It's hard to find a better geographically-limited record label than Sweden's Labrador. Scratch that, limited should never be used in the same sentence as that wonderful nation. From the Mary Onettes, to Acid House Kings, to tomorrow's best band, it's truly a wonderful music scene populated with copious amounts of twee-pop, shoegaze, and everything in between. And while those musical styles have historically belonged to the British, Sweden's done a great job of reviving an overlooked genre. Despite not being signed to Labrador, the best recent example of this is Gothenburg's Peter Bjorn and John, who've made great strides towards North American success.
The Loveninjas, however, are signed with Labrador and don't disappoint. The 20-somethings call Stockholm, Sweden's capital, home. A New Romantic influence is clear, particularly in synth-pop ballads like 'I Wanna Be Like Johnny C' (the dude from Invader Zim?). Lyricism isn't their strong point, but that's not what the genre is about. Instead, instrumentation is the key to their sound. 'Keep Your Love' does a fine job displaying this purposeful disparity. It's very simplistic in verse, but the band members show their adeptness as well-rounded musicians. Bright keyboards, riffy guitars, bassy rhythms, and charming vocals. It's all so nice. Not convinced? Well, consider the amusingly-titled 'She Broke His Penis in Two.' No, it's not some witty attention grabber, that's the focus of the song: a woman getting vengeance on a rapist's wee wee. When you can make those lyrics ["She broke it, she cut it, she sliced it / She fried it, she cooked it and diced it] seem happy, well kudos to you. Not surprisingly, the jangle guitar does it.
Their full-length debut was released (on Labrador) last year, titled The Secret of the Loveninjas. Despite its derivative nature, it loses no freshness in the process. Declaring it enthusiastic doesn't do them justice. It's fun fun fun, highly recommended.
MP3: Loveninjas - I Wanna Be Like Johnny C
MP3: Loveninjas - Keep Your Love
