On a rare U.S. tour, Swedish indie-pop sensations ACID HOUSE KINGS played a short, stellar set of sweet gems in an off-the-beaten-path venue with no stage…or much of a sound system, either, for that matter. This didn’t matter much, though.
Returning to the stage after several of its members played a set as the more noise-pop leaning band THE LEGENDS, Acid House Kings evoked images of couples holding hands in the park or lying outstretched on the grass near a lake on a beautiful summer day. Between singers JULIA LANNERHEIM and NIKLAS ANGERGARD harmonizing sweetly and the strumming, jangly guitar of Angergard and JOAKIM ODLUND, they reminded me of when so-called ‘anorak’ groups on Sarah Records (like the amazing HEAVENLY) inspired by the C86 compilation ruled supreme on the indie scene in the early ‘90s.
Fittingly, Acid House Kings began in 1992, and they continue to mine the same musical territory. The highlights, song-wise, were “Do What You Wanna Do” and THE FALL-like titled “London School of Economics” from last year’s full-length Sing Along With the Acid House Kings, along with the impossibly beautiful “Sunday Morning” from 2002’s Mondays Are Like Tuesdays, Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays. The closing song was a theme of sorts entitled “We Are Acid House Kings,” just in case you forgot who you were seeing. Even so, while it was hard to make out the vocals and lyrics on occasion due to the muffled sound in the venue, the band’s relentless energy and the audience’s raucous enthusiasm (dancing and a genuine celebratory vibe at an indie show? Who would’ve thought it?) more than made up for it, not to mention those pop gems coming at you one after the other.
Openers The Legends, featuring JOHAN ANGERGARD (Niklas’s brother) of Acid House Kings, played a just as stellar though completely different set. Instead of reminding me of twee touchstones like Heavenly, fellow Swedes THE CARDIGANS circa Life or First Band on the Moon and even THE SMITHS on occasion, The Legends instead played noise-pop in the vein of early ‘90s YO LA TENGO or perhaps early JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, with more than a slight nod to early NEW ORDER as well (one track was a dead ringer for “Dreams Never End,” in fact). Again, the venue’s sound was a bit of a problem, as it was hard to hear the vocals, but again it didn’t matter much, as the slightly buried vocals felt at home with the band’s noise-pop underpinnings.
All in all, it was a fantastic night of Swedish indie-pop covering both the noisy and the gentle ends of the genre. Though it’s a bit sad that bands like Acid House Kings who are stars at home can only draw 50 people or so in one of America’s largest cities, given how unknown they still are here, the fans they did draw were really into it and totally psyched to see a rare appearance from their heroes. Alas, I also wish that they had more merchandise, but apparently they ran out from earlier dates in New York (where they drew more people at Cake Shop than any other band who’s ever played there).
Despite the venue’s non-existent lighting, this person was able to take some great photos of both bands, including the ones above.
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