Club 8's The People's Record: One of 2010's Best

It's no stretch to call Club 8's The People's Record one of 2010's most unique and interesting releases. The Swedish duo have transfered their sweet and catchy Scandinavian indie pop format to a platform dominated by the rhythms of world music. Dense Afro-beat polyrhythms and swinging Latin percussion are the foundation from which every song is built, yet somehow, no part of the band's previous sound is lost. Like Paul Simon's Graceland, and more recently Iron & Wine's The Shepherd's Dog, the essence of the pop songwriter's style and structure remain wholly intact under the constraints of the more dynamic rhythmic format. In fact, somehow, the songs emerge tighter than ever before. What's really changed is the mood and overall atmosphere of the music. Start any song off The People's Record and a guitar will launch into an instantaneously catchy, repetitive, and furiously rhythmic riff—a hook that bends, pulls and threads its way through three-plus minutes of equally ear-catching vocal melodies. This is dance music, and like it's title suggests, it's to be enjoyed with people—friends and strangers alike. Even the ridiculously somber lyrics of "We're All Going To Die" somehow elicit a celebratory mood. If Club 8 blended in with their fellow Swedish pop contemporaries before, they now standout like a peacock in the middle of a snowstorm. And that's a good thing.

Club 8 - "Western Hospitality" (from The People's Record)

Club 8 - "Shape Up!" (from The People's Record)