SUBURBAN KIDS WITH BIBLICAL NAMES - # 3

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names are two Swedish guys, Johan Hedberg and Peter Gunnarsson, who, after a couple of EPs ("#1" and "#2"), make their full-length debut for Labrador with this (talk about imagination) "#3". Their approach is a kind of DIY sketchwork built on folktronica, electropop and toy music foundations, blending the most disparate influences (though always kept "light": soul, classic songwriting, even country) into a format that nonetheless remains distinctly their own (the songs all bear a common signature), all rigorously rendered in digital form.

The opening isn't exactly the best of it. "Marry Me" combines retro melodicism and vocal harmonies, sung with a plaintive edge, with the piano slightly off-time for eccentricity's sake and mandolins tacked on at the end for a surprise effect. The little folk guitars make the whole thing rather unmusical. Things improve with the electronic pop nugget "Loop Duplicate My Heart", nicely arranged with its synths, an attempt at a bridge between the generation of The Platters and that of Kraftwerk. The instrumental "A Couple of Instruments" follows the same line, initially suspended between modernity and classicism, harp and electronic beat, before catching itself whistling like a bossa nova over horns and a lyrical backdrop.

A step up comes with "Parakit", a soul-tinged little tune sung Morrissey-style over a bed of small keyboards. That level is rarely reached again: the album certainly tries out several approaches and shows imagination, and there's decent arranging talent at work, but it never really takes off, since the duo lacks strong songwriting chops. "Trees and Squirrels" tries to sound fresh with its squeaks and piano motifs: fresh it certainly is, but listening to it makes clear the album's average level, an oddity that exists too much for its own sake.

Among the better moments are the little guitar line of "Peter's Dream", suspended between sweetness and melancholy, even though the urge to impress leads to an overstuffed arrangement that doesn't do it any favors; and the country-tinged inventiveness of "Seem to Be on My Mind".

The impression is that the band fails precisely where it should count most, in the ultra-pop centerpieces like "Rent a Wreck", which relies on silly, festive call-and-response vocals. "#3" is undoubtedly a record of its time, both in sound and in intent, trying to wink at the listener and flow lightly. Unfortunately, despite its undeniable flashes of inspiration, it succeeds all too well at simply slipping by.

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30/04/2026