SLAGSMÅLSKLUBBEN BOSS FOR LEADER ALBUM EMI RELEASE: APRIL 11, 2007 REVIEW: APRIL 20, 2007

After two quirky and blippy bitpop albums and many wildly popular concerts, Swedish bohemian sextet Slagsmålsklubben got signed to EMI and is now in the top 10 album charts. This is the first album on the big label, and it does sound a bit different that before. It’s still purely electronic pop, but perhaps not as loose, crazy and bitpoppy as before. It’s straighter electronica, but they still have some of their trademark catchy melodies left, and the track titles are still slightly wacky word plays.

The first single “Malmö Beach Night Party” is a poppy number that will keep you humming the chorus for days, and the same goes for several other tracks as well. The album is pretty uneven though, with some filler material here and there. Then again, I think all their full lengths have been like that.

I remember with joy the absolutely packed Apollo stage last summer when they played the Arvika Festival where everyone (yes, everyone) jumped like mad men to the frenetic songs. That’s where Slagsmålsklubben really come into their own, and I’m looking forward to this summer's gig as well.

JOHAN CARLSSON