Park Hotell

Any band that receives the thumbs up from Peter Morén is worth looking into, and that's how BBBD came upon Park Hotell (MySpace), a Swedish guitar-pop four-piece.

Okay, before you think, "Great, another so-called guitar-pop band that BBBD loves ... I can guess what this'll be like," hear me out (and listen to the below tunes)! While these guys have the late-80s/early-90s indie-pop aesthetic of the Clean or the Pastels or the Go-Between, they're different and unique in their own way, I assure you! They're more antsy, pumping out noodling, dynamic melodies and bass hooks that seem all at once independent of each other and completely cohesive. Its as though the Park Hotell lads have appropriated Gang of Four's angular, punctuating guitar riffs to a more harmonious and less angry pop format. At times, the quartet sounds on the verge of lashing out and going full-out punk, but they restrain themselves and wind up being reminiscent of a C86 compilation band rather than a Buzzcocks tribute ensemble.

Also, describing them simply as a guitar-pop outfit does them little justice; there're Psychedelic Furs nods, Undertones props, and New Order similarities abound. Listen to the below tracks two, three, four, five times in a row and you'll discover the complexity. Keep an eye on these guys. BBBD highly recommends their The Guest Who Stayed Forever LP. (As an aside, the full-length in interesting in that its contained in two CDs, even though with eight songs, you could hardly call it a double album.)

Park Hotell - Shave Your Neck

Park Hotell - Born A Thief