The Garlands — The Garlands (2012)

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The Garlands — The Garlands
Location: Sweden
Album release: November 27, 2012
Record Label: Shelflife/Fridlyst, Cosy Recordings, Cloudberry Records
Duration:     25:57
Tracks:
01. Forevermore     (2:09)
02. Don't Cry     (2:39)
03. Throw Away This Day     (1:43)
04. David     (2:34)
05. Chandeliers     (1:57)
06. Weakness Is Your Pose     (2:25)
07. Tell Me     (1:51)
08. Things Just Sound So Easy for You     (1:26)
09. Open Arms     (2:17)
10. Why Did I Trust You     (1:27)
11. Why I Don't Say Goodbye     (3:14)
12. Your Words     (2:15)
Credits:
• Mattias Björkas Guitar (Acoustic)
• Jon Chaikin Mastering
• Max Green Ekelin Photography
• Einar Ekström Group Member, Mixing
• Maria Grum Group Member
• Roger Gunnarsson Composer
• Johann Höglund Artwork
• Robert Klaesson Group Member
• Konie Engineer
• Patrik Lindgren Group Member
• Christin Wolderth Composer, Group Member
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/garlandssweden#!
Review by Tim Sendra / Rating: ****
• The Garlands' chiming indie pop places them firmly in the post-C86 time line, following a path that starts with the Flatmates and Talulah Gosh, past Heavenly and right up to the Tender Trap and the School, to name a couple excellent contemporaries. Their debut self-titled album has 12 songs built around richly jangling guitars, heartbreakingly sweet melodies, and the crisp vocals of Christin Wolderth, who delivers the lyrics with an autumnal restraint that balances well with the sunny feel of the music. There's not a lot of variety in the arrangements or the songs, as they all stick to this classic indie pop formula, but thanks to the skills of co-founder and songwriter Roger Gunnarsson (known for his own group Nixon but also for having songs covered by Sally Shapiro), each song sounds like a single A-side. The record is mostly made up of hooky, instantly memorable uptempo songs that bounce out of the speakers like eager-to-please puppies, but the handful of tunes like "Chandeliers" and "Don't Cry" that dial down the tempo (a little) and ramp up the melancholy are just as good. There are no wasted notes, no flashy guitar solos, no hip-hop drum breaks, and almost nothing that places the album in 2012. Thanks to the timeless sound and time-honored structure, The Garlands could have been made in 1986, 1992, or anytime after that. Anyone who has ever loved a female-fronted indie pop group that knows how to balance sunshine and sadness, can play with both ramshackle speed and masterful subtlety, and can pluck the tenderest heartstrings with a simple vocal harmony will find much to love here. The Garlands can do all of that, and their debut album is an instant indie pop classic that sounds great on the first listen and grows more essential with each spin thereafter.
Biography by Tim Sendra
• The Garlands' very Swedish brand of indie pop began in 2007 as a bedroom recording project from the duo of Roger Gunnarsson and Christin Wolderth. Gunnarsson had been recording electro-pop under the name Nixon since the early part of the decade, while also featuring in the C-86-style group Free Loan Investments. Two of his songs, “Anorak Christmas” and “He Keeps Me Alive,” were covered by Sally Shapiro on their 2007 debut album Disco Romance. The Garlands focused more on upbeat and noisy indie, and over the next few years, the duo (with Wolderth on vocals) released a self-titled four-song EP on Cloudberry Records and a split single (with the Sugarplums) in 2010 on Atomic Beat Records. The band also began playing live in 2010, expanding the line-up by adding Einar Ekstrom and Patrik Lindgren on guitar, Maria Grum on bass, and Robert Klaesson on drums. The full band recorded and released a 2011 single (“You Never Notice Me/”Continue”) for Big Pink Cake. Around this time Gunnarsson stepped away from playing live, and in the time-honored Brian Wilson-style, acted as songwriter and producer as the band readied their first album. The Garlands was issued in late 2012 by the influential Shelflife label.
Completely fortaken: http://www.allmusic.com
Discography:
The Garlands
• 2009: Why Did I Trust You? CD EP
• 2009: Open Arms/Tell Me 7" singel
• 2011: You Never Notice Me 7" singel
• 2012: The Garlands CD + LP
Notes:
• Roger Gunnarsson är en svensk låtskrivare och musiker, uppvuxen i Halmstad och bosatt i Stockholm.
• Först aktiv i 90-talets svenska indiepopscen i banden Dune, Novelle och Wilson. I mitten av 90-talet startade han hemstudiobandet Nixon i Halmstad. Efter ett antal medlemsbyten blev bandet ett enmansprojekt och 1999 släpptes första låten Dance To A Different Tune på en vinylsingel av svenska skivbolaget och musiktidningen Benno.
2000 startade han duon Free Loan Investments med Amanda Aldervall. Bandet gav ut skivor i Sverige, England och USA. Free Loan Investments blev även ett populärt liveband med två ytterligare medlemmar. Bandets musikaliska kännetecken var glad pop med hårda, och ofta politiska, texter. Bandet gjorde sin sista spelning sommaren 2004.
• 2005 släppte han ett album med anonyma duon Intellivision, som var ett hyllningsprojekt till italo disco och europop.
• 2007 gjorde artisten Sally Shapiro covers av Nixons Anorak Christmas och She Keeps Me Alive (omdöpt till He Keeps Me Alive), och samma år startade han bandet The Garlands med Christin Wolderth på sång.
• 2008 producerade han och skrev samtliga låtar på Cloetta Paris debutalbum Secret Eyes under pseudonymen Clive Reynolds. Cloetta Paris fick fans både genom indiepopen och i musikmedia. Senare samma år släpptes även singeln You And Me By The Stereo skriven tillsammans med Giordano Trivellato och Giuliano Sacchetto från bandet Milky.
• På senare år har han endast varit verksam som låtskrivare och producent. 2012 skrev och producerade han till exempel låten Die From A Broken Heart åt den svenska discoartisten Bimbo Boy tillsammans med sin kollega i nya produktionsteamet Chart Music.