Mando Diao hail from the rough, wild city of Borlänge in Sweden. They formed because they felt betrayed by rock n'roll. They claim that their gigs border on religious experience.
I rushed to the CD player expecting something incendiary. A road to Damascus. Maybe The Kills refracted and amplified by The Others personal is political sloganeering. Hopefully an echo of early Manic Street Preachers desperate to escape the small town hell.
I was disappointed. Disappointed that the guitars sound like Happy Shopper lemonade, not Bollinger. Disappointed that the baseline bleats like a sheep when it should be sending morse code to the devil. Disappointed that Gustaf Norén sings "I love you, like the summer falls", not " I love you like the Son of God". Disappointed that Mando Diao seem to believe that to succeed all you need is to have a certain chimney sweep style (all hips, cheekbones and tussled hair) and some second hand Strokes riffs. Disappointed that the small town anger and ennui could create something so beige and bland. Disappointed that Libertines style stripped of the chaos and guttersnipe glamour could sound this hollow.
more 