Gran Turismo

by

The Cardigans

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Gran Turismo is sheer brilliance. Very few bands can completely change their sound within 5 years, and sound great all the way through.

This album is an amalgamation of all the deep, dark undercurrents running through the Cardigan's previous albums, sliding into it's greatest glumness during the morose, depressing "Marvel Hill" in which Nina Persson covertly explains that nothing in life is worth trying for because there will always be something better to achieve.

I won't lie to you; pretty much all of the lyrics on this album are just plain miserable in feel. But that doesn't limit the Cardigans to some of the routine "angry yelling" or "chord mashing" cliches of other alternative rock bands today.

Instead of screaming, they wail, and every melodic chord, every trippy drum-beat conveys a different emotion. The music works best in a dark room, with headphones on your ears, playing the music throughout your skull...I'm telling you, it's an amazing experience.

I was impressed by this definitive work of The Cardigans. It is most certainly worth your time and money.

On their past three albums, the Cardigans seemed to be trying to conceal a wounded heart. On Gran Turismo, this wounded heart shines through uninhibited. This new honesty is aided by the Cardigans' foray into the world of trip-hop, and it works quite nicely for them.

Nina Persson's delicate soprano has a quiet ferocity on this record. Peter Svensson's minimalist, yet inventive arrangements give the songs on Gran Turismo a remarkably haunting feeling. The album's first track, "Paralyzed" opens with "This is where your sanity gives in/ And love begins/ Never lose your grip/ Don't trip, don't fall." On "Starter" Persson is determined to make a new beginning and leave her past behind. "Hanging Around" "Erase/Rewind" are highlighted by a watery guitar effects and irresistible hooks. However, Gran Turismo's finest moments are in the slower songs. "Explode" is a melancholy and gut-wrenchingly depressing song. "Higher," in stark contrast to the rest of the album, has a spacious, expansive, and mellow mood. The darkest tune on this album "Do You Believe," resonates with an oddly gothic sound and background vocals, while Nina Persson, at her most sinister, croons "Do you really think/ That love is really gonna save your soul/ Well I sure hope so." The only clear remnant of the Cardigans from Life and First Band on the Moon is "Junk of the Hearts," which seems like a sweet ballad until the chorus.

Overall, the trip-hop experimentation the Cardigans bring to Gran Turismo puts Persson's wounded heart at the forefront. It also allows Svensson to explore new sonic territory for some intriguing results.