It's already been well-established elsewhere in Pitchfork's deep annals that Sweden is neither a land devoted to the frivolous pursuit of happiness, nor a place where people mope in the gloom waiting for Death to challenge them to a game of backgammon. To make such sweeping generalizations about a people as diverse or cold as the Swedes is crass and shortsighted; it betrays a shocking lack of cultural relativism. National temperaments and temperatures aside, though, one thing must by now be certain- and call this a gross generalization if you must, but: without American Rock and Roll, no Swedish bands would ever have been good at anything.Last-year's models, The Hives, were just the latest in an evolving line of acts hell-bent on stealing some good ol' American thunder, copping a couple vintage licks, and giving them enough gas to make most of our own sleepyheaded retro flag-bearers look limp in comparison.

1. Mando Diao Bring Em In Lyrics

Beaten at our own game! The day an American band can't rip-off The Ramones as well as some clean-shaven, well-dressed foreigners is a sad day indeed.

If only they weren't so consistently damn good at it.The latest installment in Sweden's rock 'n' roll clinic comes courtesy of the uniformly modded-out guys in Mando Diao, and they appear to have smash-and-grab routine down as well, if not better, than their forebears. Technically, the origin of Mando Diao's pilfered sonics is probably closer to the likes of The Who, The Kinks, or Creation, but the British Invaders were just taking lessons from Motown, the Blues, and a little Chuck Berry anyway, so it's not like Mando Diao's more than one step removed from our musical ancestors. And besides, no matter how many steps it took to get to their brand of soul-rock pastiche, on Bring 'Em In, their very first album, they absolutely nail it. Organs and tambourines flutter just at the edges of classic, 'My Generation'-sized riffs, tapping into the awesome power of some of the most basic roots of 60s rock and executing it perfectly. They even cultivate an air of being exactly 31% reckless and carefree in said execution- the ideal, scientifically calculated percentage found to maximize the perception that they're somehow not borrowing shamelessly from their betters.Knowing the ratio will not render you immune. It's to Mando Diao's credit that, as easy as it is to rattle off a litany of easy influences, they come out sounding very much their own entity. The guitar line central to 'Sheepdog', Bring 'Em In's opening track, wastes no time letting the listener that he or she is indeed about to be rocked into the ground, as immediately recognizable as some of Roger Daltrey's second-tier riffs, but bristling with the pent-up aggression that skipped his generation and went straight to the Heartbreakers.

Mando Diao Bring Em In Lyrics

The Kinks' maximum R&B; rock gets a similar treatment: 'Paralyzed' is descended from the genes of 'Sweet Lady Genevieve', but trades that song's high-minded instrumental flourishes for a shot of pleasantly low-brow vitality.The album is so casually frantic, in fact, that Mando Diao stumble briefly in transition, at times, from the maniacal bliss-outs like 'Motown Blood' (check the name in case you think I'm making this stuff up) into slower, more somber moments like 'Mr. The deceleration between the two can cause whiplash, and 'Moon' happens to be the album's weakest moment in and of itself, hampered by some unfortunately severe invocations to 'Mishtah Moo' (or at least it sounds like it).

It's the only instance where Bjorn Dixgard's vocals fail him, though, and in all seriousness, the guy can't help an accent. It's just unlucky that it sounds so momentarily out of place; he then proceeds to channel a hint of James Brown to kick off 'Lady', and totally redeems that one false move.In general, between Dixgard and Gustaf Noren, who trade vocal duties, these songs are sung with reverence, and sincerity, and passion, to a degree which is truly impressive, and the band's dynamic, classic roots match them at every turn. It's convenient, I guess, to even imagine that this might be a posture, exacerbated by the passing similarity of tracks like 'Sheepdog' to the leading revivalists on this side of the pond, The Strokes, but it's hard to listen to the entire album and still believe that. It's just not easy to fake the evident enthusiasm here. Mando Diao is stealing our rock 'n' roll thunder, but if we can't produce anyone to offer them some competition, I suppose they're welcome to it.

Ode to Ochrasy Label: Mute US Release Date: 2007-04-24 UK Release Date: 2006-10-09A lot has changed since Mando Diao came bursting on the scene in 2003 with Bring 'Em In. Their contemporaries and competitors have either faded away (the Vines), gone into hibernation (the Strokes), or are hard at work on their next album (the Hives). Even the industry has changed, with the plethora of sneering garage bands replaced with exuberantly theatrical emo (My Chemical Romance) or the next generation of pop punk (Fall Out Boy). Certainly, whatever market that Mando Diao could've approached at a mainstream level four years ago has been narrowed into a distinct niche. Realizing this, the band, who appeared in a faux papparazi-styled photo on the cover of Bring 'Em In, and then in the boozy twilight of a pub on the front of Hurricane Bar, are nowhere to be found on the cover art for Ode to Ochrasy. Instead, we get an abstract painting that perhaps best describes the creative energy used to write the album.If you're having trouble placing the word 'ochrasy', don't worry - it's made up.

The band invented the word to describe the odd characters hanging around after their concerts during their support tour for Hurricane Bar. As anyone who has played in a band knows (and to shamelessly borrow a Simpsons reference), 'ochrasy' is a perfectly cromulent word. The people still sitting at the bar or shooting pool while you're loading out gear aren't fans. They are the curious people who seem to exist only between night and morning, that odd time when you should be sleeping but find yourself awake. Junkies ('Josephine'), killers ('Killer Kaczynski'), and even hockey legends ('Welcome Home, Luc Robitaille') all populate the album. Yet despite the upbeat attitude, the band notes in their press material that 'you won't find any happy lyrics on the album.' And the album does have an odd duality.

The production, helmed by former Soundtrack of Our Lives member Bjorn Olsson, is distinctly less constrained to the period contexts of earlier Mando Diao albums, and the band seems looser and more carefree here. There is a collective excitement of playing together that can be felt throughout, and it seems early concerns about sticking to a stylized sonic aesthetic have been dismissed. However, lyrically, the band seem to want to be anywhere else but on the road.