Last year They Live By Night lost a band member but they gained a new sound. They lost their distortion-coated songs and tired, alt-rock leanings and gained a cleaner, simpler, indie-pop sound. They haven’t gone a 100% twee mind you, as they have kept a certain degree of muscularity and masculinity in their new music, but it nonetheless rings the indie-pop bell (riyl Montt Mardie).
The band’s new single, “Endless Summer”, from their upcoming Spring Release on Razzia Records is light and airy, catchy and sing-along-able. It’s quite a stretch from the music of their immediate past and a welcome change of pace.
Bonus – here’s their previous single from 2007 release Art and Wealth:
Double bonus – Rambling Nicholas Heron with music critic Jerry Boman on Swedish Public Television (I’m interested in a quick translation of the interview particularly about halfway in when Nicholas mentions “mp3 blogs”).
They’re talking about their album, and that it has received quite good reviews on some blogs and web publications. As an example they mention “some mp3 blog” that, quite unexpectedly, picked up a song that they really didn’t think would get any attention. A song that kind of started out as a joke, recorded in the singer’s hall at home.
Hey swedesplease, shoot me an email when you get a chance. I run a few Swedish programs (check website for one of ‘em) in the city and have some ideas I’ like to get your input on.
Here’s a quick-but-more-or-less-accurate translation of the mp3 blog part. And I’m sure it’s obvious, but it Jerry Boman seems to full-on adore these guys.
(Start @ 2:20)
Interviewer: You guys are kinda popular with the Swedish public, but I understand you’ve released an album in the US, “Here in Dreamland”. How’s it been going with that one?
Rambling Nicholas Herron: We don’t know actually know yet. We have even seen the album yet. We’re hoping to get a crate soon (laughs). We’re hoping to get it before our recording session on Saturday, but that hasn’t happened yet…. Unfortunately.
But I don’t know really. There have been coming some reviews and such, bloggers on the net.
I: And… How’s that going?
RHN: It’s going really well. We’ve gotten a good response, you can say. Actually, surprising. We were talking earlier about an MP3 blog that was writing about a song that we didn’t think at all was gonna, like, garner any attention. Just tinkering, actually.
Jerry Boman: That you had mentioned you had recorded in your…
RHN: In my hallway.
I: Yeah, your hallway.
RHN: Yeah, exactly.
I: How come it is you have your sights on the US, directly, or so?
RHN: We’ve been playing for a rather long time in here Sweden and we haven’t really broken out, like. And then we’ve gotten some connections via the net in the US, so it just felt like it was natural to, like, push ahead there.
JB gives boyish glances to RHN
(End @ 3:30)
And I hadn’t noticed that Kristoffer had already helped ya out, but I figured i should still send you my effort