaw Records)
14. Astrologer – Heart of Mine (Astrologer Fleetwood Sprawl, Lolipop Records)
15. Dagwood – Trying To Be Kind (Pollyanna Visions EP)
16. Tamar Berk – Good Impression (Good Times for a Change)
17. The Peawees – She Cries as She Skills (One Ride, Wild Honey Records)
18. Laura Jane Grace – RazorBlade Blues (Give an Inch EP, Dial Black Sound)
19. The Heavy Heavy – Wild Emotion (One of a Kind, ATO Records)
20. Björn Peter Thisell – A Long, Long Way From Home (Visseltofta Folkfest, Ella Ruth Institutet)
21. Tami Neilson – Shelter of Your Dreams (Neilson Sings Nelson, Neilson Records)
22. PM Warson – I Saw You in a Dream (A Little More Time, Legere Recordings)
23. John Blek – Headstrong (Cheer Up, Bigger River Recording Co)
24. Mo Kenney – From Nowhere (From Nowhere, Mo Kenney Music)
25. Oh, Rose – Body (Dorothy, Antiquated Future)
26. Well Well Well – Double Take Jake (Summertime Heat, Royal Oakie Records)
27. Rosita Luu – Leipäkivet (Yöeläin, Playground)
28. Kaita Isäri Seppälä – Kotiin kahta päivää aikaisemmin (Korpit kyselevät, Soit Se Silti)
29. Susanna Leppänen – Asuistaan riisutut (single, Panama-levyt)
30. Huonosti puetut lapset – Mikset voisi minua (Kaikki on hattaraa)
31. Sanni Reilin – Viisaat lapset (single)
32. Ilja Karsikas & Erik Bäckman – Sudokulapset (single, EBIK Records)
33. AK-77 – Saattohoitoblues (Amerihaka)
34. Sina Viola – Kauheuden katedraali (single)
35. Iris Kukka – Rakkauden aakkoset (Iris Kukka, Stupido Records)
36. Keidas – Kuunnellaanko merisää (single)
37. Joni Ekman – Beibi, mua pelottaa (single, Näkki-levyt)
38. The Skiffs – Wish You Were Beer (single)
39. Cult of Stenman – Circus (single)
40. messier – What Would Jesus Do? (single)
41. Eerie Deer – Spirits of ’98 (Finally It’s Tomorrow, Eine Records)
42. Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink – Your Girl (single, Timmion Records)
43. Office Culture – Counting Game (single, Ruination Record Co)
44. Conor Donohue – Elephants (single)
45. Sam Blasucci – Witching Hour (single, Innovative Leisure / Calico Discos)
46. Flora Hibberd – Code (singe, 22TWENTY)
47. Charlotte Cornfield – Audience of One (single, Double Double Whammy / Polyvinyl)
48. The Innocence Mission – This Thread Is a Green Street (single, Bella Union)
49. Christo Graham – Pancases and Eggs (single, We Are Busy Bodies)
50. Shelley Short feat David Allred – Hares on the Mountain (single, FYR)
51. Zachary Lucky – Ramblin’ Kind (single, Wroxton Recordings)
52. Darlin’ Brando feat The Babies of the Earth – The Other Me & Paul (single)
53. JD Clayton – Dance Another Dance (single, Rounder Records / Mulberry Records)
54. Jeremie Albino – Our Time in the Sun (single, Easy Eye Sound)
55. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe – Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch (single, Country Moon Records)
56. Dark Canyon – Ghostwood (single, Sound Schematic)
57. Naima Block – Feed My Release (single, Sub Pop Records)
58. Rachel Sermanni – no way blues (single, Jellygirl Records)
59. Brent & Madeline – And If I Stayed (single, A Primrose Recordings)
60. Mr. Husband – Lovefool (single, Airloom / Good Soil)
61. Mt Misery – Waking Up (single, Prefect Records)
62. Best Bets – Heaven (single, Meritorio Records)
63. Rinehearts – You’re In a Mess (single, Cheersquad Records & Tapes)
64. Brower – Under the Table (single, DIG!)
65. Lunar Vacation – Fantasy (single, Keeled Scales)
66. Hattara – Uutuudenviehätys (Ehkä me nähdään huomenna, Cotton Candy Company)
67. Kumma Heppu & Lopunajan voidellut – Tuttua katua (Vain tuuli tänne jää, Rockadillo Records / Zen Master Records)
68. Toni Hautamäki ja Ydinrauha – Pieni poika (Lauluja EU-Suomesta)
69. Caleb Caudle – Where We Left Off (Sweet Critters, Missing Piece Records)
70. Ned Collette – Our Other History (Our Other History)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

If you are looking this after a week has gone, the embedded Spotify will show the latest playlist. I’ll just update the same playlist because if someone wants to follow it, they can just follow that one list and will get a new set of songs each weekend.

Continue Reading