Feel the Pulse of … Swedish Pop Rock
August 6, 2008 by S C
An open invitation to indie rock fans everywhere:
From one music fan to another, it is my duty to share with you a trend that I have noticed slowly building on the indie rock scene over the past 12 months – it is my sinking suspicion that there is something extra-specially wonderful going on in Sweden! Maybe it’s all Mamma Mia’s fault with the resurgence of ABBA in popular culture or perhaps I am having sub-conscious Ace of Base cravings but - for the last year, it seems that our Scandinavian friends have been responsible for some of the hottest burgeoning acts in rock & pop music today!
The CD rotation here at Tower Records has been paralyzed with blue-and-yellow sound and every new group I discover on either Myspace or IMEEM hail from Borlange, Gothenburg or Jönköping. So, being a music fan in today’s blog-logical world, I wanted to share a few of the personal favorites from the Tower Records Indie Music team.
Somewhere between The Beach Boys and Daft Punk exist Gothenburg’s Pacific!, the electronica duo whose debut album hit U.S soil this past July.
The first of several Swedish acts brought to you by Indie wonderkids Mute Records, this garage band sounds like they have taken an overdose of CCR and electric-era Bob Dylan. For those of us who like that sort of thing, this is a fantastic record.
Another gem from Mute, this often-enormous ensemble of musicians deliver what they describe as “happy pop songs” — including a hilarious take on the Britney Spears head-shaving, tattoo parlor trolling incident of last year.
The Radio Dept. - Freddy and the Trojan HorseDreamy and kind of sad, the melodic synth sound of The Radio Dept. may not appeal to the hard rockers in the audience, but for those of us who adore OMD and New Order, I highly recommend giving their discography a spin.
The Sounds - Dying to Say this to YouWhile this album has been out for a little while, this Swedish pop group are just starting to garner major buzz in America - owing success to their track “Tony the Beat” being featuring on the soundtrack for the hit move “Music and Lyrics.” A thoroughly enjoyable retro ride, the vocals will remind you of your favorite Missing Persons track.
Interested enough to listen to a few songs? We have lovingly prepared a new IMEEM playlist, containing the tracks above and many more Swedish pop / rock tracks that we recommend. Enjoy!
- Sabrina, Tower Records Music Team
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