slumberland records

SoundsXP

What a little treat this is. A mini album by a trio of young Swedes, it feels like a tribute to many of the best female bands of the 80s during its all too brief twenty three minutes. The bands have two distinct sounds. On some such as opener All at Once the military style percussion, menacing rhythms and accented vocals recall those magnificent post punkers the Mo-dettes and Kleenex. And then in an instant they swing from the dark to the light with the bouncy C86 jangle pop of Postcard with the harmonies and scuzzy rhythms to the fore, evoking the bubbly, girly charms of Talulah Gosh and the Flatmates. A great way to start the week!

- Paul M

CMJ

After making ripples across the pond on the European indie pop scene with the attention-grabbing singles "Stalking Skills" (2007) and "Apathy" (2008), Swedish trio Liechtenstein is set to create an international splash with their latest LP Survival Strategies In A Modern World. Once again, Liechtenstein is reviving the '80s American and British pop-punk movement that made The Go-Go's and Dolly Mixture famous. The genre homage is most overt on the tracks "Postcard" and "Roses In The Park," which also happen to be two of the most well executed songs on the record. Fittingly for Lichtenstein's sound, Survival Strategies is being released on Slumberland, the recently resurrected renowned indie-pop imprint—an undeniably perfect home for the band.

Sonically, Survival Strategies commands attention from the get-go with beachy guitar rhythms and military-esque drumbeats that precede the haunting, layered vocals that have come to characterize Liechtenstein's sound. Lyrics are almost irrelevant when compared to the dreamy, sometimes eerie, ooohs and las that linger within the tracks. The darker textures, though, are juxtaposed naturally with shoulder-shaking instrumentation that keeps Lichtenstein safely towing the line between dreary and saccharine.

Even though, as a band, Liechtenstein has the clear goal of movement revival, the ladies are expert sound balancers and have a contemporary edge to keep the album from feeling like a collection of pseudo-'80s imitations. With the release of Survival Strategies, it is unlikely that Liechtenstein's music will remain as infamously hard to hunt down as it is was before.

- Emily Parliman

XLR8R

Did Slumberland make some kind of pact with the devil? How do they keep unearthing one amazing indie-pop band after another? They've already got The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts, and Cause Co-Motion!—now you can add Swedish all-girl trio Liechtenstein to the list. While youngsters might cite a resemblance to Vivian Girls, Survival Strategies in a Modern World sounds a lot more like the fuzzed-out efforts of early '80s bands like Kleenex/LiLiPUT and The Au Pairs. Sporting reverb-soaked vocal melodies, bouncy post-punk basslines, and sticky pop songs that usually clock in under three minutes each, Liechtenstein may be serving up indie nostalgia, but there's no shame in asking for seconds. (Staff Pick)

- Shawn Reynaldo

Blurt

After two decades the Slumberland label continues to impress. The label, started in the Maryland bedroom of Black Tambourine member Mike Schulman, has released stellar records by indie pop artists like Stereolab, Rocketship, Aislers Set and too many others. The label is still going strong, a fact proven by this trio of women from Gothenburg, Sweden who offer up 9 songs that scoot by in less than 25 minutes.

Renee, Naemi and Elin first appeared with a 7" in 2007 and then another one last year so this is their debut full-length and the 9 cuts on here slip between moody, loopy, bass-heavy tunes with eerie vocals that sound like an early 80's Rough Trade band ("All at Once", "White Dress" ) and other more sugary tunes with cooing harmonies and fuzzy guitars that bring to mind The Shop Assistants and Tallulah Gosh ("Postcard", "By Staying Here (We Will Slowly Disappear)", "Roses in the Park", "Reflections", etc.) while other songs that bring to mind defunct Washington DC quarter Autoclave, defy categorization ("Sophistication, etc.). Survival Strategies in a Modern World is no "let's ape our influences" session though, Liechtenstein add a unique and fresh twist to the proceedings so it doesn't sound derivative but more like 3 women who want to join the ranks of those that came before them and I must say, they do a damn good job of it.

- Tim Hinely

L Magazine

It's pop music. The survival strategy referenced in Liechtenstein's album title, we can assume, is consuming and creating it. Three girls from Sweden with a knack for three-part harmonies have hijacked the lo-fi trends that, of late, have mostly been reserved for punk bands, and they push them through the pop prism on their debut LP. Songs like "Roses in the Park" come out the other end sounding like a too-cool-for-school Talulah Gosh number. Anchored by a monotone bassline that plows through muffled guitars and snappy drums, the ladies sing chirpily about love. It'd be twee if it weren't for the waves of feedback and that spooky bass lurking underneath, and it'd be any Crystal Stilts song if it weren't for the engaged vocals. While they should of course prepare for countless comparisons to the Vivian Girls and Slumberland labelmates the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Liechtenstein emerges as the closest ones matching all the 80s power-pop girl groups that critics love to throw at the bunch. The Vivian Girls skew towards punk, the Pains toward shoegaze, Liechtenstein towards bubblegum melodies.

Whether the Vivian Girls have seen the success that they have because they are girls existing in a male-dominated scene is neither here nor there, but it does raise the issue of gender as novelty in music. It's obviously less rare for girls to appear in pop bands, forcing Liechtenstein to rely on more than their gender to make a solid album. Survival Strategies in a Modern World moves quickly, but the subtle variety from track to track speaks volumes. "White Dress" mixes high-pitched surf guitars with eccentric cabaret energy, it's something that Amanda Palmer could have easily written. On album closer "The End," the girls sing politely over waltzy guitars. "Postcard" is a sugar rush showcasing lightning-quick drums; "Sophistication" introduces whistling spaghetti-western guitar work off in the distance. Every one of them is wrapped up into tidy two-to-three minute packages. Lichtenstein returns noise-pop to its form.

- Lauren Beck

The Owl

Angelic harmonies and lo-fi post-punk casually merge on Swedish trio Liechtenstein's first full length, Survival Strategies In A Modern World. Liechtenstein strikes a balance, shrugging off any musical silos with an album full of basement melody and guitar-driven surf-punk. Survival Strategies In A Modern World expands on the Vivian Girls' and Pains of Being Pure At Heart's dynamic, but with an even bubblier attitude both musically and lyrically.

"Postcard's" careening backing harmonies are a reminder that the Go-Go's were more than makeup and guitars, and in a similar manner, Liechtenstein has put in the proper recording effort to indulge in expansive layered vocals—even as a trio. But it all comes together on "By Staying Here (We Will Slowly Disappear)." As the timing of the music changes pace and the song fleshes out, Liechtenstein is at its peak.

"Survival Strategies In A Modern World" is a sharp, visceral debut album, and Liechtenstein should ultimately be looked upon as an extended family member to the aforementioned groups. But don't forget, extended family members are easily taken for granted.

- Carnie Fulton