The Sounds, Kim Wilde, and “the Americas”

The Sounds are a band from Sweden whose sound is rooted in a mix of punk rock and 80s pop, with driving guitars/bass, danceable beats and catchy keyboard lines and vocals. I can definitely hear the influence of The Cars (driving guitars, catchy keyboards…), along with Blondie and Kim Wilde.

Maja Ivarsson, photo from AfterEllen.com

Deborah Harry, photo from allposters.com

The band totally looks like they could be from the 80s and the singer, Maja Ivarsson reminded me of Deborah Harry of Blondie, then I heard her sing. When the vocals kicked in I thought of British singer Kim Wilde right away. I will admit that the title of this tune, “Living In America” reminded me of “Kids In America” by Kim Wilde right off the bat, but I think she really sounds like her… a lot. So for fun, here is “Living In America,” released in 2002 by The Sounds and “Kids In America” from Kim Wilde, originally released in 1981.

elegant MACHINERY

“Move” is the second single from the new album “A Soft Exchange” from scandinavian synthpop group  elegant MACHINERY.  These guys have a pretty retro 80s sound.  The vocals reminded me of OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) and the music reminds me of the Pet Shop Boys, in addition to other 80s bands.

Melody Club… synthpop/rock from Sweden takes you back to the future!

Swedish synthpop band Melody Club takes a little more than a page from history, more like a whole chapter!  Melody Club is sooo retro 80s that it’s not even funny, it’s actually cool!  Each of their albums are full of very slick, well-crafted pop songs that get you movin’ to the beat and humming along.  Everything about this band makes me feel like I’ve just taken a ride in a DeLorean equipped with a flux capaciter, set the time to 1984, we’re going back, to the future!

Check out Melody Club’s youtube channel for more videos, there are videos that are even more 80s than this, The Only Ones is from their new album Goodby to Romance.