The Cardigans - First Band on the Moon

Not the Cardigans best.

This is the weakest Cardigans album. It's pleasant listening since the music is good but the vocals are bland and words uninteresting. One would never guess Nina Persson had any edge from hearing this. But she does. Gran Turismo and Long Gone Before Daylight are far superior. Their first album Life is also much better than this. And Nina's solo album A Camp ranks up there. March 13, 2008

The best album from one of the most underrated bands

I know this band from the "love me, love me" song that we've all heard, but I've fallen in love with their music. They have lots of albums, and all of them seem really good!

Great quality of songwriting and performance, they are grossly underrated. January 10, 2008

This album is great! Truly distinctive.....

I remember my introduction to the music of Swedish band, The Cardigans. I can tell you the time and place. I was a freshman in high school, and my class took a trip to the movie theater to see a screening of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO AND JULIET. Their hit song, "Lovefool" was blaring while Juliet (Claire Danes) is preparing to see her lover, Romeo (Leonardo Dicaprio) in secret. I thought the song's infectious melody and cute vocals, from their female lead singer was so catchy! Also, the lyrics were border-line masochistic. They alluded to the foolishness that some women knowingly buy into in relationships, just to keep their partners, regardless of what damage they are being subjected to. I had to buy the cassette and see if this song was really "the peak" for these Swedish rockers, or if they were merely one hit wonders.

I am happy to tell you that these Swedes definitely lived up to my hopes, and I found their music interchangably upbeat and unsettling. The Cardigans is best described as conflicted rock music. They deliver punchy lyrics, set to a combination of percussive, bouncy accompaniment and dark, more slow and (even) demented background music. In fact, some of their songs almost sound like outtakes from younger versions of the S&M inspired band, The Velvet Underground. "Your New Cuckoo," "Been It," and "Losers" are three examples of their unabashedly honest songs, along with "Lovefool." Though, I had limited exposure and knowledge of sado-masochistic relationships, I had enough knowledge to understand what they were alluding to. Dark as the subject matter was, I appreciated it and still do today. May 17, 2007

Submission

The theme of this album could be described in one word: submission. The submissiveness shown in relationships both positive and negative, and both are explored thoroughly here.

Highlights:

Your New Cuckoo is about discovery of your partner's infidelity. And not just the infidelity of the loins, but of the heart, which is the most destructive form of infidelity.

Been It has grown up lyrics like "I was your mother, I was your father, I was your sister, your mistress, maybe I was your who/re. Who could ask for more." But it gets too repetitive.

Heartbreaker is a song about a hook/er. "I'll please you for free." "Tell me I'm good, but I know I am bad." "Don't do that, don't use that bat"? There's a looming fear on this track that creeps into the next one.

Happy Meal II.
I assume there's a Happy Meal I somewhere, right? One of my favorites from the record, but is this really a happy song about an anticipated rendezvous? It seems to me her near obsessed preoccupation with wanting everything to be perfect shows an undercurrent of abuse? Fear? Doom? Maybe a man with serious anger problems who likes to beat his girl if her books aren't arranged in order, or her made up stories aren't amusing. "Shape up my face, eager for the meeting." Maybe she needs to shape up her face to hide that black eye he gave her the night before. Happy Meal just doesn't come off as romantic. Per/verse is more like it.

Never Recover
I really like this song. It's breezy and infectious.

Lovefool is a poppy song that sticks out on this record. Another song about submission: willing a guy to be with you despite his lack of love and concern. While the song has serious lyrics of desperation, no one could deny with a straight face that any pop act that all the "sophisticated music lovers on their high horses" hate could have made this record. I can see Britney Spears singing it right now. Especially considering Brit and Nina have similar-sounding voices.

Losers
My third favorite after Lovefool and Happy Meal.

Iron Man
I really like this light interpretation of the Heavy Metal classic.

Bottom Line: I'm still not totally convinced The Cardigans are a band I could really love the way I do the other female-led band No Doubt. There is a mystery and darkness that shrouds The Cardigans, and if not for Lovefool, I still wouldn't know who they were. I'm in no hurry to buy anything else from them, but this record is very solid and creative. January 3, 2007

Flawless CD.

This is really good music. The Bass player is a master. What strikes me about this group and especially this album is the extremely heavy base (like the Peppers) contrasted with the soft beautiful voice of the lead singer. If you want to hear good music this is it. I do much of my writing listening to this CD. June 10, 2006

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