Retro Review: The Cardigans

There’s one thing pop music fans haven’t had much of a chance to hear and enjoy in the past couple of decades: Pop music. Think of pop/rock songs of, say, the 1960s (always a nostalgic era among those of a certain age), many being one-hit wonders by bands for which longevity was simply not part of their collective DNA. But innumerable songs from that era had catchy melodies that can stick in one’s head, neat and distincitve guitar riffs, and, with luck, clever enough lyrics without the pretense of being important, or even very substantial (nothing wrong with the time-honored “boy meets girl” scenario). They were simply fun to listen to, over and over again. Yes, as the ’60s progressed, protest songs objecting to the Vietnam War, racial conflict, the generation gap, and other societal ills became increasingly common, but somehow not nearly as enjoyable.

Flash forward nearly thirty years…

Enter The Cardigans, a band from Sweden who released their first album, Emmerdale, in 1994 (with a wider international re-release in ‘97), followed by five more albums, before relegating their activities to occasional, brief tours, and eventually calling it quits — apparently for good — in 2018. As was the case with their fellow Swedish pop/rock bands ABBA, Roxette, and Ace of Base, The Cardigans achieved considerable commercial success in Europe while making only modest inroads in America, with a small but loyal fan base. Could it be true that many European bands don’t necessarily feel the need to have chart-topping hits in the U.S. to be considered “successful”?

The Cardigans consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Svenigsson, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, and last but certainly not least, singer Nina Persson. Persson has said she was studying art and had never considered a music career when she was recruited into the band. She is the band’s focal point of interest, both visually and audibly, delivering her vocals in a soft, soothing, almost little-girl voice, set against the musicians who could be impressively creative with arrangements, the use of additional instruments (trumpets, flutes, bassoons), and especially the hook-heavy songs that prove irresistible, and invite repeat listenings.

The band’s first three albums — individually and collectively — represent a brilliant…