Denmark

Commentary: Quite the variety of styles with this month's Danish NMN contingent. It's definitely Bbybites who has caught the ears though. Rapper Martha Maj Hauptmann brings the attitude with her refreshing mix of pop and hip hop. Track “Whatever“ from her latest EP is on rotation.

Finland

Commentary: IANAI's debut album really does defy genre classification, with its epic soundscapes influenced by folk music from across the globe. The talent found on “Sunir” is nothing to be sniffed at either, with guest appearances from HIM, Sisters of Mercy and Massive Attack to name a few.

Iceland

Commentary: This might become my new obsession. After unexpectedly discovering some Finnish surf rock last month, this month it's the turn of Iceland. Check out the acoustic title track from Fjara – whose name translates to beach/shore – on their brand-new EP “Surfdays”.

Norway

Commentary: Jørn Lande is back with a new studio album, five years since 2017's “Life On Death Road”. Where “Over The Horizon Radar“ lacks in innovation or even boundary pushing, it makes up for in familiar power vocals and eleven solid melodic metal songs.

Sweden

Commentary: It's been thirty-three years since Neneh Cherry's debut album “Raw Like Sushi” released. Her latest album “The Versions” sees a cast of current-day female vocalists give re-workings to tracks from that seminal album and others to admittedly varying degrees of success.

Previous months: March | April | May

Denmark

Commentary: A rock heavy selection coming out of Denmark for this month. So in typical fashion, I'm gonna skip over the generic guitar riffs and angsty lyrics this May and focus instead on the crisp pop voice of Sonic Girl. The track “hackerboy” is worth a listen just for the shoehorning in of antivirus and IP addresses!

Finland

Commentary: Where Denmark failed with rock, Finland might just have delighted this month. The country is synonymous with death metal, so imagine my surprise to find a source of surf rock in the band Mary Ann Hawkins. Their track “Hawkinsmania” is an espresso shot of frenetiscism.

Iceland

Commentary: Iceland is a small place, with 366,000 people and counting, so sometimes pickings are low. But they do say quality over quantity, and that's what we have here. The names behind NEVERNEVER have some real pedigree in the music industry and are led by the strong vocals of Klara Elias.

Norway

Commentary: In April Norway took the crown for the month's biggest and best release with Röyksopp's newest. They've done it again! Sigrid's follow-up to her debut album, “How To Let Go” is a real banger, with stand-out track “Mirror” destined for summer playlists all across the Nordics.

Sweden

Commentary: Four years since the previous album, it's great to have Lykke Li back. “EYEYE” is a brutally melancholic album, with heart-felt lyrics taking centre stage. Margaret Farrell at Pitchfork had this to say: ‘Her music is a companion to sorrow in the same way the sun is a companion to the morning.’

Previous months: March | April

SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | YOUTUBE MUSIC | TIDAL | DEEZER | AMAZON MUSIC | PANDORA

Disc 1

1. United in Grief [prod. OKLAMA, Sounwave, J. LBS, Duval Timothy, Beach Noise & Tim Maxey]

2. N95 [prod. Sounwave, Jahaan Sweet, Boi-1da, Baby Keem]

3. Worldwide Steppers [prod. Tae Beast, Sounwave, J. LBS]

4. Die Hard (feat. Blxst & Amanda Reifer) [prod. Baby Keem, Sounwave, J. LBS, Dahi, FNZ]

5. Father Time (feat. Sampha) [prod. Sounwave, Dahi, Bekon, Beach Noise, Duval Timothy, Victor Ekpo]

6. Rich - Interlude [prod. Duval Timothy]

7. Rich Spirit [prod. Sounwave, Dahi, Frano]

8. We Cry Together (feat. Taylour Paige) [prod. The Alchemist, J. LBS, Bekon]

9. Purple Hearts (feat. Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah) [prod. Sounwave, DJ Khalil, Beach Noise, J. LBS]

Disc 2

10. Count Me Out [prod. OKLAMA, Sounwave, Dahi, J. LBS, Tim Maxey]

11. Crown [prod. Duval Timothy]

12. Silent Hill (feat. Kodak Black) [prod. Sounwave, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, Beach Noise]

13. Savior - Interlude [prod. OKLAMA, J. LBS, Sounwave]

14. Savior [prod. OKLAMA, Sounwave, J. LBS, Cardo, Mario Luciano, Rascal]

15. Auntie Diaries [prod. Beach Noise, Bekon & The Donuts, Craig Balmoris, Bekon, Sergiu Ghermanm, Tyler Mehlenbacher]

16. Mr. Morale (feat. Tanna Leone) [prod. Pharrell Williams]

17. Mother | Sober (feat. Beth Gibbons of Portishhead) [prod. J.LBS, Sounwave, Bekon]

18. Mirror [prod. Bekon, Tyler Mehlenbacher, Sergiu Gherman, Craig Balmoris, Dahi, Sounwave, Tim Maxey]

OKLAMA is Kendrick's moniker for production credits

Formatting and content taken from r/HipHopHeads

Denmark

Commentary:
Six additional Danish finds this month for our second-ever NMN. Bättre! Astrid Nora is the eponymous name behind Where Did Nora Go. “Under” is their fifth EP, written largely during Covid19 lockdown, with songs crafted to be beacons of hope in a time of fear.

Finland

Commentary:
Ada Aik is a Finnish experimental pop musician. Their debut concept album is imagined around the story of a dollhouse, with each room representing an emotional state such as depression or fear. These themes extend beyond the music into visual media which can be further explored on their website.

Iceland

Commentary:
Indie folk band Seabear hold a special place in the hearts of many Icelanders. Ten years have passed since their previous album, so the cozy and imaginative folk sound of “In Another Life” has been warmly embraced. Their music video to “Parade” was posted to Tildes last week.

Norway

Commentary:
For the big release this April we turn to Norway, where it doesn't get much bigger than Röyksopp. “Profound Mysteries” has been released to stellar reviews, with reference made to a darker, more haunting sound from the band. The visualizer music videos by Jonathan Zawada certainly amplify this feel.

Sweden

Commentary:
We should really be talking about Swedish House Mafia's debut studio album, twelve years after the release of their debut single. But the real gem among the Swedish releases this month is the return of Slowgold. Their song “Väntar” from 2017 still sees regular rotation in our house...

Previous months: March

Playdate announced on Twitter that they are beginning shipping today:

Oh! A new Playdate Update video is here!

It recaps the great developer things we've released this year, like Pulp and the Playdate SDK. Please enjoy it. https://youtu.be/BmrtkBmFSn4

There's one extra important bit in the update. Playdates in Group One will begin shipping…

…today.

The embargo on reviews also lifted:

• The Verge: All it’s cranked up to be
• Rock Paper Shotgun: A handheld indie curio that goes hand in hand with the spirit of PC
• Eurogamer: A fascinating puzzle in itself
• Video Games Chronicle: The Playdate is fun but its quirks may wind you up
• ArsTechnica: Playdate earns its $179 price tag with cute design, memorable games
• Engadget: Playdate is a magical indie game machine
• IGN: It's Crankin' Time
• Venture Beat: An alternate-history boutique handheld
• GamesRadar: Tiny, mighty, unfussy fun
• Destructoid: You’ve got a date
• Gizmodo: The Playdate Is Oozing With Charm and Potential

Also, ArsTechnica released reviews of all of the Playdate games. SPOILERS ahead:

• ArsTechnica: All 24 of Playdate’s included games, reviewed

Denmark

Commentary:
Only two Danish finds for the inaugral NMN post. Förlåt! Andreas's album title probably gives a clue, but it's a Danish language release. Don't be put off by the funny language though, and check out the track “i morgen er der også en dag”, with over 8 million Spotify streams.

Finland

Commentary:
I can get behind Babel's album title and the music there on it. “Eden” is a dream-like opening track from a band compared in the media to the shoegazers Slowdive and also the Cocteau Twins. I hear a little Casey Dienel's “White Hinterland” in there.

Iceland

Commentary:
It's not just album releases covered on NMN, but also beautiful EP's, like Axel Flóvent's. The instrumental title track “Coexist” might not have the obvious popularity of the other tracks, but it carries a melancholic piano very reminiscent of some of Aphex Twin's tracks on “Drukqs”.

Norway

Commentary:
For those of you that missed it, Jenny Hval gave an interview to The Guardian that was posted to Tildes earlier in the month. In it they talk to Rachel Aroesti about their life and how changes in it guided the making of the avant garde musician's new album “Classic Objects”.

Sweden

Commentary:
Being based in Sweden means that this list is inevitably the longer of them. There are some great pop releases in March, especially with Lucky Lo's catchy release “Supercarry” among them. But for international name recognition, they are all overshadowed this month by the first new Ghost LP since 2018.

For people new to tabletop RPGs, this is the equivalent of a DLC expansion. It's new content, new rules, new classes, and so forth to augment your 5e game.

Notable contents include:

Racial Traits

1. Racial stat bonuses can be moved around at will (i.e you can change a Half Elf's +2 Charisma to a +2 Strength)

2. Races with negative stat bonuses no longer have negative stat bonuses

3. A new "custom lineage" race exists, which allows to pick any race, and replace their features with a +2 to any stat of your choice, a feat, and darkvision.

Class Variants

These modify class features. Unfortunately, many of them are somewhat controversial in the community because people do not believe that they fixed many of the classes that are considered to have poor design, notably rangers and sorcerers.

For the spellcasters, spell versatility (a feature which allows you to change spells you know on a long rest) was not implemented, disappointing many

New Subclasses

A few subclasses from other books are reprinted so you don't have to buy them (example: Eloquence Bard, from Mythical Odyssey of Theros), and a few are new, like Order Cleric, Wildfire Druid, and so forth.

In particular, the Clockwork Soul Sorcerer is one piece of good news for Sorcerer players.

I've only played for a couple of hours so these really are "impressions".

Positively i'll say its probably PDS's best release. Very few bugs and they are mostly minor that i have seen. There seems to be enough generic and western european content to keep most fans happy, at least for a couple of weeks. I surprisingly like the UI colour and set up. I thought it was a bit modern in the dev diaries but it works well and is less tacky than a thematic scheme might look. The cycling of the map modes on zoom works well. The amount of "meme" is really overplayed on the reddits and marketing, ive only played a few hours but the flavour reminds me of early CK2 rather than late Glitterhoof CK2.

My main negatives at the moment are i find there is often an overwhelming amount of information on screen between the side panels, the alerts tab at the top and how wherever you put your mouse seems to open one or more information popups its a bit cluttered.

I thought the 3D characters would be more memorable than the 2D portraits but i find the opposite. I cant remember any of the characters by image, they all feel very similar. This might be until i am more familiar with the differences though.