Caesars: 39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)
Caesars – 39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)
Astralwerks Records
By Joe Vallejos
Is “Swedepop” a music writer buzzword yet? If not, allow me to coin it, because it seems like the Swedes have found the magic formula to create good guitar pop (perhaps it was lost deep in some fjord?)
I hesitate to say Sweden may even be the home of a new rock revolution, but it’s starting to seem like one could walk down any street in Sweden and hear good bands playing in each garage. The latest example is Caesars.
The band has actually released four albums under various monikers (among them Caesars, The 12 Caesars & Caesars Palace.) Their fifth, 39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World) is actually a singles compilation intended as an introduction to the U.S.
Like fellow Swedes The Hives and Soundtrack of Our Lives, Caesars lean heavily on their Britpop-via-Detroit-garage-punk influences, with mostly favorable results. They employ heavy farfisa organ and electric guitar, though the guitars seem to drift into the background on several tracks. Most have a poppy, up-tempo feel and don’t stray too far from standard three to four minute range.
Best not dig too deep into the lyrics. Some of them land with a resounding thud, e.g., “I wanna smoke crack/ ‘Cause you’re never coming back/ I wanna shoot speedballs/ Bang my head against the wall” from “Sort It Out.” There are a couple of nice phrases though, like “I’m a man with a fork in a world of soup.†Just enjoy the bounciness of the music and don’t take it too seriously and you’ll probably enjoy highlights like “Jerk It Out” and “Out of My Hands.”
39 Minutes tends to get stale toward the end, but it-s a fun record. And though it may only be 23 minutes of actual bliss, that’s a lot more than many bands out there can muster. – (7/10)