Swedish Chanteusies Make Dance-Pop Stand and Deliver

Turns out my favorite album of '08, Robyn, came out in'05 in Europe. What I knew was a record from the mid-90s, Robyn Is Here, w/ a couple perfect RnB pop tunes, "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)." Then, she was 15, and all yearning bubblegum sweetness,from Anywhere, USA, for all I knew. Now she's grown up, feisty, perhaps even sweeter for some bitter experience and an absolutely irrepressible heart, and it turns out she's Swedish. No less pop than her 90s classic, her latest is more Robyn, w/ a fan's loving nod to Madonna and Prince and 80s hiphop and robotic electronica, and a pop artist's need and assurance in saying what she needs to say. She has a way of rendering heartbreak with a fierce pride that is exhilirating. It's Robyn's world.



Lykke Li's debut long player, Youth Novels, is not lacking in indie-electronica atmosphere, but feels padded here and there. And, yet, it's these few slinky tunes, "Little Bit," "Everybody But Me," and "Breaking It Up," that worm their way into your head and then wiggle to your distraction. For a young girl barely 20 Lykke makes too many compromises in her life and yet not in her music. When the one catches up w/ the other watch out.



September is very new to me but the final inspiration for this post. I only found her "Cry For You" trolling year-end lists, but I'm loving this throbbing, wailing knockout. She's best in disco guise but this acoustic version of "Cry For You," w/ lackluster backing even, lays bare the sultry grit of her voice. She's no auteur but w/ the right material ohh la la.

So what the hell is up in Sweden?! These three, El Perro Del Mar, Susanna, etc. All these girl singers w/ pop style and emotional gravitas. Is it the Lutefisk?