This suave pop-rock group, the Swedish (though singing in English) analog of England’s Saint Etienne is up to a handful of albums now. Their ear for melody and harmony, mixed with sly cultural references (to a Polish jazz musician in their group’s name, to dada in the album title), smart lyrics, womanly singing (as opposed to little girl or sexpot cooing) and au courant styles (here reminiscent of Mouse On Mars’ recent crunchy pop output but tending always to a certain timeless kind of compelling pop hook) is hitting peak after peak. (Their website also name drops, with justification, Brian Wilson, VU, Devo, Deleuze, Can, Magazine, Scott Walker, and Boards of Canada.) For pop suckers who need some nourishment along with the sugar. Great stuff!

1. Languid but insistent rhythm guitar underpins a simple melody while the drums are strangely compressed into a crunchy thunk
2. Not sure what B.L.O.S.S.O.M. stands for but the lyrics of this driving tune consist of little affirmations and exhortations; cute
3. Killer bassline and sublime organ break; best lyric – “no one gets too old to learn a new way of getting stupid”
4. Adult ballad in which the swelling synths echo the sea in the lyrics
5. Change of pace with male vox; mid-tempo with a slow break in the middle; ironically, even with the male vox, this is very Stereolab-ish, mainly because of the fast-slow dynamic that ‘lab so frequently uses
6. Funky, nervous bass with staccato synth stabs; Komeda’s disco nouveau contribution; but check the suddenly foregrounded guitar riff in the second half of the tune
7. Folksy acoustic touches building to joyful crescendi as the sunlight comes “out from the rain”
8. Ethereal; if only all “soft rock” were this captivating … then I guess it couldn’t be used as background music … but it would be a better musical world
9. An out-and-out Can tribute (check Can’s “On The Road Again”) down to the descending blues riff on fuzzy guitar, the falsetto vox, and the lyrical mention of hippies
10. A magnificently somber ballad counterposed against joie de vivre lyrics
11. A simple finger-poppin’ hipster, spy-theme style tune with mod touches (clicks and cuts)