Friska Viljor - Bravo!

Once upon a time, there were a couple of young men from Sweden named Daniel Johansson and Joakim Sveningsson. One night, both men found themselves in a very similar situation. They had both had their hearts crushed by their respective girlfriends. Depressed, they decided that they would do what many young men do in that situation, namely, drink lots. While drinking lots, they both stumbled into a studio and started miraculously crafting pop songs. The result was Friska Viljor, and to the surprise of many (and probably themselves,) the songs turned out really good. From that day on, the duo worked hard mastering the art of writing clever songs while drinking lots and the result is their superb debut, entitled Bravo!

This CD sat in the "to listen to..." section of my iTunes for quite a long time, and now I'm sorry that I waited so long. I think it's brilliant. This last year assured me that, apparently I like everything from Sweden, and these guys can be added to that ever growing list. The album makes the leap from minimalist acoustic numbers, to enthusiastic hook filled dance numbers with incredible ease. It is an unadulterated delectation from start to finish. The album opens with the "Shotgun Sister" and the lyrics, "See I've been trying to live this life with no success because I will die." Those lyrics should be depressing, but this album makes me smile. I can't help it. It feels a bit like Loney, Dear meets Bishop Allen, except with an incredibly stronger accent. "I Gave My Life" is another great number, delightfully psycho in its delivery, as it starts slowly and jumps and waltzes into some crazy hyperactive baroque pop-like singalong. What I particularly like is the way that this band has adopted an art that all of my favorite artists possess. That is namely the art of setting depressing lyrics to happy , jumpy music. A great example of this is "We Are Happy Now (la la la)" which is simply "Shotgun Sister" with a happier arrangement. However, the song stands so well on it's own, that it took me a few listens before I even realized it was the same song. One other standout that I would like to mention, is the beautifully executed "Goldfish" which has large stadium Bic lighter wielding phenomenon written all over it. If there is any justice, these guys will definitely be around long enough to reach the level of success that would allow me to see that last comment become a reality.

You can hear their music on myspace. Definitely worth checking out.
You can purchase Bravo! here. Highly recommended.