Three of a Kind #73

We're compilation crazy on the blog at the moment; and we're off to Sweden today for three songs from the 1994 A West Side Fabrication collection We're All Part Of A Family.

Long-term readers (let's pretend we've got any for a second) may have noticed my predilection for Swedish music; well, it was buying a cheap bunch of these A West Side Fabrication compilations many moons ago that helped kick-start my love of music from this particular part of Scandinavia.

Pop, dance, indie, folk, heavy rock - these albums had a bit of everything really, being, as they were, drawn from the eclectic roster of Swedish artists that would be signed to the label at any given time. The albums could consequently be a bit patchy at times but when they were good they were very good indeed.

I'll try and feature more songs from some of these collections in the future, anyway, but in the meantime today's tracks come courtesy of The Drowners and Popundret (both of whom I've written about here in the dim and distant), and Pleasurehouse, whose Candyfloss Summer is the best song the Boo Radleys never wrote (but probably should have). Great tunes all.

Pleasurehouse - Candyfloss Summer mp3

Popundret - I Say No mp3

The Drowners - Destroyer mp3

Mildly Interesting Pop Blog Fact: There are far too many labels on this post! Aargh!

Popundret / Asha Ali

A double helping of Swedish goodness today!

Formed in 1991, and heavily influenced by English bands like The Smiths, Popundret were yet another group to emerge from the northern Swedish town of Skellefteå - and, naturally, to sign for the local A West Side Fabrication label. Although the sum total of their recorded output only stretched to a couple of singles and one album (1996's Montmartre 15 40), Popundret did leave a couple of truly marvellous songs in their wake: Shiver Gone and Stab Me (the former especially being so utterly Smithsian that you might be forgiven for thinking that Morrissey had a long-lost Swedish twin!). But despite wearing their influences so heavily on their sleeves, these are both great songs in their own right.

Popundret - Shiver Gone mp3

Popundret - Stab Me mp3

We're getting towards the time of year when people start putting together their "Best of" lists for the past twelve months. Don't worry - I'm not about to bore you with one of my own, but I may drop in the odd personal '07 favourite here and there over the next few weeks. Which brings us to up-and-coming Swedish singer-songwriter Asha Ali's A Promise Broken. I first became aware of this track two or three months ago via the Into The Groove blog, and I've hardly stopped listening to it since. A really great pop song, and a real star in the making.

Asha Ali - A Promise Broken mp3

Asha Ali's self-titled debut album is available to buy as a download from the Klicktrack Music shop.

Popundret's Montmartre 1540 album is available from CD Baby.