976: FIRST BAND ON THE MOON | THE CARDIGANS

1996: Nina Persson had the sexiest voice of the 90s. Like a lot of good albums that have a breakout hit on them, it can take folks many years to realize what a “Lovefool” they have been when discovering there is much more to these albums.

James Weiskittel at Soundblab writes: When The Cardigans’ infectious brand of indie-fied lounge-pop caught commercial fire in the Fall of 1996 via the irresistibly infectious hit “Lovefool”, fans who flocked to stores to purchase the band’s third album First Band On The Moon (as opposed to the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's DiCaprio-led Romeo & Juliet) quickly discovered that the album's genius first single was merely the tip of a much larger iceberg.

Having honed their sound over the course of two prior releases, the Swedish five-piece (featuring vocalist Nina Persson, guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, and keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson) managed to coalesce a myriad of disparate sounds into a perfectly crafted gem of a pop record. From the first few notes of the cheerfully upbeat album-opening “Your New Cuckoo”, the band takes listeners on an unforgettable ride. While the Cardigans previous output was clearly the work of a band stretching to define itself beyond the confines of the metal scene that their homeland was most often associated with, First Band On The Moon is ripe with confidence.