Editorial Reviews
Gran Turismo
Music Review:
Music Review
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Schubert: Symphony in Bf No2, D125
Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1; The Isle of the Dead
Music: Autumn Tactics [CD-single] [Import]
This Is Electronic Body Music: the Best of Ebm & New Beat [Import]
The Ladies of Gangster Rap [Clean]
The Bill Holman Band Live [Live]
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6; 1812 Overture
Amazon.com
Until now, the Swedish group the Cardigans were easily identified by their sunny, pop-friendly, melodic releases. Fearing being typecast as an act fluffier than a Nordic lamb, the band decided to head farther north for the winter. With Gran Turismo, their fifth release, you'll need your favorite, um, sweater, because the season has turned, the atmosphere is frosty, and, indeed, the nights are long and dark. Gran Turismo is a trip-hop album following the lead of grim meisters Portishead. The CD is punctuated with distorted, muted, uncomplicated guitar riffs and keyboard effects that often sound like a harpsichord played through a fuzz box. Nina Persson's slightly aching, sleepy little cutesy lead vocals sound as frictionless as rubbing two ice cubes together. Although the skies are grayer here, the one familiar musical element is their simple yet compelling rhythm structures, as evidenced in their jazz-informed drum patterns. If the Cardigans weren't competent musicians, this album would come across as nothing more than a career-sustaining maneuver. But with this solid, dark, and intriguing release, they've clearly demonstrated their ability to compose great songs, no matter what the weather. --Beth Bessmer
Entertainment Weekly
[The Cardigans shed] their tired '60s-isms in favor of blissfully kitschless trip-hop.