By Caitlyn Holroyd
Sweden has always provided us with plenty of good musical exports—Lykki Li, Peter Bjorn & John, The Hives, and my childhood favourite, Robyn. You can now add Miike Snow, an indie-pop trio garnering plenty of buzz as of late.
Following their recent successful North American tour, the band announced that they’ll be hitting the road yet again this spring and will be returning to Toronto on April 3, which leaves plenty of time for you to hop on the bandwagon if you haven’t yet done so.
Made up of New Yorker Andrew Wyatt and Swedes Pontus Winnberg and Christian Karlsson, a.k.a. Bloodshy & Avant, responsible for such hits as Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” the band’s self-titled album is full of love ballads disguised as dance floor hits.
“Animal” is complete with catchy lyrics and plenty of charm, followed by the soulful and grimy “Black & Blue.” The six-minute epic offering of “Sylvia” could easily be a lost Duran Duran ballad, with an interesting mix of piano and atmospheric synths. While the album features a few low points, Miike Snow have created a fine piece of intelligent, satisfying, and catchy pop music that you’ll be happy to have discovered.