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<\/p>\nSweden has made important contributions to music. Stockholm-based 1970s pop juggernaut ABBA is so revered at home that the band has its own museum. So when Swedish fans take a strong interest in an American group, the rest of the world should pay attention.<\/p>\n
NYC-based indie pop group the Mommyheads released five albums between 1989 and 1997, then the members went their separate ways. But they got back together in 2008, and have since released five more albums of new music. Soundtrack to the World\u2019s End<\/i> is their latest. All along, the band has been popular in Sweden, where their music is favorably compared to sophisticated, ambitious pop acts like XTC and Jellyfish.<\/p>\n
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Guitarist Adam Elk says that a few influential Swedish musicians first discovered the Mommyheads on their self-titled 1997 album. \u201cThey probably found our record in the reject bins at record stores and wondered what it was,\u201d he says with a chuckle.<\/p>\n
But the group\u2019s time on major label Geffen wasn\u2019t a happy one, and that experience was a factor in the breakup. These days the band has a renewed sense of purpose. \u201cNow, we’re much more chill about everything,\u201d says keyboardist Mike Holt. \u201cWe do hope the latest album reaches new people, but we no longer have illusions or attachments about becoming stars. We’re mainly just in it for the joy of music.\u201d<\/p>\n
That joy is expressed in operating largely outside the machinery of the music business. \u201cThose days are over,\u201d Holt says. \u201cBut Adam still believes \u2013 somewhat \u2013 in the system.\u201d That means making intelligent use of press, blogs, digital distribution and the like, \u201cin the hopes that something will catch on, and that people we don’t know might actually show up at our shows and get our music online,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
These days, the Mommyheads perform in and around New York City \u2013 and in Sweden, of course \u2013 in support of Soundtrack to the World\u2019s End<\/i>. The album title isn\u2019t really political. \u201cIt\u2019s more an ecological cry for help,\u201d Elk says. \u201cThis is a tricky topic and way outside our comfort zone, which made it a huge but rewarding challenge.\u201d The music is impassioned, catchy, clever and meaningful. The lyrics make their point, but in a tongue-in-cheek way: \u201cThe penguins are wearing bikinis up in the tundra,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n
Elk provides a good-natured warning. \u201cIf you\u2019re a climate change denier, you probably won\u2019t like this record.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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