Life by The Cardigans

Pros: Some nice songs...
Cons: Some boring, too-sweet songs...

It was with their third album that the Swedish band the Cardigans had their first hit single. Actually, come to think of it Lovefool is to date the band’s only real hit single. In any case, the song was everywhere—on MTV and radio and in ...

Pros: True pop at its greatest
Cons: Some of the songs can get annoying, because of their "sweetness" factor, but you learn to love them in the end

These are the Cardigans who took the world by surprise with their song Lovefool, popularly released in 1997 on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. But this cd is the precursor to The First Band on the Moon where Lovefool was...

Pros: Like a textbook of pop-rock songcraft; easily one of the decade's best
Cons: May be too sweet for some (drink plenty of water).

(NB. this review focuses on the European tracklistings; see http://perso.sickandtired.mageos.com/discoeng.htm for details)

Following their forlorn traipse through the green fields of Emmerdale" (their debut), "Life" is The Cardigans' irresistible fairground escapade. The clinically catchy "Carnival" is the Obvious Single (as indicated by Nina's tired sighs); "Gordon's Gardenparty" is like being pampered on a lazy afternoon, "Daddy's Car" joyously declares destinations both real and whimsical ("from Berlin to the moon"), "Rise & Shine" (see Emmerdale) is an instant classic. There are also touches of wryness: bemoaning a bumbling boyfriend in the quietly theatrical "Travelling with Charley" (after the final chorus line -- "He would be nothing without me" -- Nina quickly adds a gem of a closer "But I *do* love him"); alternately teasing and dumping another on the cute/cruel "Hey! Get out of my way". Some tracks tend to plod on ("Beautiful One") but it's compensated for by some spiffy go-go moments ("Fine", "Tomorrow"). The musicians here must have had a field day it seems, with the right instruments and compositions ready for almost any occasion. But the deserved star here is Nina, who's never been more ebullient than here, cooing her way to pop-rock superstardom.