Two Great Musical Acts From...Where?!

During my current period of fascination with the genre of independent/alternative music, I have come across two different European acts from the same country. They are solo artist José Gonzalez and the group I'm From Barcelona. Their obvious country of origin? You guessed it...Sweden, of course!

I've known about José Gonzalez for some time, enjoying his music through LastFM, AOL Radio, and YouTube. But his CDs are difficult to find in stores, so I just may end of buying them through the Internet (although I could probably order them through Borders and get a coupon discount on the purchase). Gonzalez is an accomplished guitarist with a soothing voice and a knack for creating dreamy, romantic (but not overly sentimental) melodies. Like most of the musical artists I've come across lately, he has come into his own just within the past decade.

My experience with I'm From Barcelona is much more recent, having only heard them for the first time this past Wednesday on AOL Radio's "brand new indie" channel. They, like Canada's Broken Social Scene, are very large and variable in number, with as many as 29 members over the recent past. I'm From Barcelona reminds me more of Sufjan Stevens, though, with their diversity of song topics (even one about stamp collecting), melodies, and instrumentation that sometimes sound like the products of his workmanship. They have only put out two albums so far; unlike the case with José Gonzalez, though, it looks as if I will at least be able to check out one of them from my local public library.

There is more to Swedish popular music than Abba and Ace of Base. Try out José Gonzalez or I'm From Barcelona for a different type of sound than what you're used to hearing from this northern European nation. They make me want to investigate what else Sweden has to offer in the area of independent/alternative music!