HAPPYDEADMEN
After The Siesta (Torpedo)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Pssst. Hey, kid. Over here. Listen... got a tip for ya. Keep it on the Q.T., but listen... two words: Swedish pop. You're welcome.

What are they putting in the water over there?! These kids are probably learning the same songs on their guitars that the American and Brit kids first learn, but somewhere along the way something happens and they become brilliant pop craftsmen. I've heard something like six Swedish pop bands in the last 30 days and all six albums had me spinning in my office chair, playing air drums and singing choruses that stuck in my memory after the first pass. Happydeadmen turn out to be the very best of the lot, a "secret" that I'm apparently very late to discover. I feel terribly unhip, but I don't care because there's no way on Earth one can feel anything but very, very good when Jan Hedin is singing "Free Space."

There's no gimmick to report here. They aren't using a bank of vintage synths to create "pong pop" or harmonizing through talk boxes. They just write songs that stick, play their instruments very well, and seem to have a thorough understanding of just what it is that makes pop music work. And I mean the good, non-Britn-sync-y variety. I wonder how many more like this band there are in Sweden that haven't even put anything on tape yet?

© 2002 - DJ Johnson