When one thinks of Swedish musicians, one does not necessarily associate them with alcohol. Yet here we see an exception. Francis (MySpace) is fit for a rambunctious Swedish bar-room, packed with drunk blond men and women with superb fashion and design sense. (Does such a place even exist?)

No, this is not your standard Swedish music. It blends in the hazy booze-filled rambunctious nature not often associated with the country that popularized boxy motor vehicles and flavored vodkas. OK, so maybe it is appropriate, given cases of tasty vodkas and proven safe automobiles. Now that I think of it, the Swedes I have known were quite friendly on the bottle.

“Drunk Stranger” and “Beat Beat Beat” both drive home the haughty verbose intoxication that pours forth from the music Francis creates. It can even be heard in the soft and seductive “Take It Easy” and similar closer “Never Trust A Burning Thing”. These two distinct styles give Francis a dichotomy that’s near polar, were it not for the somewhat off-kilt moans in “Burning Thing”.

The combination is bizarre, yet once you start with this EP, you can’t seem to pull yourself away, no matter how strange it gets. And when “Never Trust A Burning Thing” grows beyond its subtly soft beginnings into a band sing along, there’s a moment of drunken clarity: this sound not only works… it’s really good!

Francis: Drunk Stranger [mp3]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[CDEP, 2009]

1. Drunk Stranger
2. Beat, Beat, Beat
3. Take It Easy
4. Oh, Devil
5. Never Trust A Burning Thing