The Ferris wheel image that graces the cover for The Sounds’
latest album, Weekend, is synonymous with the thrill and excitement that one
feels when listening to the record contained inside. The Sounds, originally
based in Sweden, have been churning out synthesizer-laden pop music since 1999.
They cultivated their main fan base in the music-forward countries of Europe
but alas, have not made their big splash in the United States' music spectrum.
Since the early 2000’s, Maja Ivarsson’s sweeping lead vocals have always held a
special place in the hearts and minds of the well-versed pop/punk fanatics.
Maja’s voice kicks the door down on the recent release with the song titled,
"Shake Shake Shake." Drummer, Fredrik Blond, comes crashing in with a
'punkish' methodology in each drum hit that constructs the emotional mood of
the song. Thirty seconds in, one can’t help but grin as a melodic fire is
ignited from the convolution of catchy vocal pop lines and boisterous synth
chords. The best way to summarize this pop and punk anthem is, "ear-candy," with
its sweet and addictive melodies emitting from start to finish. Steady, yet
chunky bass and guitar rhythms come from the punk based musicians Félix
Rodríguez and Johan Bengtsson, who truly shine through with their styles on the
song "Hurt the Ones I Love," and the titular track "Weekend."
Finally, it would be irresponsible for any listener to overlook the
contribution of Jesper Anderberg, on keyboard/synth, who provides the epic
synthesizer lines that could possibly be the quintessential aspect to the sound
and statement on this release. The synth-pads simultaneously battle and
homogenize with Ivarsson’s vocal cords almost flawlessly on the song
"Panic," which is an auditory-paradigm that should not be neglected.
The artistic approach to The Sounds' work is reminiscent of bands like Blondie
or Franz Ferdinand, but do not be fooled by that comparison, these are not your
run-of-the-mill musicians. The Sounds are seasoned veterans of pop/punk
anthems. Unfortunatly, while entranced in The Sounds' pop-hypnotism, my smile
starts to fade as I come to the realization that within marketable and
commercial pop music, a unique album like this is a musical rarity. Weekend was
released on October 29th of 2013 and will hopefully garner more popularity
before their North American tour in April of ’14. Somehow the leading radio
stations of the U.S. haven't shower the airwaves with this release, or the
band. This cooperate-radio decision is beyond the comprehension of any listener
with a music repertoire that surpasses Billboard's Top 100 songs. The Sounds
might have generated their name to pay ode to the narrow channel between
Sweden and the Danish island of Zealand, but to their fans they are exactly
what this album provides, the sounds.
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