Charade - A Real Life Drama

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 18 / 6 / 2006

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When you see the sleeve for this second release by the Charade, you really can’t miss where they come from, at least not if you’re somewhat familiar with the flags of the European countries. Yes, it’s blue and yellow. And yes, the Charade are from Sweden. The trio consists of Mikael and Ingela Matsson from the Shermans and Magnus Karlsson from Happydeadmen, one of the pioneering Swedish indiepop bands, who released their debut single 'Silent Sigh City' back in 1988. Mikael and Magnus met at a party in Stockholm, where Magnus was the DJ, and soon they formed the band with Ingela, wanting to create the “perfect Swedish pop band”. Well, they didn’t quite succeed, but this is without doubt a good album. My first reaction is that it sounds very much like the Shermans, but I suppose that’s because Ingela is handling a lot of the vocals, just like she does in her other band. It makes me very happy to hear Magnus’ jangly guitars, played just the way he made Happydeadmen one of the best Swedish bands ever. Just listen to the intro to 'Music Makes Me Sick', a song that sounds a bit like a slower cousin to The La’s classic 'There She Goes'. But credit is also due to Mikael, who graces some of the songs withgreat organs, such as 'September', a song that reminds me a lot of the French band,Autour De Lucie. Included on the album is also the unofficial Swedish world cup soccer team song, 'Dressed in Yellow and Blue', which was recently voted “best Swedish world cup song” by the readers of 'Expressen', one of the biggest tabloids in Sweden. Well, that didn’t help the football team, did it? But it’s a good song, and the readers of the magazine are probably right, as all the other football songs have been really crappy. Anyway, fans of the Shermans should definitely check this out, as it seems that they sadly won’t be releasing any more records.

Track Listing:-

1 My Song to You
2 A Tough Decision
3 Dressed in Yellow & Blue
4 September
5 Music Makes Me Sick
6 Stockholm July 2005
7 Rain on Your Parade
8 Sunny Winter Afternoon
9 Love Always Happens So Fast - A Real Life Drama
10 Faith

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