Label: ia!

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Don't Be A Stranger - Frutti di MareDon't Be A Stranger
Frutti di Mare
ia!/V2

7

Swedish bands break up and morph into others quicker than an atom, or at least so it seems. The collaborative effort is so high, it's as if the Social-Democracy permeates every level of society, and, within the music scene, usually proves to be a successful act. Here for example, we have Don't Be A Stranger, a band which features former members of Honey Is Cool. For comparative purposes, this is not too dissimilar stylistically from The Concretes and The Tiny, though I find them to be better than the former and more accessible than the latter. On the tracks "Lonely together", "Yellow moon" and "Too late", the band is at their peak, with the mellow, intertwining instruments creating the space needed for the listener's maximum enjoyment. Just because one has an instrument doesn't mean one has to fill every second with sound - and with a group such as Don't Be A Stranger, the notes not played allow the music to be most emphatic.
- Matt Giordano

Don't Be A Stranger
Ho ho
ia!/Headstomp

6

Don't Be A Stranger claim in an interview that the title of this 4-song EP is not a "Santa 'ho ho'" but the fact that "every song we make has an "ho ho" lyrics-part in it." Indeed, there is no holiday jolliness on here, but there is a charming sense of humor ("I know I'll be your perfect problem" she sings to the man she wants in one song, and in another she offers the come on line "We could be lonely together!"), and you gotta love a band that describes itself on their MySpace page as "Christian Rap/Hawaiian/Screamo." The sound is more accurately described as somewhere between Labrador-like twee, mellow rhythms and smooth singing, and indiepop's clever edges. The arrangements are often sparse, highlighting the singer's lovely voice. It's a tightly crafted fine listen, but easy to forget once it's over.
- Nancy Baym