Concert Review: The Sounds 5/27/09 at Fiddler's Green, Denver, CO

Maybe, as their new album Crossing the Rubicon suggests, they are at the point of no return. There’s no turning back now for this band from Helsingborg, Sweden that is on a make-or-break summer tour of America opening for returning rock royalty in the form of No Doubt.

It remains to be seen if the entire country will wake up to the Swede sounds of The Sounds. But the pop-synth techno-electro-lite five-piece band fronted by blond and blue-eyed beauty Maja Ivarsson will get heard over the next three months.

Even if they aren’t mentioned as the opening act, which was the case for the May 27 show at Fiddler’s Green south of Denver. Some local publications never even noticed The Sounds were on the bill, stating that Paramore was leading off the evening’s festivities.

Not that it seemed to matter to The Sounds. While stragglers were still pouring into the outdoor amphitheater because either: a) their tickets didn’t indicate there was a third act or b) they knew of the band but were stuck in godforsaken traffic on I-25, the Swedes performed a quick six-song set with energy and efficiency.

Three of the songs, including the one that will most likely stick with young Americans – the anthemic “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” – were from Crossing the Rubicon.

Their third album – its name refers to Caesar's historic crossing of the river in Italy in 49 B.C. – will be released June 2 (Original Signal Recordings), but the promotional push happened long before that.

The Sounds are getting the word out, and it’s spreading. They’re everywhere – on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter; headlining dates earlier this year all across the globe, from London to Hamburg to Barcelona to Montreal to New York to the Hollywood Palladium; a late, late, late night appearance on NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly; in Rolling Stone, which labeled them "Blondie-style cool with a streamlined punk rush" and, before it went kaput, Blender called Ivarsson the "Hottest Woman in Rock."

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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