Det Vackra Livet

Brothers Henrik and Philip Ekström launched Det Vackra Livet in 2010 as a side project. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based siblings, already fronting their main band the Mary Onettes, remained in familiar territory by producing another batch of icy, retro-synth pop in the vein of New Order and the Cure. The self-titled debut album, influenced by the brothers’ grandmother’s memoirs and by the poetry of psychiatrist, author, musician, politician, and former member of the Finnish Parliament Claes Andersson, appeared on Labrador Records in March 2011 after the single “Viljan” had already surfaced.