The
Cardigans radically altered themselves with Gran
Turismo, then dipped into a darker fare with
the five years later offering in 2003 of Long
Gone Before Daylight. Now, the Cardigans have
followed suit, with Nina Persson channelling her
inner Polly Jean.
For, yes, Super Extra Gravity has
more in common with PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City,
Stories From the Sea than it does the happy-go-lucky
pop found on such charming offerings as First
Band on the Room. Here, the guitars of Peter
Svenson are used in far greater focus, with Persson
putting in a vocal performance that is both nuanced
yet approachable.
It helps that the songs on offer
here really stand out – the brilliantly blasphemous “Godspell” has
a nasty edge to it, while single “I Need Some Fine
Win and You, You Need to Be Nicer” transcends its
clunky moniker by making it into an excellent chorus. “Overload” borrows
it’s melody from the final movement of Queen’s “Bohemian
Rhapsody” (“Mumma, I just killed a man” can be sung
over the beginning of each verse), while the combination
of former Persson and former Shudder to Think member
Nathan Larson’s lyrics are both odd and striking.
Like PJ’s most commercial and direct
effort, Super
Extra Gravity is shaded and coloured by the
New York music tapestry, particularly the dark
corners inhabited by the likes of the Velvet Underground.
It’s a sound that really suits the group’s matured
outlook, and one that they’ll hopefully continue
to expand upon. The Cardigans have never sounded
so complete as they do on Super Extra Gravity.