The Stillwalkers are an indie pop band from Turku, Finland. You may know Turku as the hometown of NHL greats Saku and Mikko Koivu. Saku Koivu played for the Montréal Canadiens, from 1995 to 2009, serving as captain for ten years. Although he did more for that team than any other player in at least four decades, and although he was adored by fans, he was constantly maligned by the annoying French-speaking press because he did not speak French fluently. He speaks Finnish, Swedish, and English fluently. He speaks French well enough, but is not comfortable speaking it in interviews. So despite the fact that he was one of the best, most productive, and most beloved in a very long line of great Habs players, the press hated him. And if you’re an athlete in a town like Montréal, and the press hates you, you’re done. In the summer of 2009, Saku Koivu left Montréal and signed a contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He’s been an alternate captain the whole time he’s been there.
Prior to the 2009-10 season, Mikko Koivu was named as the first permanent captain of the Minnesota Wild. He’s been there for his entire eight-season NHL career and for the first four years, he served as a rotating captain of the team. He isn’t hassled by the Minneapolis media.
Loads of other NHL players, and some other notable people have come from Turku, but those Koivu boys are by far the most well-known. And I am a big fan of Saku Koivu. On top of being an outstanding hockey player, he’s also had to overcome a bunch of joint injuries and, worst of all, cancer. In September of 2001, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a non-Hodgkins lymphoma that affects the lymphatic system. He missed almost the entire 2001-02 season. He made a surprising return to the lineup late in the season, and on his first game back in Montréal, he was given a standing ovation that lasted eight minutes. Of all the players who don’t play for the Carolina Hurricanes, he’s always been one of my all-time favorites.
Sorry, but since I stopped writing about hockey a few years back, I sometimes go off on hockey tangents like that.
Anyway, The Stillwalkers are an indie band from Turku. They formed in 2010 and are set to release their debut album this autumn. Their only release to date is a EP called Everytune in 2012.
I know nothing about this band. I just know that tonight’s song landed in my mailbag today, and the song made good on its promise to sound like a “mix of modern indie rock and alternative sounds from the 90’s”.
“Bruises” by Stillwalkers
On first listen, I knew that it reminded me a lot of something, but I couldn’t quite place it. On second listen, it hit me pretty hard. These guys listen to a lot of Foo Fighters, and maybe Sugar. Big, big, guitar sounds with a big nod to some of the best indie “guitar-rock” stars of the 90s in Dave Grohl and Bob Mould.
The Stillwalkers’ debut album should be out in October or November via Resorrection Records. I can’t find anything on the interwebs about that label with the curious spelling.