Swedish music: moving beyond ABBA

OK. I will admit it. I do like ABBA, There’s nothing like putting on Dancing Queen at a party to get everyone dancing, no matter where in the world you may be. But there’s a lot more to Swedish music than just ABBA. Believe it or not, little old Sweden (population 9 million) is one of the largest exporters of pop and rock music in the world, behind only the US and the UK. Surprised? I was until I moved here. While there is quite a lot of really bad pop that’s typically classified as Schlager music, there’s also a variety of other options. Names of bands you may have heard of but not realized they were Swedish include: Roxette, Ace of Base, the Cardigans, Eagle Eye Cherry, the Knife, the Concretes, Robyn, the Soundtrack of our Lives, José González, Caesars, Kent, I’m From Barcelona, the Hellacopters and the Hives. Some of these bands are good in my estimation, some not so…

So who am I listening to right now? Well, Peter, Bjorn and John have been a favorite for years now. Young Folks is their big hit, but the entire album Writer’s Block from which it comes is actually very good as well. From there, the Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li and Those Dancing Days all have some catchy tunes out.

Tagged as: ABBA, Bjorn and John, Caesars, Peter, Robyn, Sandra Carpenter's book, Swedish music, writing about Sweden