MANDO DIAO
Hurricane Bar
Mute Records
 
Quite the surprise from Mute, a label ordinarily known for sounds of a distinctly experimental, unorthodox nature - that is to say, non-rawk. They certainly can't get any further from Throbbing Gristle reissues than the release of this Swedish foursome's Stateside debut. Grant me the following speculative indulgence: I have this vision of there being one used record store in all of Stockholm, where all the hip current resident bands drop copious amounts of dough. As a matter of course, Turbonegro snakes all this shop's Seventies hard rock and early metal vinyl, while the Hives' chaps routinely beeline for the rare Sonics and Fleshtones seven-inchers. This leaves all the ca. '65 Beatles and Byrds bootlegs, and early Creation Records sides, for the guys in Mando Diao to parse and be inspired by. This is not to imply bloodless mimicking on Mando Diao's part - for sure, songs like "God Knows", "Annie's Angle" and "You Can't Steal My Love" confidently and melodically deliver, with a substantive hollow-body guitar jangle and joyous harmonies that do their bowl-cut forebears (from both eras) proud.

Further, the 'lust-for-life' riddim strategy of "Down In The Past" and the properly surging opener "Cut the Rope" by contrast rock hard and strong. Granted, there is in evidence the time-honored mangling of English as a second language by countless foreign bands.  This makes more than a few lyrics confused and confusing; is the otherwise bopping "White Wall" some sort of lust-object-fulfillment fantasy inspired by one of Midnight Express' more notorious scenes, for instance? But on the more direct side, there is the deliciously moody "Added Family", with its perceived lyric slap at the band's more flamboyant Scandinavian contemporaries, with a brief, Harrisonesque guitar solo to top things off.  And hey, who really cares (Linda Perhacs), with tunes this engagingly crafted?  Minor beef: as pure-pop sweet and evocative as leader Gustaf Noren's vocals are throughout, it'd sure be nice next time round to give his raspier, rockier co-frontman Bjorn Dixgard an equal spotlight. That said, a damned fine first time out. -- Michael Layne Heath