All I know I learned today

I mentioned--what, back in May, I think?--a while ago, anyway, that one of my albums of the summer was the Tough Alliance's A New Chance. I meant to write about it back then, but somehow it never happened. I'm sort of reluctant to do it at this moment--I don't think I'm in the state to come up with anything clever or significant to say about it and I have a feeling I'll end up choosing the wrong song to post--but I guess I am anyway!

The Tough Alliance are indie. But they're also Swedish and do electro-pop, which--especially when the group's made of two guys--seems to be a recipe for success, or at least good music. Basically, them being "indie" here only means that they're a little bit left-field, but along with those hipster stylings, they also happen to make really catchy music which I guess you could also say is pretty cute. Maybe not quite as cute as Lo-Fi-Fnk, but definitely enjoyable, even if I sometimes surprise myself by liking them. A New Chance was their latest album/EP/whatever and it sounded exactly like summer, though in retrospect maybe it's a good thing it's actually a good thing I'm writing about them in the middle of the summer--though their sunshiney tunes are perfect for making me imagine the beach in the middle of a rainy (still) fall day, it can sometimes be a bit much when you actually are out in the middle of the summer heat on a beach.

1981--the album's closing song, and I was hooked on on it from those opening instrumental notes. I know this is an odd comparison to make, given that there are a plethora of Swedish male duos making electro-pop and consequently surely much more accurate comparisons available, but for some reason this song reminds me of what I imagine the Attic might sound like if they ever decided they wanted to be "hip" or more left-field. It's lovely and lush and a change of pace from the rest of the album--more "typical song"-like, I guess, though still not exactly standard pop structure (for the closest you'll get to that, look to the album's lead single and most commercial sounding song "First Class Riot"), and literally slower as well. If the duo's voices ever get on your nerves, this song tones them down a bit; they spend most of the time doing backing vocals (yes, backing vocals when there's no main vocals; if you can think of a better name for those "ahhh"s, let me know) and creating the fantastic, slightly exotic sounding music.

To buy the Tough Alliance's A New Chance, go here (physical) or here (digital). It's also available on iTunes stores worldwide.

This reminds me: do well all know Le Sport's "Your Brother Is My Only Hope"? Now that's a great Swedish male electro-pop duo song! (They've also done a song called "If Neil Tennant Was My Lover," for what it's worth.)

Next up: I'm not sure--maybe a poppy Dutch Eurovision song.