Album Review | The Soundtrack of Our Lives : Origin Vol. I (2005, Republic/ Universal)

Bands from Sweden have earned a deserved reputation in the years after the garage explosion. M aking firm declarations on their own questionable greatness and acting pompous have become the calling card of a collective genre as much as dying on their second album. While the Soundtrack of Our Lives can be just as guilty as some for playing by these rules, they have made themselves Sweden’s most fascinating acts. They have transcended the vogue and become a respected act musically, all the while doing so with a devout political agenda. On their forth album, the group (assembled from former parts of Union Carbide Productions) has taken their psychadelia-meets-arena rock another step forward, extending their sound and poise.

On 2002’s Behind the Music, the group produced some of the most memorable rock songs (Sister Surround”) and political anthems (“Independent Luxury”, “21st Century Rip-Off”) rooted in the trade protests and riots in their capitol of Gothenburg in the years around the record’s creation. The defiant tone of the record seemed to foreshadow a tongue-lashing for the Bush administration on the next record. The album does confront the uninvited rule in America, but the delivery is carried with less of the furious acting out but the acerbic shrewdness in the lyrics is sharper than ever.

Opener “Believe I’ve Found” is a critical observation of modern culture as singer/ lyricist Ebbott Lundberg tiredly declares “I believe I’ve found/ a better way to satisfy your kind”. An undoubtedly harsh statement, but meaning is a bit shrouded after opening lyrics hint to a greater loss of family, art and individuality. Lundberg and the band have championed themselves on being righteous soldiers in the war against complete control, fighting for freedoms in art, trade and other causes. It’s that battle and the underlying tone of secret warring that makes their music so intriguing.

Both “Transcendental Suicide” and “Royal Explosion (Part II)” are forceful Who’s Next-style anthems of frustration and rebellion. They each assail the evident profit of Bush Act II, and make it know that half-a-world away, the ripples of his profiteering agenda are already delivering their consequence. “Big Time” takes it a step further name-checking stem cells, news tampering, and the penetrating coupling of “so what’s the occupation/ what’s your dedication”. Origin Volume I’s critical tour de force is U.S. bonus track “World Bank”, which heavy handedly attacks the conquering financial organization with “I’m a link in a chain/ an everlasting chain”. In his words, Lundberg always maintains a fair and just sense of where the citizen fits in the scheme of capitalism and where they actually deserve to be.

Even if listeners want nothing to do with the world politics of aging Swedes, their magnetism and big riffs draws attention. The dueling guitarists Mattias Barjed and Ian Person and the rhythm of Kalle Jerneholm (bass) and Fredrik Sandsten (drum) have a stadium-honed sound with enough unique melodies to hypnotize a battalion of freedom fighters. The practiced showmanship of Lundberg is remarkable, considering that breathy vocal scratch is emanating from a prancing 300 lb. man. His voice is one of rocks most dynamic, going from howl (“Age of No Reply”) to swoon (on the Jane Birkin accompanied “Midnight Children”) effortlessly and purposely.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives has been one of the most authentic rock groups for over 12 years. Their politics have been as ham fisted as their influences, but their righteousness and sense of responsibility in fame aligns them as the successor to the Clash’s role of rock’s political conscience. The progressive but accessible guitar sound promotes their statement perfectly in a “spoonful of sugar” kind of relationship. Origin Volume I is a burning reassessment of values and integrity for the world and a protest record to rival “American Idiot” in message and easily eclipses it in musicianship.


Buy the album here

The Soundtrack of Our Lives' Official Website www.thesoundtrackofourlives.net
Universal Records Website www.universalrecords.com

Reviewed for Earlash Music Sight