When I think of the Wannadies, I think of bouncy, summery fun. I think of Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes mooning over each other (not "at" each other as I almost wrote.. which is now making me guffaw like a 12 year old boy) in Baz Luhrmann's 1996 version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Why? you ask. Because the Wannadies' most famous song, "You & Me Song", features on the soundtrack ("Yoooooou and meeeee, alwaaaays and for-ev-er".. you know the one) As does "Love Fool" by Sweden's other playful indie outfit, The Cardigans. But I'll save that for another review.

The Wannadies, gurus of crazy-beautiful alternative power pop, formed back in the 80's in Skelleftea, Sweden (home of The Drowners, another bouncy power pop combo... they obviously put something in the water in Skelleftea, that makes musicians thrive on abject jauntiness...). After releasing a couple of independent albums in the early 90's, the Wannadies finally found fame beyond Sweden over in the UK upon the release of their album "Be A Girl" in 1995. Quickly becoming darlings of the British music press, they did various music festivals and a stint of touring supporting The Lightening Seeds, which aided the success of their fourth album, "Bagsy Me" nicely. The inclusion of "You & Me Song" on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack did them many favours across the pond in the US. But it was short lived. After spending a lot of time in constant battle with record companies and the like, The Wannadies took a 2 year break from music, until the release of "Yeah" in 1999, which was released in the US a year later.

Which brings me to this one, released in Europe in 2002 on the Indolent label, "Before and After" wasn't released in the US until earlier this year on Hidden Agenda. Why it took 2 years to reach the US is a mystery, but possibly has something to do with falling record sales throughout Europe, despite the album having a moderate amount of success.

"Before and After" (2002 Indolent, Europe / 2004 US Hidden Agenda)

The Wannadies is...are...er...;

Pär Wiksten (Vocals/Guitar)
Stefan Schönfeldt (Guitar)
Fredrik Schönfeldt (Bass)
Erik Dahlgren (Drums)
Christina Bergmark (Organ)

The original idea behind "Before and After", was to make it into a 2 disc concept album. With 1 disc (Before) comprising of dazzlingly poppy summery songs, and the other disc (After) being made up of slower, bittersweet melodies. After much trimming and tweaking, the album finally ended up a 12 song affair, with 6 songs falling into each original category.

Before

The first of the 6, "Little by Little", with its glam-rock feel, and Blur-esque bounce opens the "Before" series well. An innately catchy tune, with constant thrums and distorted vocals. Add in some "a-waa-ooows" and some unavoidably catchy guitar playing, and it borders on perfect. Having said that, by the time we reach "Nothing Wrong", I'm a little bit confused. Since something is quite obviously wrong. It's virtually the same song, same tune, same tempo, except where there were "a-woo-ooows", there's now "Oh yeah"'s instead. Call me picky but that's just cheating. In fact, the 2 songs are so identical, you'd be forgiven for thinking they actually are the same song, with a wee break in the middle.

Not a good start.

BUT.. "P!ss On You" makes up for the initial confusion. A more downbeat take on catchy (still catchy tho') Some nifty bass work and Wiksten's husky, quiet vocal through the verses make it a delight. What intrigues me more are the lyrics. The song masquerades, melody wise, as a fanciful and whimsical breezy, summery track, but the lyrics have their own ideas;

I like rock, but you give me the blues,
If you don't win, then you want me to lose....
Don't know how you do it, but you do it to me,
Coz you're not happy, till I'm not happy
so mean....

Of course, the chorus is where the singer gets a form of revenge...

I p!ss on you,
I p!ss on you,
I know I do
p!ss on you

One hopes he's speaking metaphorically. But then, he's Swedish, and probably means in literally.

Ew.

After the icky lavatorial doings comes "Skin". Another delightfully poppy tune, with decidedly more upbeat lyrics to match. It's still a rather quiet and unassuming song, with the vocal blending almost perfectly with the guitars, but it has enough bounce and poppiness to warrant the occasional head bobbing. Next comes the brilliant "Uri Gellar" (note; Uri Gellar is a semi-famous psychic who is most famous for bending lots of spoons only with the power of his own mind) It opens really prettily, with a distracted organ, before their trademark guitar strums kick in. A distorted vocal more to the fore which makes great use of the phrase "doo-doo-dum". The last of the 6 "Before" tracks comes in the form of the barmy "All Over Me". Which, oddly, sounds like an Oasis song on acid. Semi Beatles-esque and slightly rockier, it encompasses everything from 60's "summer of love" ness, to glam, to prog rock. Although, the addition of the extended nonsensical whirring and twanging tuneless guitars towards the end spoil it a little.

After

Again, 6 songs, under the umbrella of "After" this time. "Disko" is calm and collected, quiet, yet playful. It makes better use of the organs, giving it a more relaxing feel. The choruses are still a little up-tempo, but you forget the unnecessary noisiness at the verses, which are fresh and tranquil. "Singalong Son" is interesting. Relying heavily on the organs and various brass instrumentation in part, whilst becoming sparse and muted in places. Wiksten sounding like he's singing with his head stuck down a toilet bowl, creating an echoey, yet claustrophobic feel. It almost sounds "Strawberry Fields Forever" in places.

The sweet, sweet "Come With Me (Till You Feel better)" is gorgeous, both musically and lyrically. Soft and low, with an aching beauty, delicate and graceful. A constant lulling feel that never raises beyond much of a whisper. Throw in some sleepy whistling and sweeping drums and it could rock you gently to sleep. The lyrics are soothing, with a gentle embrace;

Why don't you come with me for a while,
We'll take it slow for a while,
Sit next to me for a while,
Till things look bet-ter

Aw.

Following is the wonderful "Happy". Extremely musically sparse at first, it raises its spirits in places. Like its title, the song is a happy one, quietly confidently happy, that actually makes you want to smile as you listen. Wistful and pleasant it sweeps away cobwebs and can't help but make you feel all smoggly inside. "Can't Stop You" sees the Wannadies get all melodic and aching balladish. Slightly quicker than the average ballad, it still contains all the right ingredients, right down to extended musical sweeps and sad and beautiful laments. Gently it engages the psyche of the pessimist and fills it with optimism. It puts its big, strong arms around the hopeless and promises better times.

The last of the downbeat 6 is "Love Letter". Which is everything the title suggests. A plea from the heart from all directions, this softly spoken gem offers up a pretty melody via its delicately humming guitars. I love the song, it's fluffy and cuddly. However, I have mild concerns about the reasons he gives for loving whomever he's writing to;

It's the way you fall asleep all the time,
It's the way you're scared whenever you fly,
And the way you hide your nose in my eye,
please be mine.

Actually, you have to be pretty impressed by someone who can remove their nose and hide it in someone's eye, no? I know I'd love someone who could do that, so his points are valid I guess.

Winter is asleep, and Spring's too lazy

All in all, it was an inspired attempt at something a little different from the Wannadies. And it works, to a point. Defining the borders between thrill seeking, bouncy alternative pop, and quiet acoustic poetry certainly gives the album a less confused feel. Interesting collection of songs, almost perfect. Whilst I enjoy the first 6 and their indie pop flavour, the second 6, and their bittersweet mixture of agony and declarations of love and adoration are my favourite 6. I'm just a big, ol' sentimental fool at heart and a fluffy, yet comical whimsical ballad will do it for me every time. On the downside, the album can sound a bit lazy, maybe even banal in places. But those places are very few and far between.

Evident throughout, however, is the Wannadies' trademark guitar sound, blended with the occasional organ, and a backing vocal from Christina Bergmark that often makes a song sound so undeniably Swedish (if that makes sense) They're also fond of complicated lyrics and ironic narratives, which gives them a certain amount of originality. Although sometimes the lyrics can be just plain silly. But Wannadies is as Wannadies does, and you'll either love them or hate them. Fair to say the Wannadies are a bit loony, but it's an eccentric quirk and undeniably what makes them a little bit special sometimes. However, please don't judge them on "You & Me Song", since there's much more to them than meets the nose (in the eye).

This was the last album they released.. we'll have to wait and see what comes next.

The enhanced version of this album features a number of extra bits and pieces. Including videos for "Skin", "P!ss on You" and 2 versions of "Little by Little". Plus extra bonus material. Pop it in your CD-Rom, and away you go.

Tracks: Before: Little by Little / Nothing Wrong / P!ss on You / Skin / Uri Gellar / All Over Me. After: Disko / Singalong Son / Come With Me (Till Things Get Better) / Happy / Can't Stop You / Love Letter.

Overall: 4 stars

Similar Artists: The Beautiful South / Teenage Fanclub / Silver Sun

Great Music to Play While: Removing your nose and hiding it in your lover's eye.

Recommended: Yes