Unarmed Enemies hail from Stockholm, Sweden, and as goes in the country that brought us Volvo and Abba, indie-pop is a specialty. For Unarmed Enemies, however, their style of pop is fully electronic. It is an upbeat electro-pop similar to that of Le Sport, but less mopey. Not surprisingly, the two share space on the Songs I Wish I Had Written label.

“Show Me Your Plans” is one of the catchiest electro-pop songs I’ve ever heard and the video is a perfect conception of what a European dance track video should look like. The video follows two sexy European ladies on a trip to France while the Unarmed Enemies duo performs at a venue full of dancing twenty-somethings. Occasionally altering time to fit the beats, the video is as refreshing and creative as the music of Unarmed Enemies.

“Show Me Your Plans” can be found on Unarmed Enemies debut EP, available at the Songs I Wish shop.

This review was originally published July 22, 2006 on the old version of FensePost.

Unarmed Enemies: Show Me Your Plans [mp3]

Above photo by Jesper Berg.

Swedish artist Moto Boy has a very Jeff Buckley aura to his persona, from his highly powerful vocal styling to the cleanly plucked guitar. So, it’s no surprise to hear that he’s covered Buckley live. This introduction is merely a focal point, an introduction to Moto Boy, whose latest tidbit of news is that label cohorts Regina remixed his song “Young Love”.

Moto Boy’s maintains the Buckley-esque vocals here, but due to the remix status, the guitars are stripped away for a sound much more dance-riddled, filled with beats and tambourines and sounds much in line with the music Regina makes. It starkly opposes Moto Boy’s traditional sound, oft minimalistic featuring Moto Boy alone on vocals and guitar.

Hearing the two songs back to back, it’s astonishing to hear how well the dance remix version by Regina works, and how emotive and dreamy the original is without the added beats and electronics.

“Young Love” in its original form can be found on Moto Boy’s self-titled debut LP, available now on Songs I Wish I Had Written. Moto Boy also released For Martha via the same label.

Moto Boy: Young Love (Regina Remix) [mp3]

Moto Boy: Young Love [mp3]

I get needs, you know? Sometimes I just need an ice cold microbrew. Sometimes, after a long and stressful day, I need to drink a glass or two of red wine (generally a cab-sauv or a cab-merlot) while listening to old jazz on vinyl. But there’s one thing I need more than all: to discover the catchiest pop music available. Enter The Lovekevins, a delightfully upbeat pop group from Sweden.

Their Max Léon EP is cased in a cardboard gate-fold slip with cover art from 1939 by Teo Lindau. Made up of Ola Lindefelt on vocals, drums, and stamps, and Fredrik Hultin on backup vocals, guitar, piano and Cornet. The title track begins with a shuffle in the percussion and a whistled tune atop a subtle bass-line and guitar strums. As the whistle fades, piano takes over. It’s soft and laid-back, as opposed to its follow-up, “Soviet.se”, which has a much quicker pace and relies much more on a jangly guitar, hand claps, and backup vocal tones. “Soviet.se” is joyous and has the ability to move feet and get audiences clapping along.

“The Big Nono” was a quick favorite of mine, from the undecipherable intro lyrics to the backup bop bop vocals to the catchy rhythm guitar chords. A flute and trumpet mix things up with a brief, out-of-tune solo in the middle of the song. Though the final track, “Blame the English”, is the only song by The Lovekevins to produce a single from Max Léon, each song is single-worthy in its own right. The EP version of “Blame the English” is also an alternate version from the single—it was recorded live at the Sporadic Live Internet Radio Broadcast “House of Kevins.”

The Lovekevins are a band that I listen to on a regular basis and, when they fall out of my rotation, they generally make a glorious return within a few month—and the process of re-discovering songs can be just as sweet as that first listen, no matter how many times they’ve been “re-discovered.” It is a trait I have come to associate with their label, Songs I Wish I Had Written.

This review was originally published December 29, 2006 on the old version of FensePost. The Lovekevins have since shortened their name to The LK. The duo is also responsible for the number one FensePost album of 2008 by Fredrik.

The Lovekevins: Soviet.se [mp3]

The Lovekevins: The Big Nono [mp3]

Songs I Wish I Had Written [CDEP, 2005]

1. Max Léon
2. Soviet.se
3. The Big Nono
4. Blame the English

It has been virtually impossible to track down albums by the Swedish duo that is Le Sport. That is, it’s been impossible to find their albums at a U.S. based brick-and-mortar retail location. And it’s not without trying. I have been searching since moving to the Portland/Seattle areas mid-August. Then again, I’ve come to expect little from the new sections of record stores lately.

Le Sport’s music is filled with hints of 80s groups like Pet Shop Boys; “It’s Not The End Of The World” is pop packed with electronic beats amidst melancholy vocals. Rather than being set on the dance floor as is the case of “Tell No One About Tonight” by Le Sport, this video is staged in a small business jet. The sad lyrics are visually represented by imagery of a doomed flight. It’s a catchy song and the video is also more creative in terms of both cinematic and thematic elements.

“It’s Not The End Of The World” is the title track of an EP Le Sport released through Swedish electro-pop label Songs I Wish I Had Written. While it is no longer available, Le Sport does have a few other goodies for sale.

This review was originally published October 11, 2006 on the old version of FensePost.

Le Sport: It’s Not The End Of The World [mp3]

Let’s face it: Europeans know dance music. We here in the states are often ignorant when it comes to the crafting of the perfect dance tune. European dance music comes more in the form of clashing two worlds: pop and electronica. Now that’s dance music!

I discovered Unarmed Enemies (MySpace) almost by mistake. After running across the Swedish group The Lovekevins, I decided I had to get their album. Off PopPolar they came, the lovable Lovekevins’ EP and 7-inch. I also picked up a 7-inch compilation from the Matinee library, but they were out. Having already charged me, Poppolar suggesed this album, the Unarmed Enemies EP, for being on the same label as The Lovekevins.

That label is Songs I Wish I Had Written and is run out of a country known for producing blissful pop music—Sweden. I agreed to the swap without hearing a note. Then I watched the video for “Show Me Your Plans” and I was hooked!

Unarmed Enemies encompass all that is good about Euro dance music. The vocals possess the excellence found in indie-pop while the background consists of trance-like techno and electronic beats. Swapping catchy beats for lyrical melodies (or vice versa) can be suicide, but Unarmed Enemies removes all possibilities by including both. While some beats can be compared to Jimmy Tamborello, the songs are more complex in both electronics and lyrics, allowing for more depth, more insight and a giant dose of dance.

This review was originally posted July 21, 2006 on the old version of FensePost.

Unarmed Enemies: Show Me Your Plans [mp3]

Songs I Wish I Had Written [CDEP, 2005]

1. Missing Out
2. Hustlers Recharged (Wheelcher)
3. Show Me Your Plans
4. Hustlers Recharged (Mr. Suitcase’s Armed Friends Mix)

Written by Fense

I discovered Moto Boy way back when the group first signed to Songs I Wish I Had Written. That was back in mid 2007. Moto Boy is Oskar Humlebo and his melodies are pleasant and vibrant and a bit flamboyant. And these traits all surface in the song and surreal video for “Ride My Wild Heart”.

Like the Songs I Wish label, Moto Boy hails from Sweden. Looking at various photos and videos and cover art by Moto Boy, they display him as somewhat of a Swedish Antony Heggarty in that there’s a bizarre sexuality and femininity about him. Then again, you could also reference the Bowie glam era.

Moto Boy’s voice has a yearning, romantic edge to it—it’s not so much a Heggarty as it is a Jeff Buckley. The instrumentation usually finds Moto Boy backed by stripped down electric guitar pop and soft percussion, with a selective space-y drone; his performances tend to feature him and his electric metal guitar. And that can be heard on several of his songs, like “Young Love”, “What It Was Like To Be With You”, and here on “Ride My Wild Heart”.

Per the usual, I’ve included the mp3 of the song for your enjoyment. Oh, yeah, and another from Moto Boy’s self-titled release.

Moto Boy: Ride My Wild Heart [mp3]

Moto Boy: What It Was Like To Be With You [mp3]

Written by Fense

Stop the presses! (Isn’t that such a cliché—and outdated—thing to say when you want to grab someone’s attention?) I just made a discovery while hitting up some old groups I haven’t checked out in a while. Yes, the group I am referring to is Unarmed Enemies (MySpace). UE is an electro-pop outfit out of Sweden with a bit more of a techno emphasis than your usual electro-pop group.

I had just been thinking that it’s been far too long since this duo gave us something new. And there it was—a new song! The song is called “On Track” and it comes with a bonus remix by Mr. Suitcase, another electro-Swedish outfit that has tweaked Unarmed Enemies in the past; to be specific, Mr. Suitcase edited “Hustlers Recharged” on the Unarmed Enemies self-titled debut EP on Songs I Wish.

While you can find the aptly titled “Mr. Suitcase Derailed Edit” at Kitty Litter mp3, I’ve dropped in the regular track here, along with a remix of my favorite tune off Unarmed Enemies EP, “Show Me Your Plans”. The remix is by Songs I Wish label mates Le Sport. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Unarmed Enemies: On Track [mp3]

Unarmed Enemies: Show Me Your Plans [Le Sport Remix]