Club 8
Within the last few months, Sweden’s Labrador has become my favorite pop label due to releases by The Mary Onettes, The Radio Dept., Sambassadeur, and most recently Club 8.
Karolina Komstedt (Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace) formed Club 8 in 1995 and put out several acclaimed releases on such labels as Siesta, Parasol, and Hidden Agenda before settling down with Labrador to release this year’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming. An exceedingly lovely record, its 12 songs blend twee, folk, and new wave with electronica flourishes; meanwhile, Komstedt’s effortlessly pretty vocals float overhead, sounding seductive, wide-eyed, and yearning all in a single sigh. (Think Saint Etienne meets The Sundays, and you’re pretty darn close.)
Like all of Labrador’s release, you can stream the album in its entirety on Last.fm. Two MP3s from the album are also available for your downloading pleasure: