03/27/09
Text: Nik Mercer
As Spring rolls around the corner once again, we're akin to turn down the Interpol, cold synth-pop, and generally anything from Canada (hear the new Bell Orchestre yet?), and amp the brighter stuff "up to 11." From Yeah Yeah Yeahs' forthcoming It's Blitz! to the Pet Shop Boys' amazingly flaming Yes to Röyksopp's beaming, crystal clear Junior, anything that makes up want to hit the beach and open a new chapter in life gets top priority on the Anthem sound system.
Sweden's Tough Alliance is just one such group. The Scandinavian cold has done nothing but warm the two lads up, though: Practically every song they've dropped has been dripping with beachy riffs, bouncy synth melodies and beats, and smooth, sugary vocals that make us want to play volleyball and sit around night bonfires with friends. (If you haven't heard or bought 2007's New Waves or last year's A New Chance, grab them both right now.)
Color us ignorant or just too blissed-out to notice, but apparently, as Butter Team reports, one of our favorite singles of theirs, "Hung Up On A Dream," is actually a cover of the Zombies' song of the same name from one of the greatest psych-pop albums of all time, Odessey and Oracle. We still obviously love the song (and can safely say we enjoy it more than the original), but felt a little had when we got wind of the news that we should've, frankly, been aware of years ago. Download the TTA version below and check out Butter Team to compare and contrast it with the 60s classic.
