SCI-FI SKÅNE KÄNSLAN AV ATT JORDEN KRYMPER ALBUM SILENCE RELEASE: DECEMBER 7, 2005 REVIEW: DECEMBER 23, 2005

Those of you familiar with the Swedish indie scene already know that singer Thomas Öberg and keyboardist Jonas Jonasson are famous for their main band bob hund and, to a slightly lesser extent, bob hund's English speaking side project Bergman Rock. What you didn't know, perhaps, is that Jonas and Thomas also love Kraftwerk and old, quirky electronica and that they on their spare time have started yet another side project called Sci-fi Skåne (Skåne being the part of Sweden where the duo lives).

If you like Thomas Öberg's funny and somewhat cryptic lyrics in Swedish, have a fetish for Kraftwerk and cool synthesizer sounds, you will like this band. It feels redundant to talk about the lyrics – although the rendition of Canned Heat's "Going up the Country" as "Jag har aldrig bott vid en landsväg" is hilarious. To say that Thomas Öberg continues with the same subject matter as in bob hund isn't a lie. And it feels good to see him back on track after his experiments in English in Bergman Rock.

The music is nice; often low-key, sometimes shimmeringly brilliant, and at other times quite bland and it blends somewhat too much into the background. Think Robert Johnson and Punchdrunk's new "Whup the Dog…" (reviewed here), but with less kraut and surf rock and more Kraftwerk and Suicide and you will get the picture.

This CD is recommended for people who like odd new thinking old school electronica and who love Swedish. Either the sound or the language, or who actually understand it. Good, but not great.

KALLE MALMSTEDT

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