Scandanavia is the New Canada
It was over a year ago when I wrote that Canada was kicking our proverbial ass in churning out hit after hit. First of all, can you believe it's been over year since I posted about Montreal's Pony Up! as my very first entry into the annals of Backfield in Motion (and now the girls have just released their debut album Make Love to the Judges with Your Eyes)? I woulda made big hub-bub over it but if you haven't noticed I've been rather MIA recently and frankly, I don't deserve the celebration.
However back to the matter at hand, as the Arcade Fires and the Wolf Parades float on to indie rock stardom, there is a region that is consistantly exporting great pop music. Yes, France. No, wait... why aren't there more French imports? They're stylish, they're with it... they must think we can only handle Phoenix. We're not ready. Perhaps. Perhaps, I am babbling. Perhaps, I've sat down to write my online music journal (for a certain someone who despises the "B" word) far too sleepy and with absolutely no purpose.
NO! Scandanavia, specifically Sweden, aren't as stingy. They are down to share. I mean ABBA, Ace of Base and The Caridgans (man, they REALLY don't quit) are models for pop perfection. They are legendary. We celebrate them by playing the one song from a popular soundtrack in every context available in every possible moment, singing them in karaoke horribly, sampling them and making our own hits and making musicals based on them. Sure, we need to give credit where credit where credit is due.
But c'mon, we live in the now. We should open the window and get a breath of fresh air. Those Swedes are fuckin' bringing it super hard right now. Dungen. Jens Lekman. The Raveonettes. Jose Gonzalez (actually to be honest, I think he's a little "m'eh"). The list goes on with bands that I'll be embarassed I forgot... except for these four albums that dropped in '06. They comprise the tape mix in my car that was practically (but not literally) jammed in there for the last couple months (only recently set free). Now let me share with you.
Side A:
Love Is All (pictured above)- Gothenburg's cutest might have created my favorite album of the year so far (ummm... Bitter Tea, anyone?). Nine Times the Same Song is a pop explosion with an uncontainable vibrance. It's rough edges and imperfections make it even more endearing. While a ballad like "Turn the Radio Off" is a perfect example of what makes the album as a whole a bit of a rollercoaster ride, its clunkiness and awkwardness harnesses a naivete and innocence like teenage love. It's might not be the right way but it feels right. Meanwhile, their fast songs bounce along recklessly, footloose and fancy free, and are undeniably some of best pop-punk songs written since... ever. I would cite examples here but I don't feel like typing out five songs titles. Okay fine: "Aging Has Never Been His Friend", "Spinnning and Scratching", "Busy Doing Nothing", "Talk Talk Talk Talk", "Used Goods"... to name a five.
Figurines - Okay, Copenhagen isn't exactly in Sweden but Figurines isn't your typical fast punk band either. Together with Love Is All, Figurines officially makes Side A of the Scandanvian Mix the "air drumming" side. Skeleton is nothing new for sure, but its impeccable songwriting, angular guitars and caffeine fueled tempos are executed with precision. Christian Hjelm does a very good Doug Martsch impression, which makes Figurines that much more interesting; would Doug Martsch write a bunch of pop-punk tunes? Who cares? Songs like "All Night" and "The Wonder" are guns ablazing, while more introspective tunes like "Silver Ponds" showcase a real knack for melody. Then there is "Other Plans" which is the perfect marriage between the rollicking guitars and nuanced melodies. I don't even want to talk about how that works. It's like coffee and cigarettes, baby.
Side B:
The Concretes - The fact that the 8-piece shedded the "Velvets meets Motown" skin on In Colour actually saddened me quite a bit. Then I realized that though songs like "Diana Ross" and "You Can't Hurry Love" were great and all, it was "Warm Night" which was my favorite song on their eponymous album. Its warm and fuzzy, "Que Sera Sera"-vibe is the main melodic theme for In Colour, and The Concretes set themselves free of any chains of old comparisons. They can be as twee as they wanna be. And if you didn't know already, I'm twee as fuck.
Audrey of Envelopes... I think. Could just be a random girl.
Envelopes - Finally, Envelopes are the most bizarre of the bunch. Demons is collection of zany, off the wall pop songs, complete with silly singing, frenetic mood swings and weird guitar parts. "My Fren" executes your standard boy/girl singing with hooks galore, while "Sister in Love" is a raucous romp. Demons isn't flawless but neither was of Montreal's Cherry Peel, and that good album spawned one our best pysch-pop phenoms today. Of course, I say that with absolutely no bias.
Alright kids, have a great holiday weekend. I'll get back atcha when I get the beach smell out my hair.
Love Is All: http://www.myspace.com/loveisall8
Figurines: http://www.figurines.dk
The Concretes: http://www.theconcretes.com/
Envelopes: http://www.envelopes.se/
However back to the matter at hand, as the Arcade Fires and the Wolf Parades float on to indie rock stardom, there is a region that is consistantly exporting great pop music. Yes, France. No, wait... why aren't there more French imports? They're stylish, they're with it... they must think we can only handle Phoenix. We're not ready. Perhaps. Perhaps, I am babbling. Perhaps, I've sat down to write my online music journal (for a certain someone who despises the "B" word) far too sleepy and with absolutely no purpose.
NO! Scandanavia, specifically Sweden, aren't as stingy. They are down to share. I mean ABBA, Ace of Base and The Caridgans (man, they REALLY don't quit) are models for pop perfection. They are legendary. We celebrate them by playing the one song from a popular soundtrack in every context available in every possible moment, singing them in karaoke horribly, sampling them and making our own hits and making musicals based on them. Sure, we need to give credit where credit where credit is due.
But c'mon, we live in the now. We should open the window and get a breath of fresh air. Those Swedes are fuckin' bringing it super hard right now. Dungen. Jens Lekman. The Raveonettes. Jose Gonzalez (actually to be honest, I think he's a little "m'eh"). The list goes on with bands that I'll be embarassed I forgot... except for these four albums that dropped in '06. They comprise the tape mix in my car that was practically (but not literally) jammed in there for the last couple months (only recently set free). Now let me share with you.
Side A:
Love Is All (pictured above)- Gothenburg's cutest might have created my favorite album of the year so far (ummm... Bitter Tea, anyone?). Nine Times the Same Song is a pop explosion with an uncontainable vibrance. It's rough edges and imperfections make it even more endearing. While a ballad like "Turn the Radio Off" is a perfect example of what makes the album as a whole a bit of a rollercoaster ride, its clunkiness and awkwardness harnesses a naivete and innocence like teenage love. It's might not be the right way but it feels right. Meanwhile, their fast songs bounce along recklessly, footloose and fancy free, and are undeniably some of best pop-punk songs written since... ever. I would cite examples here but I don't feel like typing out five songs titles. Okay fine: "Aging Has Never Been His Friend", "Spinnning and Scratching", "Busy Doing Nothing", "Talk Talk Talk Talk", "Used Goods"... to name a five.
Figurines - Okay, Copenhagen isn't exactly in Sweden but Figurines isn't your typical fast punk band either. Together with Love Is All, Figurines officially makes Side A of the Scandanvian Mix the "air drumming" side. Skeleton is nothing new for sure, but its impeccable songwriting, angular guitars and caffeine fueled tempos are executed with precision. Christian Hjelm does a very good Doug Martsch impression, which makes Figurines that much more interesting; would Doug Martsch write a bunch of pop-punk tunes? Who cares? Songs like "All Night" and "The Wonder" are guns ablazing, while more introspective tunes like "Silver Ponds" showcase a real knack for melody. Then there is "Other Plans" which is the perfect marriage between the rollicking guitars and nuanced melodies. I don't even want to talk about how that works. It's like coffee and cigarettes, baby.
Side B:
The Concretes - The fact that the 8-piece shedded the "Velvets meets Motown" skin on In Colour actually saddened me quite a bit. Then I realized that though songs like "Diana Ross" and "You Can't Hurry Love" were great and all, it was "Warm Night" which was my favorite song on their eponymous album. Its warm and fuzzy, "Que Sera Sera"-vibe is the main melodic theme for In Colour, and The Concretes set themselves free of any chains of old comparisons. They can be as twee as they wanna be. And if you didn't know already, I'm twee as fuck.
Audrey of Envelopes... I think. Could just be a random girl.
Envelopes - Finally, Envelopes are the most bizarre of the bunch. Demons is collection of zany, off the wall pop songs, complete with silly singing, frenetic mood swings and weird guitar parts. "My Fren" executes your standard boy/girl singing with hooks galore, while "Sister in Love" is a raucous romp. Demons isn't flawless but neither was of Montreal's Cherry Peel, and that good album spawned one our best pysch-pop phenoms today. Of course, I say that with absolutely no bias.
Alright kids, have a great holiday weekend. I'll get back atcha when I get the beach smell out my hair.
Love Is All: http://www.myspace.com/loveisall8
Figurines: http://www.figurines.dk
The Concretes: http://www.theconcretes.com/
Envelopes: http://www.envelopes.se/
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