Sinister: All the umbrellas in London...

[stacey dahling]

.... could they stop this blasted rain? What happened to our summer eh? Well, 
maybe it'll help entice the Glaswegians indoors on Friday evening for an SOS 
Midsommer party with the fab Raymond and Maria! Like B&S, they are not 
actually a pair of folk-singing hippies named Raymond and Maria (although 
there is a Maria in the band, just as there is a Bel... oooh freaky). The 
sweet-sounding quintet are named after.. well, not a lovely kid's cartoon. 
Er... no. Rather, a swingin' Swedish sex club from the 70s. Racy! Ha! 
There's been lots of other B&S comparisons made (see review below) and I'm 
sure Sinisterenes will not be disappointed once they have a listen.

So if you're in toon, you simply must come along! Early doors - at 9pm!!! - 
ending at 11pm, but to be followed by what I've been told is THE primo 
northern soul night in toon, Goodfoot. I believe it's free entry for us SOS 
lot so we can keep the party going til 3am! (Or you can nip home early to 
watch the BB eviction you taped and still be in your bed by pumpkin time.)

Speaking of London, our friends down south are in for a treat as well, as 
the minstrels will be in the Big Smoke for THREE NIGHTS. Lucky you! You can 
catch them here:

Tonight tonight! Tuesday June 19th at The Fly, 9 p.m.
Tomorrow tomorrow! Wednesday, June 20th at Windmill Brixton, 9.30 p.m.
Thursday, June 21st at The Monto, 8.15 p.m.

And if you're anywhere else in the world, you can still thank me for helping 
you discover a fab new band :) So have a wee listen (and look - there are 
videos!) at http://www.myspace.com/soundsofsweden

And if you still need convincing, here's a fab review:

While all the attention on Swedish pop these days seems to be focused on the 
English-speaking acts like The Concretes, and Labrador house bands like Acid 
House Kings, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and, personal favorite, Pelle 
Carlberg, for my money, the wholesome, clean-cut quintet, Raymond och Maria 
may be creating the best pop music in Sweden. The decision to sing in their 
native tongue may be what’s kept them out of the major American and British 
market, but it certainly won’t prevent me, a confessed Svenksaphile from 
touting the merits of one of the year’s best releases. Picking up where 
their masterful debut left off, the album (roughly, “However Much I Take, 
There’s Always A Little Bit Left”) opens with “Dikter på fel Sätt,” with a 
rambling little acoustic guitar a la Nick Drake or vintage Paul Simon 
rolling along under sisters, Maria and Camilla’s angelic soaring vocals. The 
snappy lead single with the shockingly mean-spirited title, 
“Storstadskvinnor Faller Ner Och Dor “ (“Big City Ladies Fall Down and Die”) 
that is probably meant to be satirical, gallops along at a brisk pace, with 
sprightly, dueling piano embellishments from Mats Schubert and David 
Nyström.

Dance around the room to the bubbly “Hur Andra Människor Bor” (“How Other 
People Live”) and then mellow out to the nice change of pace of “Väntar” 
(“Wait”), with its lovely, flowing string arrangements. “Varför Ska Vi Göra 
Allt Igen” (“Why Must We Do Everything Again”) is so chock full of soaring 
“la la la’s,” toetapping backbeat, and handclaps that it turned even yours 
truly into a giggling schoolgirl! The album ends with the magisterially 
baroque “Prins Carl Phillip” (both the crown prince of Sweden as well as a 
swinging party boat), with its simple yet elegant piano backing behind 
Maria’s wonderfully proud and nationalistic vocal performance.

As I mentioned when reviewing their debut, it doesn’t matter that you can’t 
understand what they’re singing about – just listen to the bubbly, upbeat 
music and the sisters’ emotional vocals that you can almost understand the 
fun time they had recording it and that effervescence spills out of your 
speakers on almost every song. Like a folkier, more down to earth Abba or, 
if it will help convince you American and British A&R reps to secure a label 
deal for them pronto, we’ll reluctantly toss out the dreaded “a Swedish 
Belle & Sebastian” comparison. Either way, this is the happiest, most 
uplifting, smile-inducing album you’re likely to hear all year, and I invite 
you to check your musical xenophobia towards all non-English-speaking 
artists at the door and pick up what will surely be one of your favorite 
releases this year. Highly recommended to fans of Nick Drake, Simon & 
Garfunkle, the Swedish Labrador label, The Concretes, and, of course, Belle 
& Sebastian. 10/10 -- Jeff Penczak (24 April, 2007)

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