Brush Up on Your Swedish: Early Komeda

I was bitten by the Komeda bug in 1996 when the Swedish outfit released 'The Genius of Komeda,' its first album in English.

Along the way, I picked up everything by the band that I could find, including today's picks from the 'Pop Pa Svenska' album and 'Plan 714 Till' EP. These are Komeda's first works, from 1993 and 1995, respectively. The band's signature sound is already there, but I have to admit I wish I knew what Lena Karlsson was singing about. Both of these releases were originally issued on the the North of No South label, but Minty Fresh reissued them together on one disc in 2001. If you were a fan of Komeda's English-language albums, you will want to get this one, too. If you haven't heard Komeda before, check out this video for, perhaps, the band's best-known single. It can be found on the
'What Makes It Go?' album.

Komeda hasn't made a new album in about a decade, and most of the band's members are on to other things, but I'm still hopeful for another gem sometime down the line.

Komeda - Bonjour Tristesse (mp3) (from 'Pop Pa Svenska')
Komeda - Herbamore (mp3) (from 'Plan 714 Till')