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KOKOMEMEDADA
(Universal/Minty Fresh)
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It’s been six years since Komeda first graced the globe with their peculiar Swedish pop-tart music, a brisk mix of Dadaist sensibilities, socialist politics, and cut-and-paste sampler sonics. But Kokomemedada is anything but a throwback. Moving forward with futurist themes cushioned in styles as old-fashioned as krautrock, new wave, and rockabilly, the disc is a Technicolor ear feast for lovers of zippy melodies and happy-land grooves. Still rocking with their strange Devo-esque affect, the trio branch out to include vocals by brothers Jonas and Marcus Holmberg, but Lena Karlsson’s glistening voice remains Komeda’s centerpiece. The group’s Web site namedrops everyone from Can and Brian Wilson to Boards of Canada and Ekkehard Ehlers; they all have a place in Kokomemedada’s sweet pop capsules. And though the album doesn’t slap the senses like 1996’s What Makes It Go?, its palette of humming keyboards, perky drums, and flowing acoustic and zesty electric guitars matched with nervously twitching arrangements penetrates the skin. "Blossom" sounds like the soundtrack for a ’60s automobile ad, all zinging instruments and life-affirming lyrics; "Elvira Madigan" salutes ’70s punk and ’80s synth-pop with claustrophobic intensity; "Dead" has the glowing orbit magnetism of the classic German krautrock legends.
