Label: Dead Frog Records
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I've never heard of this band before, so this listening to this record was a nice little surprise. Avi compared these fellows to Ben Folds Five, which is very fitting. They also inhibit some of the quirkiness of The Mopeds, (both bands are Swedish all-male trios as well), and they sound like a lot Swedish indie bands did in the late 90s. I loved a lot of those bands, but with it now being almost 2007, this is what I don't really like with this album. Even though they've got pretty good songs, they unfortunately come across as really dated. Hopefully Nom De Guerre will sound a bit more up to date on their next album (I know, that sounds almost iconoclastic of me), produce some (even) better songs and improve their lyric writing skills (sometimes the rhymes are disastrous). If all this happened, I think they could produce something pretty, pretty good.
- Simon Tagestam
This album's been out for quite a while, but I've just gotten around to really hearing it (the first listen didn't excite me much). This Swedish quintet have made music with various personnel over the past few years, but "Hardpop" is actually their debut full-length. That's an apt title, as this is upbeat, 80s-influenced pop music with a solid kick to it, especially when guitarist Fritz Callahan (all the band members are named Callahan) gets to riffin' like mad on his axe. Vocalist Andy sounds a tad like early Bowie at times, and drummer Fred is a more than competent drummer. It's a measure of the remarkably high level of quality of Swedish musicians these days that even a group like this who aren't too original are still better than their genre counterparts elsewhere in the world. Most listeners would find this album quite enjoyable, and it is, but I just wish there were one or two more elements that didn't sound like so many other bands. The Callahan don't excite me like many other Swedish bands do. Still, they play with zest, they're capable of writing strong tunes, and you can definitely tap your foot to most of these numbers. "Hardpop" is an easy listen, if not necessarily a truly memorable one.
- Kevin Renick
Jeremiha's debut is a radio-friendly, stadium-ready collection of anthemic synth-pop reminiscent of Duran Duran in their heyday. The sound comes on strong and stays that way right through to the end. The mood never wavers, the singer's got a nice deep voice, and the music is melodic and catchy. I can imagine it blaring from speakers at swimming pools everywhere this summer. But lyrics like "all I want is your touch/it's too much/it's never enough" and "it feels like strangers when we kiss/there must be more to life than this" exemplify how little originality there is here. Churning out solid versions of familiar sounds has made rock stars out of plenty of bands before them, and maybe it'll work for them too. But if you like Swedish music on account of its off-kilter edge, steer clear.
- Nancy Baym
The music of this Stockholm outfit is fast, brash and melodic, with plenty of nods to early punk. Frontwoman Bea Persson's singing adds a poppier side to the sound, especially on the title track. The standout is "Pretty little thing", with Persson sounding a bit like Shirley Manson of Garbage and guitarist Johan Andersson weaving a hypnotic stairstep riff in and out of the faster parts. Parts of the album drag because some of the songs are indistinguishable. In fact, the whole thing has the air of a band fighting--with mixed results--to capture its live sound in the studio. Jacob Malmström's primitive, relentless drumming gives every indication that this a group meant for the stage. I'll continue listening to a few of these songs--but I'd rather see them in concert some time.
- Matthew W. Smith
They might not have the best band name around, nor the best singer, or the most original song ideas, well, in fact Wild Evil Entertainment Dept. are so unoriginal that it took me quite a few days before I came to the conclusion that this is actually a pretty darn good debut album. For what it is (standard rock'n'roll) the songs are not all steeped in exactly the same mold, they seem influenced by everything from Turbonegro ("Deadbull City") to the Dead Kennedys ("Gotta get some love"), and some verses strongly evoke the arrogance of Caesars Palace (aka The Caesars), which is pretty impressive in my book. Oh, I just realized that Turbonegro are not really that far away musically from Dead Kennedys, but heck, you know what I mean, or if you don't, here you go (dumb ass): This is a fine album packed with melodic and dirty rock'n'roll.
- Simon Tagestam