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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A*Teens Show Off Their New "Spirit", April 5, 2001
No, the album title is not a reference to the famous Nirvana song. Nor is the content of the CD solely full of ABBA covers. But A*Teens have returned, and are intent upon showing off their newfound spirit - Teen Spirit, that is. In what is arguably the most sugar-coated album of the day, the Swedish quartet attempts and almost manages to convey the idea that one should have fun no matter where one is. The group, consisting of Amit Paul, 17, Marie Serneholt, 17, Dhani Lennevald, 16, and Sara Lumholdt, 16, was put together in the middle of 1999, when producers from Stockholm Records traveled to the teenagers' dance school in Stockholm, Sweden, and held a try-out for a new group, which was to be called ABBA*Teens. Wowed by the four, Stockholm Records immediately set them to work creating The Abba Generation, an album of remakes of eleven timeless ABBA hits, including "Mamma Mia" and the eternal "Dancing Queen." The Abba Generation was a huge success in Europe, going platinum this summer, and even made it to the Top 100 Billboard chart in the United States. A*Teens, who changed their name shortly before the album was released, then traveled to the US, first to tour with `NSYNC, then with Britney Spears. They ended the summer with a Nickelodeon festival, all the while gaining more popularity. Afterwards, A*Teens returned to Sweden to record their next album, which was put on shelves Feb. 27, and gave a live webcast performance in Madrid to celebrate the release. The release of the first single from Teen Spirit, entitled "Bouncing Off the Ceiling (Upside Down)" in the US, caused a sensation. The video for the song was played constantly on Sweden's ZTV; likewise, it was making it to the Top 5 on music video countdowns on The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon in the US. The song is by far one of the most catchy songs on the album, one with a good beat and easy-to-learn lyrics that seem to get stuck in one's head for days and causes the listener to randomly break into song from time to time. The album also includes "Slammin' Kinda Love," in which A*Teens express their desire to have a harder edge - well, as hard-edged as pop music can possibly get. Somehow, though, they never seem to successfully fulfill the song's potential, leaving the listener with a feeling of `When is this song going to end?' even before the first chorus has completed. "All My Love," too, sounds only like an Ace of Base wannabe whose chorus drags on and on - or seems to, anyway. Clearly, this and "Slammin' Kinda Love" are lackluster songs, and are the low points on this otherwise quite satisfying album. A*Teens have no shortage of remorseful, ballad-like songs on Teen Spirit, and all are performed brilliantly. "Firefly," "Back for More," and "Morning Light," though they both have catchy beats, have a sort of sad ring to them. Both songs express the sentiments of the singer, who will always love his or her significant other. Probably the best slow song on A*Teens' new album is "Around the Corner of Your Eye," whose lyrics convey the idea that the singer has died, but will always watch over his or her true love. This is a great song to relax to. "For All That I Am" is arguably the best song on Teen Spirit. In it, A*Teens explain that, despite their cruel actions, their loves should love them for who they are. The group creates a highly danceable song with definite hit potential. The group was happy to move away from ABBA songs. "We've looked forward to it - all of us - and now it feels like we're able to show what we're capable of doing, not having anything to back us up," said Lumholdt in a Lumumba.com interview. "So it's great, and when we found out that "Upside Down" [our first single] had gone double platinum, we got proof that we didn't have to do any more ABBA songs." Moving away from ABBA covers also caused more changes. The male members of the group, Paul and Lennevald, sing more on the new album. "It has felt like we (the girls) took over, and that didn't feel that good, since we are a group after all," Lumholdt said. Lennevald agreed. "The people should see that we aren't only the two dancers of Marie and Sara," he said. However, despite the fact that they indeed sing more, the girls still are the ones most heard on the album. Teen Spirit is now at eighty-two on the Top 200 Billboard chart, but it peaked at fifty. This is an improvement over The Abba Generation, which, at its high point, only made it to number seventy-four on the US charts. On March 19, local radio stations began playing "Bouncing Off the Ceiling (Upside Down)," which should aid the album in rising even further on the Top 100. A*Teens do not sing about sex; nor do they mention drugs or alcohol in any of their songs. The `cleanliness' of the songs of Teen Spirit create a sugar-coated feeling in the album, which is somewhat refreshing in this day and age. If one likes pop, he or she will like this album. But one must definitely like head bobbing, body shaking, full blown, sweet-as-honey-through-and-through pop. In a recent press release, Paul explained the reasoning behind their innocent music. "We didn't want to make the mistake of doing an album that was too mature," he said. "We should never forget that many of our friends are young, and so are we. We wanted to do a happy, up-tempo, and positive album." Teen Spirit provides good dancing music as well as relaxing tunes, making it a good listen for any time of day. And if one starts to sing "Upside down, bouncing off the ceiling ..." in the middle of math class, well, he or she cannot say he or she was not warned.
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