Mixtapes and Cellmates - Soon
by Adrian Huggins
published: 28 / 1 / 2010

Label:
Tangled Up!
Format: CDS
intro
Ecsstatic-sounding prog rock on new single from Swedish act Mixtapes and Cellmates who seem destined for major success
Currently awaiting the release of their second album ‘Rox’, Swedish band Mixtapes and Cellmates are giving the world a good teasing in the form of the aptly named ‘Soon’. They have recorded the songs for the album in the same studio in Sweden where the Hives and Fireside previously laid noise to tape and are following in good footsteps. If ‘Soon’ is anything to go by they could be set to follow this with far more exposure. They sound very much on it like a much more down to earth and completely ecstatic Muse. Singer Robert Svensson is superbly backed on it by his newly extended band which now features a live drummer Viktor Kallgren rather than a drum machine. They have with ‘Soon’ created something totally beautiful that has a real edge to it. Just when you think that you have got them sussed, something surprises you, and they drop suddenly from a huge-sounding chorus into crashing guitars and drums. With fuzzy bass and sweet guitar playing from Matilda Berggren and Henning Runolf, this is all blended out by Johan Fagerberg on keyboards who somehow has managed to give them that extra special sound that sets them apart from other run-of-the- mill poppy indie outfits. Citing the Sea and The Cake and Postal Service amongst their influences it is not hard to see where they are coming from, but in a way that is utterly their own. Not to be confused with wannabes, Mixtapes and Cellmates have their own sound and are sure to gain many more fans outside of their native Stockholm with the release of ‘Rox’. With festival appearance already in place for them, this could be an important year for the band.
Track Listing:-
1 Soon
reviews |
Mixtapes and Cellmates (2007) |
![]() |
Dull and somewhat substandard Radio Dept-influenced pop on debut album from Swedish group Mixtapes and Cellmates |
most viewed articles
current edition
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every SongArmory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Colin Blunstone - Thalia Hall, Chicago, 16/7/2025
Bathers - Photoscapes 1
Visor Fest - Valencia, Spain, 26/9/2025...27/9/2025
John McKay - Interview
Billie Eilish - O2 Arena, London, 10/7/2025
Robert Forster - Interview
Sir Tim Rice - Interview
Loft - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Sick Man of Europe - The Sick Man of EuropeLucy Spraggan - Other Sides of the Moon
Amy Macdonald - Is This What You've Been Waiting For?
Phew, Erika Kobayashi,, Dieter Moebius - Radium Girls
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the Jumbo
Blueboy - 2
Bush - I Beat Loneliness
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Cynthia Erivo - I Forgive You
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart