The Cardigans are one of those bands that, on paper, should be classified as a guilty pleasure but are just so good and so enjoyable that I can't help but tell the world how amazing they are. The songwriting is top-notch, and Nina Persson is a deceptively strong singer--she reels you in with the über-cute vocals but she's capable of delivering harsher emotions than one would initially expect. Everyone knows and loves "Lovefool" even if they won't admit it, but anyone else have other favorites? I was inspired to start this topic after listening for the countless time to the Life album tonight--an unheralded masterpiece for my money. I don't think any band does jaunty light-hearted tunes better than The Cardigans, and that album is stuffed with them, and yet there's still a lot of substance to it. And for those who aren't too familiar with their work outside of "Lovefool," if you think that song is catchy, just wait until you hear "Carnival" (and watch its adorable video).
I completely understand the "guilty pleasure" concept with this band. They are truly talented, however, and they are capable of producing a broad range of styles. "Long Gone Before Daylight" is one of the best overall records from the last decade. Excellent song cycle, with great production and arrangement ideas. If you haven't heard this record, you've missed out on something special.
A band sorely missed by me. They breakdown like this for me: First albums - jazzy cute pop, flawed in parts for being too clever. Gran Turismo - ice cool melancholy. Long Gone Before Daylight - just shy of the perfect acoustic album. Super Extra Gravity - Their best album, Beatlesque intelligent pop expertly crafted. Get the DVD version too for an amazing documentary! Also check out the first A Camp album, but avoid the second - Colonia which is pretty bad.
Not a guilty pleasure for me.Great band and great catalogue. Don't forget the "Other Side Of The Moon" compilation either. The debut A Camp album is very good too. The SACD of "Long Gone" is excellent as well the USA edition with the bonus DVD.
I'm in the minority with regard to Long Gone Before Daylight. Compared to what came before, it was just a little too adult contemporary for me. Otherwise, brilliant band. First Band on the Moon is really one of the most underappreciated records of the 90s - it's perfect!
I was very skeptical of the band until I sat down and listened to their music. My wife is a fan and she convinced me to spend stupid money to get Gran Turismo on vinyl - it is fantastic sounding as is Long Gone Before Daylight and Life. In fact, we were just spinning these albums two nights ago. M I think that the biggest surprise fr me was around how nicely their albums are mastered - I like the tunes and love the sound.
I love the Cardigans! Not big fan of most of "Emmerdale", but from "Life" to "Super Extra Gravity" there are some incredible moments/songs to say the least. Couldn't agree LESS with the allmusic.com reviews of "Gran Turismo" onwards. \../
Agreed, though I wish "First Band on the Moon" sounded a bit fuller/thicker, maybe? I very much like the overall production, but recently having returned to it, I'm not a big as fan of the mix as I was, uh...back in the day? Heh.
Cardigans were the right band at the right time. I loved them from the start, bought every album and single, and stayed with them through "Gran Turismo," which I was never very enthusiastic about. I bought the last two albums but probably played them a half dozen times each. I second seeking out "Other Side of the Moon." They were good live, too.
Or the likely easier-found 2CD version of "Best Of", which I think contains 90+% of what's on "The Other Side of the Moon".
I got into the Cardigans just before I moved to Sweden in '96, so enjoyed them with pseudo national pride through their heyday. Admittedly fell out of touch with them when I moved back stateside 10 years ago, so I'll seek out there more recent offerings. Caught them at Boston's free Hatch Shell concert in Sep. 96: Cardigans, Morphine, TMBG. What a bill!
Very much appreciated by me. A truely great pop band that made an interesting development. I'll never forget how I first heard "Carnival" and thought they can't be serious because it sounded so fluffy and retro to me. Now of course I see what a gem it is and love their stuff a lot. "My Favorite Game" is a great indie dance track and a modern classic.
Like many, I became a fan with 'Lovefool'. I never suspected there was anymore to them but this fun hit so I was really pleasantly surprised by how good First Band is. I need to get some of their other albums - I only have Long Gone and Super Extra Gravity. The lyrics have a tortured and almost masochistic quality about them. On First Band, the music is so exuberant that the lyrics come off in a playful ironic way. With LGBD and SEG, the focus shifts and the music becomes more in line with the lyrics. I love these later albums but they are a bit bleak. I do agree that the music became a little mainstream sounding but the dark emotions expressed override this for me. A great great band.
This is a band that needs some vinyl reissues - they are in my Top 20 all-time favorites. Consistently good albums and not all the same sound (which I like). Like others have mentioned, don't dismiss them as a "Lovefool" one-hit wonder - they have a much more expansive catalog and their last two albums are fantastic.
Wow, thanks for reminding me of this band. I saw them back in 1996/97 in a small club in Rhode Island, and they were great. Seconded on the vinyl reissues!
Haven't played them in awhile. I have their stuff on vinyl from Life to Long Gone Before Daylight. Life is my favorite. Never got their final album though. Never knew it existed at the time and just have never come across it in the bins.
FBOTM and Gran Turismo are spectacular. I didn't like the direction they went on LGBD and Gravity as much but they were still good records. Hated that these guys got left by the wayside commercially. I still want to find the original 11 track version of Life. And vinyl reissues would be phenomenal. The original pressing of Gran Turismo is one of my holy grails.
I had to resort to ebay to get a copy of Gran Turismo - I think that I bought a copy from a guy in Japan. Keep an eye open - I saw a copy in an indie record store here in San Diego a while back (which I purchased as a backup) - one will show up!
There were three or four versions of Life, as I recall, and I ended up with US, Swedish, and Japanese editions in order to get absolutely everything. The Japanese disc included everything from the UK one, if I remember correctly. They were a fun band to try to collect in their early years. My copy of First Band on the Moon is a promo in a slim case with different cover art to the released version: Time to dig these out and have a fresh listen!
