Customer Reviews

Concretes

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Concretes have made a beautiful album that sounds exactly like a combination of Mazzy Star and Bettie Serveert. Just like those two bands' albums, there are some stunningly gorgeous songs and others that are more mediocre. Overall, this album is very strong and depending on the listener's mood, one song may stand out at any given time. It starts out with "Say Something New", which feels like one of those songs I will still love listening to decades from now. There are several other standouts, "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Foreign Country" come to mind, that make this an album to listen to in its entirety. This is not a Top 40 single and filler album like most of the garbage out there, this is a complete album. Listen to it and enjoy. (Check out any Mazzy Star's "So Tonight That I Might See" or Bettie Serveert's "Dust Bunnies" if you like this.)

I checked out The Concretes because I heard their song on the Target Ad. Not ashamed of that in the slightest and I am so happy that I followed my ears. This album is a real joy to listen to. It's not so artistic that it leaves you wanting a good tune (because all of the melodies are memorable and lovely), but it is so unique in it's approach.
I heard that the band used something like 24 people to record this album, and that's what it sounds like. It sounds like a bunch of good friends (talented Swedish friends) got together in each other's living rooms and made a sparkling, elegant pop album.
My favorite song on the album is probably still Say Something New (the one from the comercial), but the next two are wonderful too. Can't Hurry Love is a fun driving song with a great hook about...well, read the title. And I believe the next song Chico is an ode to the singer's cat, but it's basically just a song about how nice it is to have a friend when a romance has failed. Foreign Country is a great song too, as are the whole collection.
If you like bands like Sigur Ros, Coldplay, Beck (Sea Change style), The Innocence Mission, The Flaming Lips, all glittering semi-sad pop, you might really enjoy this record.

The Concretes deliver a refreshingly sweet debut drenched with early 60's harmonies and cooled off with a charm reminiscent of The Velvet Underground. Tracks like "Say Something New" and "You Can't Hurry Love" are instantly catchy and yet soberingly melancholy. The combination keeps the album from becoming too saccharinely sweet. Vocalist Victoria Bergsman's cool delivery compliments the nine piece collective's musicianship perfectly. Overall the Concretes prove that the Swedish talent pool grows deeper every day.

A pinnacle of pop music and one of the most perfect encapsulations of a band on record. Though they're not very much like anyone particularly, an arm's length list of influences are all over this amazing album. Warm melodies, snow outside the window. Perfect for long night-time train journeys. Highly recommended.

The Concretes really seemed to have found a sound that suits them like a tailor-perfect sweater. The lead off single "Can't Hurry Love," is short, sweet, and infectiously catchy, clocking in at less than two minutes and adeptly displaying the band's stylistic mission. The remainder of the album beautifully expands on this formula, with lush horns and mellow-tempo ditties that fall just short of being hypnotic. Obviously, the band members are schooled in the arts of Diana Ross (i.e., "Diana Ross," "Can't Hurry Love") and sixties girl groups, along with shades of more subdued acts like The Velvet Underground and Mazzy Star. In fact, during "Seems Fine" and "Lonely As Can Be," the group sounds just like a Swedish version of the Supremes fronted by a higher-registered Nico. The music tends to be airy; not in a gloomy sense, but instead approaching a sort of wide-eyed, coyness. There is little doubt that the group's intention is for the listener to crack a grin. Altogether, It's quite a pleasant concoction that, while far from being groundbreaking, is plenty coaxing enough for repeat listens.

Who knew that a bunch of Swedes could make an album this eclectic and wonderful? After being inundated with bland, derivatve Scandinavian rock from Sahara Hotnights, The Sounds, and The Hives, I wasn't expecting The Concretes to sound much different. But when I first heard the album I was blown away. They sound like a weird and wonderful cross between the Velvet Underground and the Ronettes. My favorite track is the gorgeous and haunting "Lonely as Can Be". Buy this album so you can be smug to all your friends when this band becomes huge, which, with music like this, should be any day now.

With bands like The Hives and Sahara Hotnights putting out new records, I was expecting this summer to be a rehash of 2001-2002. But with this album, the ground has shifted. Dreamy pop and cool rock is what is cool now. Garage rock is sort of old news. The Concretes are what is great about Sweden now. Songs like "You Can't Hurry Love" are like the great songs of summer 2004. It's a mix of Velvet Undergound and The Supremes. It's the 1960s again when they came out of the garage and became more mod, urban and cool. Get out your big sunglasses.

I found out about the Concretes due to the former lead singer, Victoria Bergsmann. She's the one from "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John, who's new band is Taken By Trees. I purchased this album used for $4, resold it for $3, and saved 4 songs off of the album. Not bad for a buck. The band reminds me of the softer, smoother side of Velvet Underground. Very nice instrumental sections, soft vocals, etc. Say Something New, You Can't Hurry Love, Diana Ross, and Seems Fine are the standouts. If you're into a smooth, cohesive albuum, without obviously forced songs, this is a good place to turn to. Recommended for fans of Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, Feist... also if you like them, check out Arthur & Yu (In Camera).

this album is phenomenally good. the mood it creates is a sort of subdued happy. love the first track -- more upbeat than the rest, but the others are just as good if only more mellow and sweetly melancholic. beautiful. i also just saw them in toronto this week and they were incredibly cool and, well, swedish. not a huge turnout here for them, but it was a holiday and it is their first time here. hope it doesn't deter them from returning, because i will definitely see them again whenever they come!

I DISCOVERED THE CONCRETES [...] LISTENING TO
CHRISTMAS MUSIC . THEIR SONG
"LADY DECEMBER" IS TRULY AMAZING.
HOWEVER , ONE REVIEWER GUIDED ME
TO THIS , THEIR FIRST OFFICIAL
RELEASE . "LADY DECEMBER" COMES FROM
THEIR COLLECTION OF EARLY DEMOS
WHICH I STILL INTEND TO GET BUT
THIS CD IS FREAKIN' GREAT !!!!!!
I LOVE IT & RECCOMEND IT TO WORLD
MUSIC COLLECTORS AS A GLIMPSE INTO
THE FABULOUS "SOUND OF SWEDEN" & ITS
BRILLIANT ARTISTS/PRODUCERS.THEY'RE
ONTO SOMETHING WONDERFUL OVER THERE
& THE CONCRETES PUT IT RIGHT IN YOUR
FACE WITH UNIQUE SONGS I LOVE THE
MORE I HEAR THEM . THEIR LEAD SINGER
IS MESMERIZING , & THE BAND & PRODUCTION
BRILLIANT.I BOUGHT IT FOR MY WIFE FOR
CHRISTMAS & SHE LOVES IT TOO !!!!!!!!
THE WHOLE MUSIC BUSINESS COULD LEARN
A LOT FROM THIS DISC;TO PULL THEMSELVES
OUT OF THE BOG THEY'RE IN !!!!!!!!!!