Sound check

Sweet sounds

New CDs feature good combinations

The Cardigans
Best Of
Universal

With a career spanning more than 15 years and millions of album sales worldwide, The Cardigans remain one of Sweden’s biggest indie-pop bands. Now they’ve finally got around to releasing all of their hits on one album with the long-awaited Best Of collection.

If you’re not familiar with the Cardigans, this compilation is highly recommended. It covers the band’s output from 1994 to 2005, comprising 21 of their finest moments. All the hits from their six studio albums are here, including their breakthrough hit “Carnival,” while “Lovefool” and “Rise & Shine” still sound fresh as ever.

Catchy guitar riffs, jazzy chords and overall great musicianship combine with Nina Persson’s vocals to create a truly unique sound that’s won them many fans since their formation. Some of the more experimental material in the later albums can also be found here, such as “My Favourite Game” and “Erase/Rewind,” as well as more recent stuff like “I Need Some Fine Wine and You” and “You Need to be Nicer.”

One of the great things about this compilation is that it’s a two-CD set. The first disc contains the singles along with a few selected album tracks, while the second disc features rarities and B-sides — adding up to an extra 24 tracks of varying quality.

This is a good album to purchase for long-standing fans of the Cardigans. It’s also perfect for those who are just acquainting themselves with music from one of the most underrated bands of the last 15 years. — TB

Sweet Mullet
Light Heavyweight
Genie Records

Sweet Mullet seem to be developing from post-hardcore to modern rock, following the popular emo trend along the way. It’s an interesting development from their more underground days, and it may be a good way for them to pick up more fans in the future.

If you’ve been a fan of Sweet Mullet since their days as an underground band, then you may be a little disappointed with Light Heavyweight. The hard-rocking sound that the band had with their first EP, Panaphobia, is only featured in a few songs here.

Each song on Light Heavyweight stands as a good track in itself, but overall the mix of styles isn’t always smooth.

Some of the tracks feature their typical hard sound, while other tracks are very soft and sound completely different. As the title Light Heavyweight suggests, this album is a real mix of light and heavy sounds.

Sweet Mullet may have enough ability to develop this particular music path successfully. — VH

	long-awaited (adj): that people have been waiting for a long time breakthrough (n): an important development leading to success acquaint (v): to make yourself familiar with or aware of something underrated (adj): not recognised for how good or important it is disappointed (adj): upset because something did not live up to your expectations ability (n): a level of skill and intelligence path (n): a plan of action or a way of achieving something