Annika Norlin a/k/a Hello Saferide |
Peter Bjorn and John and José González have helped spearhead a new Swedish invasion — and indie invasion. And there’s more where that came from. Green living and government-subsidized health care and education are breeding smart indie-pop acts by the dozen, and blogs like Swedesplease.net (actually run by a guy in Illinois) are the Ellis Island of this new wave. Here’s a taste of what’s out there . . .
Hello Saferide, “Highschool Stalker”
Hello Saferide is Annika Norlin, an acoustic-guitar-strumming singer-songwriter who’s bold enough at hacking to change her crush’s grades in “Highschool Stalker.” And that’s not the only trick she pulls. It’s these sorts of delightful, off-kilter affections — and the instrumental embellishments of a loose group of friends — that pervade her folk-pop songs. Just don’t let that innocent voice fool you.
DoublePark, “I Don’t Want To Party”
DoublePark’s leader, singer-songwriter Johan Prosell, isn’t afraid to admit that he’d rather sit at home and watch a weekend marathon of M*A*S*H (because he’s got a “thing for early-’70s sit-coms”) than go out partying. But he never gets too maudlin. In fact, the song is upbeat in spite of his repeated refrain of “I don’t wanna go.”
My Darling You!, “Please Don’t Talk to Me, I Fall in Love So Easily”
Take a couple of insecure guys, put their inner monologues on speakerphone against a jangly pop arrangement, and you get My Darling You!, where every awkward feeling is on full display. Case in point: the synthy “Please Don’t Talk to Me, I Fall in Love So Easily,” when Klas Hermansson bemoans, “I don’t want love, so I have to kill my friends.”
I’m from Barcelona, “Britney”
Imagine the Polyphonic Spree without the creepy robes, with more pop and less bombast. Emanuel Lundgren’s accidental 29-member band — they weren’t supposed to last beyond one 2005 performance — show that size can matter, with lush, charming ditties that don’t overwhelm, like “Britney,” their wickedly playful take on everyone’s favorite train wreck.
Related:
Stockholm calling, Delusions of grandeur, Lords of acid rock, More 
- Stockholm calling
In “Young Folks,” the hipster hit by the Stockholm-based indie-pop trio Peter Bjorn and John, Peter Morén boasts that “we don’t care about the young folks.”
- Delusions of grandeur
Take into account that Cheyenne is preaching to a choir of adoring middle-school-aged fans whose musical tastes might not be fully developed, and her constant reminders that she herself wrote some of her songs seem at first pathetic, and then, shortly after, hysterical.
- Lords of acid rock
At both shows Earl Greyhound have played in the Boston area to date — upstairs at the Middle East (to which they return this Tuesday) in early October and outdoors in Harvard Square for Oktoberfest a week later — people laughed. Earl Greyhound, "All Better Now" (mp3)
- Tween troubles
Poor Kelly Clarkson.
- Twisted sister
Wow. An explosive performance could be anticipated, since Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the story of an anguished life transformation.
- Vusi Mahlasela
Mahlasela is among Africa’s best singer-songwriters, and here he delivers 16 largely acoustic-based tunes that span kwela, reggae, swing jazz, mbaqanga, and rock.
- Say Anything
This LA-based emo-rock outfit are the brainchild of young Max Bemis, an overachieving singer-songwriter who’s as unnerved by scene politics as he is by romantic tribulations.
- Erol Josué
A vodou priest since his teenage years in Haiti, this singer-songwriter combines mysticism, groove, and myriad sonic surprises.
- Jason Anderson
As a note on his Web site hints, New Hampshire–based singer-songwriter Jason Anderson will play anywhere.
- Jackie Greene
This ex-blues prodigy’s latest has the verve and emotional depth of Clapton’s best singer-songwriter outings.
- No advil, no booze
...Musing on science fiction, existentialism, and stalker ex-husbands.
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