Thursday, July 17, 2008

632. Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good (1988)
















Track Listing


1. Traitor
2. Motorcrash
3. Birthday
4. Delicious Demon
5. Mama
6. Coldsweat
7. Blue Eyed Pop
8. Deus
9. Sick for Toys
10. Fucking in Rhythm & Sorrow
11. Take Some Petrol Darling

Review

This is the birth of the popularity of Icelandic music, we would get Bjork straight out of this band and later on Sigur Ros, the big band in the late 80's to come out of Iceland were really the Sugarcubes, a little mix of Cure and B52's they are firmly in a post-punk tradition, but are original enough to be different from that tradition.

This was also one of the first vinyls I ever bought. The album has some great elements, the lyrics are strange, quirky and quite funny, and the Icelandic accent is also pretty amusing while working pretty well with the music.

It's a pretty varied album with some of the best tracks that ever came out of the brilliance that is Bjork, Birthday is one of the stand-outs and is up there with the best Bjork solo tracks. The rest of the album is equally as good and it is one to be listened to again and again. Love it.

Track Highlights

1. Birthday
2. Deus
3. Traitor
4. Fucking In Rhythm and Sorrow

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

They first came to notice in the UK when radio DJ John Peel played "Birthday," later voted by his listeners as a single of the year. The band's music was characterized by psychedelic sound, whimsical yet heartfelt lyrics, and the imploring, girlish voice of vocalist Björk Guðmundsdóttir, who later went on to great success as a solo artist. While not as successful as Björk's solo career would be, the band is still very highly regarded and was the most influential Icelandic group until the rise of Sigur Rós.

Birthday:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's rare when you hear a song and it blows you away form the opening seconds, you put down whatever you're doing and stand transfixed until it's over. I remember hearing Birthday on the Peel show back in 1988 and can remember how it made the hairs on my neck stand on end - and it still does. Shocking, surprising, fun, experimental and still accessible. Birthday is still one of the greatest songs ever recorded.