Don’t judge a book by its cover right? (Ms. Moochler, my favorite English teacher in the world, just cringed. She always said one should never start an essay with a cliché and she’s right. Sorry! Chalk it up to trying to write blog posts on uninspired Mondays …) Anyway… as poor form as using a cliché may be, I do think this one rings true for Acid House Kings. When I first saw the band’s name, I immediately assumed it would be some sort of grunge-punk-rock acid-influenced bass-pumping sound machine. Not so. In fact, the Swedish trio produces some of the most gentle, indie-inspired sounds I’ve heard in quite awhile. (Also, 2/3 of the band is family between brothers Niklas and Johan Angergard – always a nice dynamic for a band!)
Speaking of uninspired Mondays, the band’s “Mondays are like Tuesdays” is a great background song for the office-place or anytime (found on the band’s 2002 album titled, originally, “Mondays are like Tuesdays and Tuesdays are like Wednesdays”).
Another favorite song of mine is “This Heart is a Stone.” Coincidentally, speaking of clichés, this tune has lyrics that unabashedly knock down such canned phrases right and left:
“They say your middle name is trouble/But I know it’s Caroline” or
“They say they can smell the drama/But I know it’s No. 5.”
Acid House Kings are celebrating 20 happy years as a band and reissued a trio of albums: Advantage Acid House Kings (1997); Mondays are like Tuesdays and Tuesdays are like Wednesdays (2002); and Sing Along with Acid House Kings (2005). While the band’s sound doesn’t vary from its breathy vocals, guitar-based instrumental, and upbeat sound anyone looking for a nice selection of indie Euro songs can’t go wrong with any of these three.