This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The title of The Sounds’ Living In America is not meant to be taken literally — or even as wishful thinking.
“We’re not living in America,” confesses singer Maja Ivarsson, pausing a beat before adding the little nose-tweak “and we’re not sorry.” And why should they be? Hell, America is the least of their concerns — even the most casual spin of their debut disc makes it wonderfully clear these Swedish popsters aren’t even living in the same decade as the rest of us. At least not musically. Living In America is a keyboard-drenched, melody-rich throwback to the early ’80s heyday of female-fronted new wave acts like Blondie and Missing Persons. Ivarsson has the same blond tresses, blue eyeliner and gritty yelp; the boys behind her have the same rumpled, leather-jacket punkiness; and songs like Seven Days A Week have the same bubble-crunch guitars, irresistible singalong hooks and howling synthesizer lines. Hell, they even have a bona-fide Eurodisco cut (Mine For Life) and their own theme song (The S.O.U.N.D.S.). Living in America? With a disc this addictive, I expect they’ll be ruling it in short order.
