Owl

One of my best Swedish buddies, Tony Cederteg (buy his books!) revealed the true extent of his talents to me the other day. I'd assumed him to be a phenomenal publisher and photographer, and wasn't prepared to hear that he's also a pretty decent drummer and Internet national T.V. show host, not to mention expert DJ and hilarious writer.

He's been drumming on and off in a Swedish pop trio called Owl for a while now, but don't think it's his band. The group is officially comprised of Anna, Milou, and Fan Fan (cool names!) -- Tony just helps out when they need a drummer on the cheap.

Owl's music is a sort of bedroom breed of soul or R&B. It's really emotional, really expressive, and certainly not glossed up with fancy production or diluted with overbearing walls of sound and noise. Instead, Owl makes clean and clear music ... you can hear each element distinctly: from the gritty guitar hooks to the saucy tamborine; the cutesy yet strong vocals to the throbbing, minimalist bass line. They're not attempting to bite off more than they can handle, and that's obvious (these are simple songs!), but they've obviously labored over the arrangements and production of each and every tune. Everything sounds perfectly assembled, constructed, and tied together. Their unique garage-rock-meets-shoegaze-meets-Swedish-pop blend of aesthetics is heartwarming and special. I love these three and will only love them more as they continue to release more music.

P.S. - Do you hear the bass line of Blur's "Good Song" in "Heart Ache"?

Owl - New Addiction

Owl - Rude Awakening (New Demo)

Owl - Heart Ache