![]() ![]() ![]() The video, a homage to the Polanski flick Repulsion, again showed The Cardigans were able to provide stunning visuals to equally arresting sounds. The third and final single, Hanging Around, almost served as a composite of the first two – snarling guitars and ghostly synths intertwined with Persson’s fragile vocal. More elusive, slippery and almost out-of-reach, it had a glacial beauty wrapped around a menacing bass line, eerie keyboard motif and stop/start drums. My Favourite Game ensured The Cardigans would never be resigned to one-hit wonder status, a blistering rocker replete with a nagging guitar riff and cinematically gorgeous music video (where Persson careens through the desert in a convertible, dragon tattoo and all). The three singles showcase the energy and drive of old. Junk of the Hearts and Marvel Hill also display the band’s mercurial talents, bringing together textural fretwork, thumping bass and programmed beats. Her voice, both volatile and velveteen, soars and sighs on the downbeat groove of Explode, while the chunky guitars and fragmented beats of Higher enable her tight rasp to truly shine. Persson channelled her alienation into aching, trembling vocals. Gran Turismo, then, showed natural progression and a desire to evolve. Deep Anglophiles, they honoured the country by naming their debut album Emmerdale, allegedly because it was the most British name they could think of (although there were no guest spots for the Dingles). Lest we forget that Persson and the gang were raised on a beefy diet of black metal, before slowly discovering the jangle pop joy of The Smiths and The Stone Roses. Since forming in the early nineties at a Swedish art school, they proved impossible to pigeonhole. Those surprised by Gran Turismo’s sharp left turn obviously had not read up on The Cardigans’ taste for change. However, the record’s sound eschewed the bubblegum pop of old for a much sombre, artificial aesthetic that fell somewhere between the moody pre-Millennium mope of Radiohead and the trendy trip-hop of Tricky. Released in October 1998, the album became – to Persson’s chagrin – their most successful, spawning a global tour that would last for three years and a slew of successful singles. That sense of disconnection and distaste bleeds into the band’s fourth album, Gran Turismo. For Persson, though, it was a ride she wanted to get off. If it sounds like the behaviour of someone teetering on the edge of a breakdown, that assumption is not far off – by 1997, The Cardigans had been Sweden’s most successful export since ABBA, with appearances on Beverley Hills 90210 and worldwide tours under their black belts. “I took the bat back to the studio, nailed it to the wall and sang every word to the bat, but to nobody else,” said Nina Persson, frontwoman of globe-gobbling rock band The Cardigans. ![]()
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