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 Cardigans singer Nina Persson |
Over a decade into their career, adolescent urges aren't supposed to be what fuels hitmakers like the Cardigans. But over the phone from her native Sweden, singer-lyricist Nina Persson says the band's latest disc, "Super Extra Gravity," is an album listeners can have fun behaving badly to.
"We wanted to do a record that was really obnoxious and really restless," she says with a chuckle. "We're being as punk as the Cardigans can be, but we wanted to act like spoilt teenagers too."
Having met as teens in the small Swedish town of Jonkoping in the early '90s, the five-piece band was catapulted to stardom with their hit "Lovefool" in 1997. The following year, Persson, composer-guitarist Peter Svensson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, bassist Magnus Sveningsson and keyboardist Lasse Johansson convened in Malmo to record their fourth record, "Grand Turismo." Backed by the radio-friendly "My Favourite Game" and "Erase/ Rewind," the album sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
Like its multi-platinum predecessor, 1996's "First Band On The Moon," "Grand Turismo" was supported by extensive touring. And after a couple of soundtrack contributions (to 1999's "A Life Less Ordinary," amongst others), the band went on hiatus, allowing members to pursue various projects outside of the band.
Persson released a solo record (2001's "A Camp"), while Sveningsson stepped into the spotlight to front Righteous Boy's 2003 release, "I Sing Because Of You."
"Our breaks have been very creative," Persson says. "And though we've all made a lot of interesting projects that are necessary in a life, I think our time apart is the reason why we want to continue. We allow ourselves, and each other, the space to do what we have to do."
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With most of the tracks written, the band tapped longtime collaborator Tore Johansson (Franz Ferdinand, OK GO) to produce 2003's "Long Gone Before Daylight." The sessions didn't go so well, however, and midway through recording, the group brought in Per Sunding and sent Johansson packing.
"Three months into the making of 'Long Gone,' we decided to scrap everything and start all over again," she recalls. "So it really dragged on forever."
The finished product was greeted by warm reviews and the group had a slot on 2004's "Chicks With Attitude" tour alongside Liz Phair. But Persson sounds a little relieved that Johansson got on board when the group asked him to produce "Super Extra Gravity."
"As much as we wanted to run away from him on the previous record, we enjoyed being back together this time," she says. "It's becoming a very nice collaboration because he knows us so well.
"When we rehearse, he comes in, listens and then tells us we suck," she laughs. "He insults us to results."
Johansson's militaristic reappearance coincided with the band's business-like vigour. Late nights in the studio fueled by bottles of red wine were a thing of the past. "With 'Super Extra Gravity' we were extremely efficient," she remarks. "We worked office hours. We went home at night, took lunch breaks, and made it over the course of a few months.
"Granted, a few of the members in the band have started to have kids. So I think these guys needed that regimented structure to get it done at all."
Though Persson says a lot of contemporary pop follows the same uniformity and predictability, she and her bandmates knew they had their first single when they laid down Svensson's screechy guitar to the sly, "I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer."
Joined by Lagerberg's thunderclap drumming, Persson wraps her sexy growl around lines like, "I'm a pitbull, you're a dog/ Baby you're foul in clear conditions/ But you're handsome in the fog/ So I need some fine wine/ And you, you need to be nicer."
At other times, her voice is whispery and fragile recalling songs like "Bluest Eyes In Texas" (on "Losing A Friend" and "Overload" most especially). And there are instances where Persson conjures the same musical vocabulary as Sheryl Crow (on the country-meets-modern-rock "Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)" and "Holy Love").
Where "Long Gone Before Daylight" dished up a mature sound, here the Cardigans return to the harmony-drenched melodies of early releases. Reminiscent of the swaggering "Been It" and "Step On Me" (from "First Band On The Moon"), Persson's strident bellows take on a velvety smoothness (on "Godspell" and "In The Round") and flirt with Tom Petty circa "Learning To Fly" (on the breezy, "Good Morning Joan").
With the band in the midst of rehearsals for a European tour that begins next month (North American dates have yet to be announced), Persson says the longtime friends are just now coming into their own. "Ten years is a long time and ten years ago we were just kids. A lot of things have happened, but we're really excited to be going back out on the road and doing our job."
Not for a minute giving away what must be a feeling of intense media fatigue (Persson's feature film debut in "God Willing" was hitting European theatres the same day as this interview), the 31-year-old shrugs off the scrutiny awaiting the band's sixth release.
"The urge to want to get away from our previous records starts quite early," she says. "Once we're done touring with a record, we hate it. That's a good inspiration. Not being satisfied with your tombstone is a good inspiration. Getting embarrassed about your last record is a great inspiration."
She giggles, and for a minute, sounds like a teenager. Next time won't be any different.
"Super Extra Gravity" is in stores now.