How about a blissful pop treat this last Sunday of summer? I know, it’s not technically, but come on, once September rolls around, summer’s over. Anyway, Acid House Kings (featuring members of Club 8 and The Legends) create amazingly pure pop songs and invite us all along for the fun: lyrics and instrumental MP3s are available online and you can add your own vocals to the mix and perhaps be included on a forthcoming EP. Swedish music hasn’t been this fun since ABBA!
Afraid of Stairs
There are actually two kinds of stair-related ‘phobias: bathmophobia (fear of stairs or steep slopes) and climacophobia (fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs). Perhaps unable to choose between the two, this Swedish duo simply went with Afraid of Stairs. This track is a couple years old, but it’s all I’ve got. I’d go up or down any number of stairs to get them to put out another single as dreamy — and hopefully not as brief — as this. (Discovered via Jason’s Attack of the Swedes mix.)
South Ambulance
That Sambassadeur post sent me on a Swedish shoegazing spree. That’s right, a spree. In case you doubt there is such a thing, I present you with South Ambulance. Also Swedish, also shoegazerly. When their press frequently references Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Television Personalities (and I’d add Galaxie 500 just to sweeten the deal), you know you’re in for a dreamy, melancholy treat.
Sambassadeur
I can’t figure out how this band landed on my iPod. I checked the usual suspects (can’t believe Jason isn’t all over this one). I scoured the suggestion box. I asked Jeeves. No dice. So I’ll just assume it’s a sign that I should spread word of their sweet (and Swedish!) shoegazer folk. The breakdown on “Between the Lines” — the snare hit, the ethereal “ahs,” the chord progression — is completely irresistible to simple minds and hearts such as mine.
Between the Lines [MP3, 2.4MB, 128kbps]
Whatever Season [MP3, 2.9MB, 128kbps]New Moon [MP3, 3.2MB, 160kbps]Days
The Legends
A Stockholm band built on the whims of nine friends, many of whom had never even picked up an instrument before, with the simple desire of writing songs together. A study in desire, fuzzed out guitars, drive, and handclaps.
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
Suburban apologist I’ll cop to, but Suburbanite with kids with Biblical names I ain’t. Cairo we got from a Cure song; Pallas, well, email me if you don’t have to Google the name to know where it came from and I’ll be really impressed; and Jasper — although the word is found in the Bible it’s not a name — is named after the artist Jasper Johns.
This band is a MUST download. Their name says it all. A delightful sense of humor to go along with their keen sense of melody and wit. A musical embodiment of why I do 3hive. Discovering SKWBN gave me a third wind and kept me way up past bedtime…