Familjen: Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
Creative Vibes
******
By Andrew P Street
Familjen has been pitched as Sweden's answer to The Presets, but that comparison actually diminishes both sides. Where our local boys take inspiration from guilty dancefloor pleasures, laptop master Johan T Karlsson (the man who is Familjen) seems to take his direction from Warp Records' 90s heyday, filtered through a fiercely melodic pop sensibility.
‘Nu Hander Det Igen' burbles and snarks like early Clue To Kalo while the delayed attack of the synths of ‘Det Lilla Livet' evoke Benny Benassi's ‘Satisfaction' (aka ‘That Song From The Tooheys Ad With The Tongue In'). That said, The Presets comparison holds for the sweetly catchy ‘Det Snurrar I Min Skalle', while the old school elements of ‘Det Vet Du' are not a million miles from Kraftwerk, while the early-Ladytron-sounding ‘Hog Luft' seems about to turn into a funkier West End Girls at any moment.
Lovers of indie-electronica will be in Swedish pop heaven.