For the critics, listening to CDs and mp3s is a year round job, so they’re able to keep up with the massive amounts of monthly releases without even batting an eye. However, for us casual fans it’s more difficult to keep tabs of the daily happenings of the music industry, and some great albums are bound to go undetected. This is the second installment of a reoccurring feature highlighting those albums that may have slipped through the cracks when initially released but have since been resurrected from the dead.
(Courtesy: ubiquity_zh)
As attested by the map detailing where the musicians of my favorite albums of 2009 are from, I love Swedish artists more than any other country not named The United States. There must be something in the water over there in Scandinavia (or most likely the lack thereof since it’s probably glacial H2O), because, for a population of just over nine million, they certainly churn out a disproportionate amount of great musicians. Just to name a few off the top of my head: José González, El Perro del Mar, Jens Lekman, Studio, Air France, and The Tough Alliance — and that’s just from Göteborg (pop: 500,000)! So when I saw on iTunes a compilation album released this past summer put out by Labrador Records featuring some of the freshest talent this country has to offer, I knew I had to get it!
Featuring only a handful of tracks from well-known artists Stateside (Sambassadeur, The Mary Onettes, and The Legends are the only three I recognize), part of the appeal of the album is that you’re given a chance to discover some music few people in the US are aware of (call it the “hipster draw”). Also, the potential for exposure affects the artists as they are more inclined to put out some of their better tunes to take full advantage of this opportunity to reach a worldwide audience. Although I usually only listen to compilations once just to get a feel of the type of music a particular label puts out, Swedes Do It Better is so chalk-full of great indie-pop that it’s tough for it to not seep into my regular rotation.
The 20-track double LP features sixteen artists, each with their own endearing style; however, in the interest of not writing a review that could rival most dissertations in length, I’ll just cut to some of my favorites. Although Suburban Kids With Biblical Names take there name from a Silver Jews lyric, after hearing their track Phoenix-ly titled “1999″, I think it’s safe to say that’s the only thing they share in common with David Berman & Co. With brightly played keyboard and a voice sounding like a less draggy/more upbeat Jens Lekman, SKWBN is probably the best music to play to keep your case of the Mondays at bay.
I have to say, my expectations were high after I dug up this gem-of-an-album-cover researching Stockholm’s Acid House Kings. Fortunately, I was not disappointed with their song “This Heart is a Stone” which is sugary enough to give you multiple cavities. Fluffed up by incessant jingle bells, vocalist Julia Lannerheim — with her candy-coated sound — has a hard time convincing us the calloused nature of the song’s protagonist as revealed by the track’s title. Regardless, the Acid House Kings pull out one of sweetest sounding “love is tough” diddies since The Pipettes “It Hurts to See You Dance So Well”.
However out of all the songs, the one I get most giddy about is [ingenting]‘s “Halleluja!” (yes, with brackets). One of the few sung in Swedish, [ingenting] certainly have that Dungen allure to them. With a wall of sound that would make Spector’s hair stand on end and a one-word sing-along chorus (hmm, I wonder which word…), I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a stadium anthem in their home country. Wait, let me check youtube — well close enough.
I don’t know, maybe it’s because I spent over a year in Copenhagen and traveled extensively throughout the Nordic region, but I think there is something to be said — something great — about Scandinavian music. Maybe it’s their more carefree lifestyle or their prevailing sense of happiness, but whatever it is, the whole world has them to thank for their extraordinary musical exports.
To give you taste, here are two label-released mp3s mentioned in this article:
[ingenting] // Halleluja!
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names // 1999
Also, you can download another Labrador sampler featuring most of the artists in this compilation for free from the pirate bay (don’t worry it’s legal). [via: It's A Trap]
