The Sounds

Swedish new wave enthusiasts the Sounds craft luminous, synthesizer-drenched rock that openly draws from pop-smart, punk-tinged '80s groups such as Blondie and Missing Persons. Their first major breakthrough arrived in 2002 via the debut Living in America, which succeeded in both their home country of Sweden and on the other side of the Atlantic. Later releases from the 2000s, including 2006's Dying to Say This to You and 2009's Crossing the Rubicon, sustained their European chart visibility, aided by tracks like "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" and "Song with a Mission." Dance rhythms and studio sheen grew more prominent with each project, as heard on the 2011 fourth album Something to Die For, rooted in electro and synth pop. The remainder of the 2010s proved relatively subdued, yet the band revived its core energy early in the following decade through 2020's Things We Do for Love.

The lineup features vocalist Maja Ivarsson, keyboardist Jesper Anderberg, bassist Johan Bengtsson, drummer Fredrik Nilsson, and guitarist Felix Rodriguez; these new wave revivalists first formed in 1999 in Stockholm, where substantial portions of the debut Living in America were tracked. The platinum-certified release reached number four in its first week on the Swedish charts after arriving in 2002, with an American edition issued in May 2003 that established the group stateside through MTV-highlighted singles "Living in America" and "Rock & Roll." The follow-up Dying to Say This to You emerged three years afterward, offering a refined mix of anthemic, '80s-rooted rock and new wave that expanded their reach internationally. Peaking just outside the Billboard 200's Top 100, the album spotlighted the hit singles "Song with a Mission" and the U.K. club standout "Tony the Beat (Push It)."

Road commitments occupied the Sounds through October 2007, after which they entered the studio alongside producers such as Mark Saunders, recently active with tour partners Shiny Toy Guns, Fountains of Wayne founder Adam Schlesinger, and Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. Departing their prior label deal, the band elected to chart an independent course. Sessions for the third studio album Crossing the Rubicon occurred across Sweden, Los Angeles, and New York, yielding a June 2009 release that became their strongest U.S. chart performer to that point and featured the driving "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" alongside the Blondie-reminiscent "Beatbox." Much of 2009 was devoted to touring the record, including an opening slot for No Doubt.

The Sounds issued their fourth studio album Something to Die For in 2011, led by the single "Better Off Dead." Though the set appeared on more national charts than any prior release, it quickly receded despite clear advances in style and technique. They followed two years later with the fifth studio album Weekend, which contained the title-track single and the song "Shake Shake Shake." Posting the group's weakest commercial placement so far, Weekend presented a tougher, more reflective tone less centered on exuberance than earlier work. Little emerged from the Sounds for the balance of the decade aside from the 2017 EP The Tales That We Tell.

The band resurfaced in 2020 with renewed drive on the sixth studio album Things We Do for Love, released via Arnioki Records. Anchored by the synth-driven single "Safe and Sound," the seasoned collection examined the challenges of adult relationships, incorporating new production elements while retaining the established synths-and-basslines approach.