Sweden. The land with an abundance of moose, the originator of the smorgasbord, and the inventor of ball bearings…surely nothing better could come from such a small and distant country. But wait, did you know that Sweden, much like many other nations of the world, has heard of musical instruments? Not only do instruments exist there, but also, many of the citizens seem to have turned them into their fifth and sometimes sixth limb. This new wave of indie rock that has developed in the past years has become Sweden’s most impressive genre. Fun, fast, creative and occasionally off the wall weird, Sweden is the new hot spot for original music.
With tracks echoing Daft Punk with sunshine beating down on your sunglassed face, Pacific! is one of the more creative duos working out of Sweden. Full of synthesizers and exciting effects, this band has one album out entitled, Reveries, yet they’ve got popping lyrical songs, instrumentals, and even a cover of the Simple Minds song “Don’t You” from John Hughes’s masterful movie, The Breakfast Club.
Mando Diao. The name of the band comes from a dream one of the band members, Bjorn Dixgard, had one night. They mix the Swedish pop sound with a bit of Britpop sass. Me likey.
I’m From Barcelona became a band when Emanuel Lundgren received a four week paid vacation from his office job and wanted to make some music with his free time. The band claims Lundgren and twenty-eight of his friends, most of them with no musical background. I’m From Barcelona is much like The Polyphonic Spree, but they’re not all culty-like.
The oddest band on this list has to be Detektivbyran. They have been together for about three years and are finally releasing their first album, Wermland. This three piece band describes themselves as “the glockenspiel ‘n’ accordian on top of fuzzy beats, swinging hugs and sweet respect. This is music unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Maybe I heard some accordion like this before in Amelie, starring my long term girlfriend, Audrey Tautou. But this trio has a strange vibe that only Sweden natives can acquire.