First Band On The Moon

This is absolutely brilliant - why have I never heard this before? I guess they are victims of being percieved to have a novelty hit. The arrangements are fantastic, the songs instantly engaging, the vocals are perfect. What a find!

I always liked Lovefool since I heard it on KROC in the 90's, but man this whole album was a knockout! Not a song I didn't enjoy. Love their warm, unpredictable chord changes. I really like Nina's voice and the band is stellar. Thought I was hearing Black Sabbath influence in one of the earlier songs but figured I was imagining it - then they did that incredible Iron Man cover. Risky move but I thought they pulled it off, reimagining it in their own distinctive style. Didn't realize they were from Sweden. 5 stars!

I love Volvos! Volvos, aka the 'Socialist Containers' have always held my attention in a way that I cannot fully articulate. They're weird, but cool looking, especially the wagons. I bought one and it's kind of crap, it's got issues that nobody can figure out, once you solve one issue something else fails, kind of like this band. Nina Persson's voice is so soft, sexxy and warming, like my 50's pinup posters started singing to me ... mmmm Nina. However, the Playboy mansion submissive-bimbo-act got kinda gross after a couple of listens. The voice, ultimately becomes a liability and eventually a detractor. I really liked a song until I saw the title... "Happy Meal II" ummm, Nina not sure what happens in Sweden, but you can't sing about kinky thoughts and title it after a meal geared toward toddlers. Also, Iron Man is complete disaster bordering on blasphemy. Love Fool was overplayed and grated when this was released (though coming back, it is a really good song). Musically, there's a some uniquely good stuff. The percussion on Losers is wonderful, refrains on Great Divide, great and all songs really, have some secret sauce I can't quite figure out but really enjoy. There is enough to keep this album going. However, each time it's on, the liklihood of encountering irritation and disgust is high and trading it in for something that works is a real possiblity. Kind of like my Volvo. ---------------- Liner Note: Gran Turismo, the follow up to First Band on the Moon, shows a band that has evolved and is redeeming, that would be a five.

Worst Iron Man cover ever

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem You love me no longer, I know and Maybe there is nothing that I can do To make you do Mama tells me I shouldn't bother That I ought just stick to another man A man that surely deserves me But I think you do So I cry and I pray and I beg Love me love me Say that you love me Fool me fool me Go on and fool me Love me love me Pretend that you love me Leave me leave me Just say that you need me So, I cry and I beg for you to Love me love me Say that you love me Leave me leave me Just say that you need me I can't care 'bout anything but you Lately I have desperately pondered Spent my nights awake and I wonder What I could have done in another way To make you stay Reason will not lead to solution I will end up lost in confusion I don't care if you really care As long as you don't go So I cry, I pray, and I beg Love me, love me Say that you love me Fool me, fool me Go on and fool me Love me, love me Pretend that you love me Leave me, leave me Just say that you need me So I cry and I beg for you to Love me, love me Say that you love me Leave me, leave me Just say that you need me I can't care 'bout anything but you Love me, love me (say that you love me) Fool me, fool me (go on and fool me) Love me, love me (I know that you need me) I can't care 'bout anything but you

Pleasant fun. Only heard the radio single "lovefool" before. As an album it's a bit weirder than I had expected from the single. Are they quoting black fucking sabbath on "heartbreaker?" As I'm listening I think it's starting to grow on me. And then just straight up cover Iron Man?!

It’s like they wrote one incredibly catchy song by complete accident.

Could not finish. Ugh, that baby girl voice. Bland 90s music with saccharine vocals. Had to listen to some Joplin to wash this out.

Lovefool is one of the greatest songs of all time and I stand by that

Absolute fire

AH. The Lovefool song. I recognize that one. So that's what this band is known for huh. I like the vocalist. I like the album's chill vibe.

I've always known The Cardigans as a one-hit wonder responsible for "Lovefool," which I'm very pleased to see is on this album. I know Alex is clamoring for classics, but I appreciate a chance to revisit a band like this to see how the album cuts were. I've been enjoying the album, finding a few tracks I like here and there, and then Lovefool comes on and I realize it's the hit single for a reason. Such a perfect jam, all the other pretty good songs pale in comparison. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this album, but I totally understand the one-hit wonder status because I can't imagine the Cardigans ever reaching that height again. Shout-out to the "Iron Man" cover though, that's actually pretty awesome. Favorite tracks: Lovefool (by a mile), Iron Man, Been It. Album art: Surely this was part of a fan submission contest for "worst album cover imaginable"? Extremely blurry band photo, and it's just the drummer. Is this even the Cardigans in the shot? I don't know, and I also don't care. I had to check out all their other album covers and yes, this is easily the worst. Do better, guys. 3.5/5

First time listen. Song #1 is an odd and interesting blend of swirling sixties sounds (think soundtrack to A Man and a Woman) with some nice electric riffs. I wish the singer's voice, the lyrics, and the flute were all a little better. The 2nd song is just stupid in the way that 90s song about being a bitch is kind of stupid. Now it's continuing, so this is how it's gonna be: trite lyrics sung in a girly voice with some great instrumentation. Things pick up with Step On Me but I question my commitment to this sparkle motion. Lovefool's on and, yep, I've heard this one and congrats Cardigans, you just got another star because this is really good.

Wow! I had never really listened to them before, but I knew of them. Nina Persson's voice is so soothing and entrancing. This album is excellent! I am really loving this album. Cheerful, bopping, jazz/pop/rock. There's even flutes!

Finally, someone delivers on all the promises the Carpenters only hinted at, the ones that Richard Carpenter cock-blocked Karen Carpenter from attempting. That's not to compare the vocal styles of Nina Persson and the silky smooth Karen Carpenter. But there's a sadness to a lot of the Cardigans that's baked into some cheesy sounds. There's also a pretty great cover of a Black Sabbath classic. Most of the album sounds like bubble-gum pop meets new-era grunge lounge, and I'm here for all of it. "Lovefool" was a number one song for all intents and purposes (it was released during that weird era when Billboard didn't have their shit together, so many bangers of the era were relegated to charts titled "Top 100 Radio Airplay" and "Top 40 Mainstream". Fuckin' algorithms). But I'm telling you, that song was EVERYWHERE in 1997. It had some sort of relationship with that Romeo + Juliet movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which makes sense somehow. When a song is that perfect, it's going to work anywhere. The Cardigans didn't reach the level of success that fellow Swedish bands Abba or Ace Of Base did, and it sounds like a lot of that was due to the fact that the success of "Lovefool" freaked them out a little. I still own three CDs by the Cardigans, and I'll take them over anything by Ace Of Base anytime.

What a great way to start the week! Reminds me of driving home from uni and popping this cassette (I’m old!), that I borrowed from my roommate, in for a 5 hour drive. It’s a pop album, but not of the over manufactured variety. The music has a quality that I can’t quite pin down. There is a a lot more depth, and a uniqueness, that stands out from typical pop music. There are a lot of lyrics dealing with relationships, including: dating a man-child celebrity (Been It), being a commitmentphobe (Heartbreaker), being smitten for an upcoming date (Happy Meal II), being a doormat (Step On Me), and lack of self worth with a side of desperation (Lovefool). Then of course, there is the cover of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. The two main songwriters were previously in metal bands. Thus, Black Sabbath were a big influence. The juxtaposition of Black Sabbath’s metal sound with the consumable, pop sound of The Cardigans always fascinates me. In fact, they covered several Sabbath songs throughout the years and referenced their lyrics in other non-covers (Heartbreaker). This album is fantastic, but I actually prefer their preceding album Life, which is not on the 1001 list. Too bad because it is awesome too!

Is there a genre for pop that is alternative? Really liked it. Humming liked charged satin.

Reminds me a lot of the twee/anorak pop from groups like Tallulah Gosh, Marine Girls, and Heavenly (sans the school-aged imagery that followed around these twee as fuck bands). However, unlike those groups, The Cardigans manage to be even more sugary sweet, hiding all the bitter bite of their punk in their lyrics. The album is swimming with sweet-sounding songs about heartbreak ("Your New Cuckoo"; "Lovefool"), sardonic songs lampooning the facile images of a woman in love ("Been It"; "Step on Me"), a great song about a one-night stand ("Heartbreaker"). What's more, The Cardigans always seem to pull away from the sweetness at just the right moment, preventing the listener from feeling overwhelmed by the saccharine sound of the music. If twee pop was punk in a school uniform, The Cardigans is punk in a prom dress, the very poofiest one. Between a 3 and 4, but closer to a 4.

This was not nearly as lightweight as anticipated, quite interesting while tuneful and fun. My middle kid became an instant fan. Well worth a "best-of"! I never need to hear "Lovefool" again, of course, and "Iron Man" is a bit superfluous (perhaps they drifted into this while figuring out "Choke"). Regardless, I was going to mark this a bit harshly as it was not the total noisefest I was hoping for to honor Albini, but you can't blame some Swedes in '96. Instead, afterwards I played "Goat", which probably deserves its own place on this list

nice 90s pop, some really great tracks on here but there's a few annoying ones as well. the iron man cover kinda rocks. 7/10

Relaxed, fun album. Some new songs for me that I liked (Your New Cuckoo, Never Recover, the Iron Man cover). I’ll give them a 4 in part because I think their sound is unique.

I really like this album. A wonderful collection of pop/rock songs. Accessible, but not generic, with beautiful melodies and interesting arrangements. I love Nina Persson's voice, and Peter Svensson's guitar work is incredible - an absolute master of guitar tone, and always seems to play exactly what is required for the song (and no more). Love the production too, with all the instruments and vocals clear and defined and exactly where they need to be. (4.3)

I know I've heard of the Cardigans before, but never really knew what they sounded like, or who they sounded like, kind of vaguely assuming they were like the Happy Mondays or something like that. I guess not! (And now I know who did that earworm "LoveFool".) But they're also not really doing much for me, despite the props I give them for doing a cover of "Iron Man" (I wanted to like their bizarre pseudo-jazzy take, but couldn't quite). Several of the songs started off sounding interesting, but then seemed to dissolve into some sort of anodyne alt-rock-ish sound (in large part due to Nina Persson's sort of baby-tone voice). I kept wanting them to be more like Portishead, but that's not really their thing. I know it's not really fair to the Cardigans, but it kind of feels unfair that the 1001 albums project has *this* Swedish band in the collection, but doesn't have Robyn, who seems a lot more interesting and distinctive.

Poppig, die Stimme nervt etwas auf Dauer

This album gave me extreme enjoyability whiplash. For the first few songs I honestly thought I might be giving it a 1, they just plain annoyed me. But then Never Recover was fun enough to at least solidify a 2. But then Lovefool came, and my deep hatred for that song made me want to drop it down to a 1 again… but then immediately after Losers came on and not only saved it from losing a star, it bumped it all the way to a 3. And then that Black Sabbath cover… I honestly have no idea how to feel about it other than strangely intrigued. With the album ending on a nice but forgettable few songs, I think I’ll have to rate this a very confused 3 in the end.

Everyone talks about how The Cardigans were the first band on the moon, but no one wants to discuss the horrific mechanical failures of their lunar lander that stranded them there, leaving them to perish in the distant, cold silence of space. Very sad.

This might be a novelty record with a single hit, but the novelty is mostly charming, smart and catchy. Its leanings to muzak are a tad too arch for me, but there’s more craft and chorus here than I was expecting.

Not for me. I don't like Lovefool and I really dislike the Sabbath cover. The rest is very meh. Inoffensive wishy washy indie rock. I have no idea why it is on the list. Even the album cover looks like a mistake Solid 2

This album was fine. But I started it with the hope of trying to figure out the difference between The Cardigans and Sixpence None the Richer and I still haven’t so I’m a bit disappointed it wasn’t as illuminating as I had hoped.

63/100: I've never heard an album that was so clearly well-produced and touched by talented hands but also so incredibly horrendous and difficult to listen to. I think it clearly took a very talented artist to create the song "Lovefool," but it's such a shame that it's such an obnoxious song. It's honestly on the order of "What's New Pussycat" in terms of difficulty to listen to. Most songs on this album fall into this category. This album really made my 3am drive to the airport even worse than it already was, which is really rough because I was really hoping for a great album to boost my mood.

Ergh. Ergh, all a bit repetitive. Ergh, all a bit repetitive. Lovefool - rejoice! Ergh, all a bit repetitive. Fuck me this is terrible. Really annoying.

Now this was a welcome surprise,step on me and lovefool are both bangers along with the cover of iron man.This album should be talked about more it’s excellent.

This was an incredible listen. I of course knew of the hit Lovefool. But every track on this album was a banger in my opinion. So much so that I spent the rest of the day listening to their whole discography! New fan for sure.

It's not always a sound I want but on the right day The Cardigans slap. Also, Iron Man!

Great pop rock album. Need some more Cardigans in my life!

actually really good pop music

Guter Altpop, angenehme Stimme, Lovefool ist ein Klassiker.

Didn't finish this one. Her voice is too much n the lyrics are corny. 4/10 for me

Probably my favourite album of all time, so easy to listen to, sickly sweet

Oh man - this record threw me back and I realise how criminally under rated this band feels to me. The musicianship is mind blowing - production perfect - there isn’t one song that doesn’t fit - and at their poppiest this band is gold - even with the overly sweet and possibly omnipresent single in 1996 ‘Lovefool’ - it’s still subtly brilliant. Crown jewel to me is the Sabbath cover.

Another band whose name I've heard a lot but never checked out. This is my jam. Absolutely loved it and will have to dig deeper.

love these guys

Was already one of my life-long favorite albums before this generator. I cant say enough good things about the Cardigans, or this album. Lovefool being the biggest hit. But digging deeper, youll find some real hidden gems! (Including Sabbath)

I had heard the tracks that get radio play before and really liked them, but it turns out the whole album is excellent

so good!

Sweet somewhat twee. Can see it’s influences all over modern indie music

Great! Listen again

Beautiful, lush pop songs filled with 60s grooviness, jazziness, a bit of lo-fi (notably on the vocals and some synths), and all sorts of synths to match it's ethereal or triumphant moods. At times can be jammy, at times can be Beatlesesque. I'm in love with this album. I like her voice and the studio production, and every song sounds fantastic and memorable. Many of which are addictive earworms. I'm also a huge fan of the smooth transitions. This is one of the those cases where I'm biased because this is exactly my sound and I can't find anything I dislike about it.

From a band I’ve never heard of, but now I’m glad that this was recommended to me. Almost no bad songs. What’s with all the Black Sabbath references though?

Fun catchy songs that stick with you. The mixing is weak, and some songwriting is meh, but as a whole it stands out as an album worthy of a 5.

5 stars because of Lovefool. Other songs are good too.

Surprisingly fun!

Loved it!

пупсяшный рок

Every so often one takes a listen that confuses in a particularly delightful way. The Cardigans don't venture into mysterious territories on this album; Instead, the reference points get all confused. The Swedish-pop sheen comes with lyrics that are tougher than gossamer. You hear Metric and realize that you might like that band even more than you'd like to admit. First Band on the Moon's transitions are absolutely perfect, and the references to heavy music absolutely twee. I don't want to find the faults.

Love this. The Iron Man cover seals the deal for a 5

Great Album, lots of fun to listen to. Sounds like a lot of fun to make too!

Great record.

An awesome mix of rock and psychedelia. I unabashedly rocked out to this one. Certainly put a different spin on “Iron Man”.

I’ve loved Lovefool since I first heard it back in the 90s, and have really liked everything I’ve heard from them but this is the first time I’ve actually listened to an album. So good!

2nd listen. I was surprised about how much I liked this album the first time I listened to it, but somehow now, listening to it for the second time, I’m still surprised. I think this is the first 5 star album for me on here that hasn’t been from a band that I am really a fan of (although I should probably listen to them more).

Love love love 😍😍

Super unique and interesting for it's time, some great songwriting, excellent production. Was really surprised by this album so it gets a slightly higher rating

Discazo

This is off to the right start. fun band, great lead. Never Recover has this weird juxtaposition of bubblegum pop and some tense chords. THIS IS THE LOVEFOOL BAND?!?! Damn what a delightful album.

W.O.W. I’d never heard of this album or this band. To my knowledge, I’d never heard any of their music (then “Lovefool” came on). I’m blown away. It definitely starts hot, cools off to some tracks I’m not as into but still like, then picks back up with immaculate feel and groove. What a tight band with such a well-defined sound. Plenty of bands attempt a 60’s-style sound and either go too far and sound like stereotypical music from that era, and some don’t go far enough and it doesn’t have enough of that feel. They nailed it with this album. There’s funk, jazz, rock, blues, and soul influences all over this and I could not get enough. I didn’t know who they were but I do now and I almost want to put this whole project on pause to listen to their entire discography. I just might.

Yummy

Really enjoyed this album

Total surprise.

pegao pegao bruh pegao

Probably one of my favorite albums on this whole list that I haven’t already heard before. Solid songs throughout. I really enjoy the vocal performance. The iron man cover was great

Incredible. Actually a favorite album of mine now.

heartbreaker, step on me, lovefool ♡ loved this one a lot

Very good album from start to finish. Rating: 4.6

Really enjoyed this, each track like a hidden treat. Except for that Iron Man cover. Strange that I JUST had Black Sabbath before this album too!

This has some weird little things going but rips

Lovefool is obviously the song everyone has heard, but I was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the album was so enjoyable. The vocals felt like a warm, comforting hug. The arrangements on each track were fairly interesting for a genre that I generally find fairly boring. 5/5

Shoegazy vocals but way less intense guitars. Not a bad song on the whole album. Can't quite think of any band that really sounds like them. Interesting guitar work the whole way through and great pacing from track to track. Excellent album.

🤩

Love the Cardigans and this album.

I loved this!

I have so much to talk about relating to this album, so apologies to whoever reads this if you choose to do so, although I doubt anyone will. Firstly, I've been looking forward to listening to this album for years, with it always being something I wanted to get around to listening to, but always forgetting. This is because not only is Lovefool easily one of the best, if not the best, pop hit of the 1990s, but because The Cardigans have always been compared to and been put into this bubble along with some of my other favorite bands, with Cloudberry Jam (which sadly seems to have been mostly lost in the streaming age), Stereolab, and one of my favorite bands of all time, Komeda. Cloudberry Jam always had some jazzy sensibilities, Stereolab, who's pretty well known, was the electronic one, and Komeda has a bigger alt-rock focus. The Cardigans, however, were far more pop-y then those others, and it had me worried I might not care for this quite as much as those other bands, but this was just as excellent as those. I love the whispery singing of Nina Persson, and they completely understand what I am looking for with a song, with each movement of a piece being satisfying in its own way, and they know when to bring into horns and woodwinds and all sorts of really creative stuff that sets their music apart without being too out there. I'm happy to finally listened to this. If you disagree with me, then know I'm the type of person to give a Black Sabbath album a three, and enjoy this cover of Iron Man far more than the original. Amazing album. What can I say, the Swedes make good music. Also, just to make this review more niche than it already is, the bass riff in Lovefool is the same as Persona 4 Golden's intro theme, and that's knowledge I don't know what to do with. Also also, the first song sounds like a Katamari song, even more bonus points there. God, I love this feel good shit, pump it into my veins.

Haha this was unexpectedly awesome. Very familiar with Lovefool as a go to party starter/catalyst but it was so good listening to it in the context of the album (also a bit of a depresso tune when you really listen). Super nice song structure, beautiful little guitar licks and the Black Sabbath cover was perfect little treat toward the end to keep things interesting. The transition from tune to tune was masterclass too. Based on the album radio would love to explore this little pocket of the late 90s way more.

Got this on a Sunday which is very appropriate, the C90 I had with this on one side and Life on the other was permanently on while I played Sensible Soccer in the late 90s, or as a hangover cure. I think I may prefer Life slightly, but let's go anyway. Not listened for many years now but it doesn't seem to have dated, probably because of the many retro influences to start with. Maybe it's the flute solos. Gloriously weird in places, the mixture of this sweet, slightly twee sounding Swedish band and Black Sabbath is some sort of alchemy. Other metal moves are elsewhere, the kerchunk that punctuates the otherwise sad-indie banger Step On Me. So much so, that the worldwide smash and ludicrously overplayed Lovefool actually feels out of place when I listen to this album and it always has. Hard for me to remember the time listening to this before Romeo and Juliet. Oh god, Losers just came on. I fucking love this beautiful, wonderful song. Changed my mind, this is clearly the best Cardigans album, and actually one of my favourite albums of the 90s. Going back into circulation. Faves: Losers, Your New Cuckoo, Been it, Never Recover, Step On Me, Heartbreaker, Choke. Fuck me, the whole album except Lovefool, which is still good but passes me by due to overplayment. Sticking the excellent Sabbath Bloody Sabbath cover on to round things off.

This album was charming. Enjoyable all the way through, anchored by Lovefool. I had a colleague come in and mention that he bought a bootleg of this CD in the 90s in Kosovo, and still had it in his attic. Hoarding tendencies aside, its worth a yearly listen

9/10 there is some really good rock here but I had no idea this album had THAT song and it hit me like a ton of bricks when that chorus came in outside of that song, this is a great album

old favorite

Desconocía pero buena producción

Never would have listened if it weren't for this 1001 albums, and I really enjoyed!

baroque/art pop record sandwiching an absolute mammoth top 40 hit and a Sabbath cover

Perfect 90s pop.

Þessi plata fór fram hjá mér á sínum tíma, ólíkt Life og Gran Turismo, en ég hef blessunarlega heyrt hana oft í seinni tíð. Á spilunarlistanum drottnar Lovefool yfir restinni, en þetta er heildstæð og mjög flott plata. Eiginlega alveg frábær. Meiri Cardigans, takk.

loved it

Immediate favorite! This is a magical discovery! "Lovefool" has been one of my favorite songs for a while, and the "Iron Man" cover is ill. Every song IS my favorite song, but I'll listen to "Your New Cuckoo" obsessively. And check out more of their work. Pretty great!

I absolutely love this! So quirky and fun!

I forgot about this album. It;s really good!

I'm shocked I never listened to this album outside of Lovefool, but I guess I was too young at the time. Wow, this is a fantastic album and something that is right up my alley. This is exactly the type of music I love.

Esto sí es "my jam" y lo disfruté mucho, creo que llegó tarde a los Cardigans, pero está bien, quizá pueda escucharlos mucho más ahora. "Been It", "Losers" y "Iron Man" son top, junto con el hitazo "Lovefool". 10/10

lovely

What a charming album! Very unique as well. I don't really have any problems with it. I have a weak spot to smooth transitions and this got those too. 4.5 first listen. Might grow or decrease on me over time