Sven Lindström and Per Gessle are back on The Spectrum with the September episode of Nordic Rox.
Sven thinks maybe they should change the name Nordic Rox to Nordic Metal or Nordic Hard Rox for today’s show. Per doesn’t think so, but he says they are going to start off really loud with a Swedish band called Thundermother. The track is Driving In Style. Sven asks you to watch your ears. So the guys kick off in the heaviest possible style. Thundermother is an all female, Swedish band. Per thinks they are really cool and they remind him of The Donnas, an American band. This is sort of similar. He thinks it’s great to hear that this style lives on, untouched. Sven agrees and adds that if you watch their live clippings, you can see that they are fantastically good on stage as well. So it’s probably a good show to watch out for. He thinks they have to return to Thundermother later on in future shows.
Starry Eyes by Helikoptern is next. It’s a power pop classic according to Sven. Per has the original on a 12-inch. It was made by a band called The Records, produced by a very young Mutt Lange before he became that big producer producing AC/DC, Def Leppard and Shania Twain. Sven didn’t know that Mutt produced this one. He went into harder stuff later, but according to Per, he has always been a pop guy. PG finds this song really wonderful and he thinks Helikoptern is doing a great job. They have a little vocal support by Kerry Bomb and it has just been released.
Hey Winner by Lolita Pop from 1989 is the third song the guys play. Per thinks it’s a great band. Then it’s Royal Republic’s turn with Baby from 2016. Mr. G thinks it’s a great track. Sven thinks it’s produced by Michael Ilbert, but Per is not sure about it. He knows that Ilbert has been working with Royal Republic a bit though, and they have been recording in his studio, in the old Hansa Studios in Berlin.
Above The Candystore by Paola, an old classic from the early noughties comes next.
Dow Jones Syndrome by The Soundtrack Of Our Lives is the following track. Sven asks Per what exactly the Dow Jones Syndrome is, but Per has no clue. Sven says they will bring in a doctor for the next Nordic Rox show and see if they can sort it out. Per says he likes The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, they are excellent. Unfortunately, they don’t do much anymore, but you can always keep your fingers crossed for a reunion. Their album Behind The Music from 2001 is really amazing.
Getting back to Michael Ilbert, Per explains he used to work with Roxette as well, in the late ’90s. Speaking of Roxette, this brings the guys to Per’s solo project. Sven explains Per has just released a new Swedish single. PG says he couldn’t help himself. They started the Roxette tour in February in South Africa and Australia and then they had two months off, so he went into the studio and got four tracks. Sven smiles and says Per can’t just go on vacation. Haha. PG says he likes being in the studio. It wasn’t supposed to be anything, but he liked all those four tracks. He took two of them and made a single called Henrys gitarr (Henry’s guitar). Sven informs that Henry is a guy that’s been reoccurring in Per’s lyrics. Henry is a character that he has been writing about ever since the ’70s. He has been in and out of songs. Sven is curious about what the story is behind Henry. PG says it’s just a cool way of writing lyrics. You create a character that pops up every five years or so. And he has changed his lifestyle and his family situation and his drug abuse or whatever. Now he is back and he is playing a fantastic guitar. Per asks Sven if he likes the song. If not, he leaves. Haha. Sven thinks it’s a great summer track and another reason to learn Swedish.
Close To You by Velvet Beat comes next. [The guys don’t talk about this song, but it’s Sven’s band. /PP] Smooth by The Nomads is the following song. The Nomads are the kings of the Swedish garage rock scene and this one is a great track coming from Solna, one of the Stockholm suburbs. The guys continue with Bound For Glory by Elin Engdahl feat. Elitronic, then comes Waterboy by the Viagra Boys. Do It by Maja Ivarsson comes next, then Sort It Out by Caesars.
A Brand New Start by Miller Moon from Malmö wraps up the show. Per loves this song, it’s such a great track. It sounds a little bit like Billy Idol, Iggy Pop. But they have this computerized bass thing. This is really cool, mixed with all those guitars and that style of singing. Per has never heard it before, so he thanks Sven for bringing it to the show. Sven says it’s his pleasure, he always wants to bring out some cool stuff from the greatest city on earth, Malmö, Sweden. Haha. Per says: „Oh my God…” Haha.
The guys are out of time, so they say goodbye and thank the listeners for joining them.
Still is from the Bag Of Trix talks recorded by Anders Roos.
Thanks for your support, Sven!