Year of the Swedes, or Year of the De(e/a)rs?

2006 was the “Year of the Wolf”… Wolfmother, “Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio, “Wolves at Night” by Manchester Orchestra, “Wolves” by Josh Ritter, “The Wolf Is Loose” by Mastodon… and I can’t forget Wolf Parade, which led the way for all the other wolf bands.

I declared back in December that 2007 would be the “Year of the De(e/a)rs” (Deerhoof, Deerhunter, The Dears) but as it turns out, 2007 has a need for Swede.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Peter Bjorn & John (PB&J… how cute) and Loney, Dear, plus some other Swedes like Dungen and The Concretes. I must say, I like what I’ve heard from the Swedes this year, as well as their videos.  Check out this one from PB&J for “Objects of My Affection”—the song version is different than the album cut, too.

And “I Am John” by Loney, Dear.

In closing, here’s a Venn diagram to help you keep tabs on the Swedes vs. De(e/a)rs battle for Best of 2007 (and really, who doesn’t appreciate a good Venn diagram??)

For Paste,
Caren