David & the Citizens

Swedish indie pop outfit David & the Citizens originated in 1999 when vocalist and guitarist David Fridlund launched the project. Within a year he had assembled a lineup that included Conny Fridh on bass, Alexander Madsen on guitar, Mikael Carlsson on drums, and Magnus Bjerkert on trumpet. The group put out several LPs and EPs, most of them on the Swedish imprint Adrian, and earned domestic recognition that included a 2004 Swedish Grammy nomination, yet remained absent from North American shelves except for Fridlund’s solo outing Amaterasu, issued by Hidden Agenda in 2005. In 2006 the New York-based Friendly Fire Recordings label introduced a six-song, self-titled EP drawn from earlier material to pave the way for the forthcoming full-length Until the Sadness Is Gone. After several personnel shifts, the roster stabilized in 2006 around Fridlund, Fridh, Magnus Bjerkert, and John Bjerkert, who handled drums.