Billie The Vision & The Dancers - "I Was So Unpopular In School..." "...And Now They're Giving Me This Beautiful Bicycle" to call it by it's full name is the debut album by yet another brilliant swedish band. They came to my attention earlier this year when Tim came over with stuff and played their new album "The World According To Pablo" which I was instantly smitten by. I liked it so much I had Luke get it and this for our Popsicle shop, and if the new one left me smitten then this one left me smoted. Fully and completely smoted. I can think of few albums that I would rate as highly as this, as it actually deserves a rating above 10+. In fact I would (and will) go so far to say it is one of the best albums ever made and probably ranks in my top 3 of all time. (with the #1 spot being quite likely) Why? I'm not even sure. All I know is it is not only a thing of musical beauty, it has genuine passion, heart, emotion, longing, regret, sorrow, remorse and humour all told with magical lyrics. What's more lead singer Lars Lindquist has a voice which is able to shape and convey those feelings in a way that is uncanny, and incredibly touching. Combined with the music there is an almost Arlo Guthrie type magic because the songs are indeed stories, very personal ones, and you soon become familiar with all the things involved from his mother and her casino stocks, his car and the sex he had in it, a "live from budokan" album and most prominently a girl named Lilly. The entire album is a passion play to his damaged relationship with her, starting off with Summercat which is a glorious pop song about him being dumped at the airport which is followed by sometimes cute but often impassioned songs about moments in their lives which culminates with the glorious song Want To Cannot Help But Dance where he urges her to choose her conflicts while half admitting "It's too late now, isn't it?" Yet he ends with the final plea, "Choose your conflicts Lilly, 'cause I need you to stand beside me." It is overpoweringly heart wrenching and not just because of Lars, but because this is one gifted band and their use of violin, trumpet, banjo and bongos as perfect accents in many ways marks this as the album Dylan should have made but couldn't because his brain is bigger than his heart. (and he can't sing either). It has folk - country textures but they add emotion only, as this work itself is above genre and categorization. In fact it has pretty much left me dumb struck (and smoted) and I quite literally can't stop playing it. OK, ok, I'll say it..... I'll say it. This is THE best album ever recorded in the history of popular music, and I haven't even begun exaggerating yet..... You can only get it in our Popsicle shop and I URGE you to do so.
Label ~ Love Will Pay The Bills, 11 Tracks, 2004

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 10

Billie The Vision & The Dancers - "The World According To Pablo" I almost felt bad that this their new album is just excellent, and while it is true it does not reach the meteoric heights their debut does, no other album has either. I also discovered more about this band as time went on and it appears lead singer Lars Lindquist dons womens dresses and makeup when they play live. (he comes off looking like a 1920's flapper) Why? I have no idea. I'll admit to not understanding it, which in it's own way is odd as my generation invented that, from Martin Gore wearing womens bras, to the Cure wearing lipstick to well, Boy George. I have a hard time figuring out it's purpose in this context however because he keeps singing about this girl named Lilly, but frankly I don't care. The music is too damned good. (maybe I need to break my new rules and do one last interview) This album like the first is another travelogue, this time featuring the exploits of a man named Pablo Diablo. Whether it's a pen name for Lars is anyones guess, but from the brilliant introductory song I'm Pablo to the bittersweet Go To Hell where his girlfriend tells him what for this is loaded with gems. The brightest, and possibly their best song ever is A Man From Argentina which encapsulates this band perfectly, from his unique lyrical style to the bands glorious accompaniment. In an almost Morrissey-esque fashion the song revolves around his miserable life and how he's amazed that a friend will be "the happiest girl in the world" simply because a guy from Argentina named Mono is visiting her. Twisting it gloriously, he thinks "I wanna be you, I wanna be you, I wanna be you you you, so send me a man from argentina to make me the happiest girl in the world, and come to me on Friday or Saturday or Sunday, but I can't wait till Monday...". It just doesn't get any better. The only caveat is while the debut has a lot of sexual talk it's very hard for kids to pick out or get, but this one has some fairly surprising lyrical content like "suckin cocks in the basement". That aside, these are two albums you simply must own, and I must announce it. As of right now, this is the best band in the world.
Label ~ Love Will Pay The Bills, 11 Tracks, 2005

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 9.9

Legends - "Facts And Figures" In an effort to try to catch up to this mans productivity I actually am reviewing this not long after it got released for once. I was lucky enough to hear some of the songs on here played live when they toured this past summer and I liked them very much then, but again it could be seen that another major direction change was in the works. The cover art for this and the first EP were unexpected, having a very Haus Der Kunst look (or is it the '36 Berlin olympics?) which seems less surprising upon hearing the first track off of this, Heart which sounds like a tribute to Kraftwerk. On the next track Play It For Today things change however as it retains to synth beat edge but has a distinct New Order sound. Despite re-inventing himself for the third time now the songs all carry his distinct touch so that while other styles are obvious, his hand on it all is also very clear. To cut to the chase they've all been good, but for whatever reason I think I like this one the best so far. After so many albums, from Club 8 to Acid House Kings to the Legends how much gas this guy has left in his tank is anyones guess, but as long as he keeps taking us on trips like this we should just enjoy it and stop worrying about the gauges. If you are fond of late 70's and early 80's techno synth beat pop, this comes highly recommended. Mine came with a bonus DVD and while I don't know if it is limited or not, it plays like crap and the videos are terrible, so don't go out of your way to get that version, especially if it costs more.
Label ~ Labrador, 10 Tracks, 2006

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 10

Embassy - "Tacking" Upon getting this rather bland looking case and opening it one is treated to a rather, ok, there's no other way to say it, a rather gay looking shot of this band in a rowboat. When the opening track Some Indulgence then started with moans of the sort one might expect to hear when something is getting shoved up a place it normally doesn't go I thought I was going to get treated to another gay sex romp album like the recent Le Sport album. For better (or worse if you're gay I suppose) that doesn't turn out to be the case. In fact what this does turn out to be is one of the better things I've heard lately. The accents of these guys sound more British than Swedish when they sing, and their music has a very mid late 80's Brit sound as well, as if Ian Broudie had a hand in it. Musically it is very fresh, and upbeat in a very sunny and cheery sort of way. In fact the track Stage Persona sounds like it could have been done by one of my favorite brit bands Sensation. Actually a number of tracks on here sound like them and that, as far as I'm concerned, is a good thing. In fact there's no point labouring over it. This is quite a brilliant gem of a record, and one that comes with my highest nod. The only thing I can't figure out is the title. Tacking is a term used for sailboats, but they're pictured in a rowboat. Tack however is Swedish for thanks, so are they thanking everyone? Who cares.... less thinking, more listening......
Label ~ Service, 9 Tracks, 2006

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 2

I'm From Barcelona - "Let Me Introduce My Friends" Let me introduce the hype of the year. "The" new swedish band that's "all that" and 20 bags of potato chips. Don't believe it. This albums stinks, and I could probably relate more on that topic but this album is also write protected so I can't even listen to the damn thing on my computer or put tracks on the radio for you to hear either. Had I know that before hand I would not have even bought it. All I recall is I couldn't even get thru it because it stank so bad and I had no desire to try again. The copyright protection crap is simply icing on my cake. (and it did audibly effect my playback on my main stereo, or this is recorded badly to boot) Fuck that and fuck EMI. Please spend your audio shopping dollars on swedish bands that actually are good like Billie the Vision or Embassy.
Label ~ EMI, 11 Tracks, 2006

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 9.7

Les Trefles - "Blame It On The Bossa Nova EP" This five song cover disc by the band Les Trefles is the debut outing of a Japanese woman named Mayue Arai. In choosing the songs she covers she really covered a lot of territory, (pun intended) from the very aptly bossa nova sounding title track, to the Pet Shop Boys like Downtown which while sung in japanese loses nothing and in fact gains several ounces of charm. Her accent when she sings in english is also a toe curler, but then I have always been partial to female japanese voices. The variety on here showcases her talent well especially on the meteoric cover of Plastic Bertrands Ca Plane Pour Moi which is about as infectious as a song gets. This is simply a brilliant little disc and I was so in love with it I tried to get Luke to stock it in the Popsicle shop, but it wasn't swedish and it wasn't an album and he said no. (the bastard) If an album happens I'll probably be able to make Luke get that when it comes out, but until or in case if you can find a copy of this get it. (I can lead you here but you're on your own after that) Until then, or if you're one of our japanese readers this is one disc you are sure to fall in love with because as far as the j-pop genre goes, this has it all.
Label ~ Monarch, 5 Tracks, 2006

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 9.2

M Coast - "Say It In Slang" I have been particularly buried lately and can't even get to reviewing the major stuff, let alone the countless unsolicited submissions. This is one however that struck me as being particularly noteworthy and I've wedged it in as soon as I could. (yes, which was still not particularly quick) I have a press sheet on them somewhere but if I stop to look for it this won't get written so I'll have to wing it. All I know is that it's an american band that features male and female singing. (and more importantly they can both hold a note) Musically it mostly wanders near a Bacharach type of melody line, however at times it becomes more edgy and then it will suddenly slip into the odd synth style or get flutey and bright. In other words it's very hard to nail down. This doesn't make for a lack of cohesion however as it all somehow seems to go together. What's more there is a deal of experimentalism going on here. As one might expect that doesn't always work but in most cases here they manage to make it do so. Better still, when it hits it can be quite captivating. This is one I really suggest you check out further as it is the sort of sleeper that weaves a spell over you as time goes by until you're a bit enchanted. A very pleasant surprise.
Label ~ HHBTM, 15 Tracks, 2006

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 8.3

My Darling You - "16 Major Problems" I had not heard of this swedish band until contacted by Jorge who had signed them to his new label in Lima Peru called Plastilina Records. The first couple of tracks I heard of them on their myspace page really worked me up so I eagerly awaited this disc, a collection of all the tracks from their first 3 EP's. I thought I heard a remarkable similarity in his voice and singing style to the Kinks Ray Davies. Luke said he didn't hear it, (I still think I'm right) and he also said he didn't care for them and didn't want to stock it. I thought he was nuts until the disc came and then I found sadly not as many songs were as strong as those I had previously heard. Of course there are a lot of songs (16) so that can happen, especially to bands in their formative stages. The 5 middle tracks of their second EP are clearly the best stuff on here, although the newest has it's moments as well. This is one of those bands where there is no middle ground either, the song is either on and rocks or is complete crap. Still, this is a band worth keeping an eye on, and it's also a label that needs watching as well. I'll try to get to some more of the labels catalog when I can, and in the meantime you might wish to check this band out further yourself.
Label ~ Plastilina, 16 Tracks, 2006