Long Gone Before Daylight

Cardigans

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 25, 2004)
• Original Release Date: May 25, 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Koch Records
• ASIN: B00020HALU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,404 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Pop > Euro Pop > Swedish Pop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
As the '70s hit says, growing up is hard to do--especially amidst the glaring spotlight and treacherous, shifting tides of contemporary pop music. But while many artists survive by succumbing to a willfully arrested development, Sweden's Cardigans have bravely retooled themselves here, returning after a half-decade's absence with a sophisticated new pop ethos that acknowledges the passing years with bold maturity. Building on the stripped-down troubadour conceits singer/lyricist Nina Persson experimented with on A Camp--her side project during the Cardigans' long hiatus--guitarist Peter Svensson has reinforced the singer's insightful melodrama with grand musical architectures that stand in stark contrast to the effervescent, hook-savvy ambrosia that brought them fame. "Communication" wastes no time introducing their expansive new ambitions: against a grand, orchestral backdrop, Persson's lilting, haunted vocals evoke a fanciful marriage of the Pretenders and Procol Harum. Longtime producer/collaborator Tore Johansson is only marginally involved here, and his focused, less-is-more production sense has given way to instincts that occasionally flirt with the overblown. Still, Persson's instincts are ever-intriguing (she even recasts Phil Spector's "He Hit Me" into the acoustic, singer-songwriter romance/violence metaphor-fest "And Then You Kissed Me"), while Svensson's retro, chunky riffing on "A Good Horse" and elsewhere display a well-studied love for rock roots. The cynical may see it as a "Rock of the '90s" staple shrewdly marketing itself to an aging, NPR-leaning audience, but there's a genuine forcefulness of purpose here that's hard to deny. Its American release delayed a year by familiar label travails, this comprehensive new edition features the buoyant bonus track "For the Boys" as well as a bonus DVD containing videos for "You're the Storm," "For What It's Worth," and "Live and Learn"; live renditions of "Explode," "For What..," and "My Favorite Game"; and a video interview with the band. --Jerry McCulley

Amazon.com
Long Gone Before Daylight marks a shift in theme for the Cardigans. Their last album, 1998's Gran Turismo, was a masterpiece. With Peter Svensson's quirky, driving, ultra-modern pop backing Nina Persson's icy dissections of doomed relationships, it was a Love Album informed more by Bret Easton Ellis than any high romance. So catchy, so cool, and so incredibly bleak--exceptional, intelligent pop in the tradition of Soft Cell and ABC. Long Gone Before Daylight, then, comes as something of a shock when the opening "Communication" and "You're the Storm"--both lush and beautiful pop--find Persson struggling for love then, come the Doors-like "And Then You Kissed Me," actually finding it. Real love, too--not the fascinatingly twisted variety of before. It's a terrible shame, for love reduces the Cardigans to the level of other musicians. But then, unpredictable devils, they hit you with "Couldn't Care Less," as Persson loses it all again, in the following "Please Sister" begging for advice, succor, anything. And now you realize; it's a pop-rock opera, the tale of one heart's tortuous and tortured journey through the mill. And it's superb. Persson, the finest pop lyricist working today, is on peak form while the band's back-to-roots grand piano and grander acoustic guitars provide an appropriately magnificent backing. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their masterpiece, January 14, 2005

By	David O'Brien (Dublin 18 Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Cardigans hit the big time a few years back with the song 'Lovefool' from Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo And Juliet' film.
This was after they had released one album 'Life' which was very kitsch and sixties in sound.Their second album 'First Band On The Moon' was also very kitsch and retro but it showed a dark side to the Cardigans on songs such as 'Been It' and a bizarre reinterpretation of Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man'.
Next album 'Gran Turismo' yielded the hits 'Erase/Rewind' and 'Favourite Game' both modern pop masterpieces but overall the album was disappointing as it tried too hard to be the opposite of the first two albums.Too many synthesisers -not enough soul.
Nina Persson (the stunning lead singer with the lovely voice) took a long break after Gran Turismo to explore other forms of music and released the album 'A Camp' under the same moniker.Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse was heavily involved and the album was very lo-fi/alt country with a very weird 'ghostly' quality to it.It was an excellent album as it really showcased the power of Nina Persson's voice on slower numbers that were now devoid of kitsch orchestration or synthesisers.

The Cardigans went into the studio to record their latest album and Peter Svennson was not happy with the results and shelved the whole album.He felt that the new album had been rushed.
Instead the band regrouped for a major rethink and the result was 'Long Gone Before Daylight'.It was the best decision that Svennson ever made.When the album was released it clearly showed a major maturity in the songwriting and also the songs did justice to Nina Persson's wonderful voice.

The album doesn't really have a bad track to speak of.I particularly love 'Then He Kissed Me' a wonderful statement about a modern relationship with it's metaphor of love as violence (whether real or imagined, I don't know).
This is an album for listening to on your own as all the songs are extremely powerful.Persson is now showing what a powerful lead vocalist that she is on all of these songs.
The album is a stunning revelation.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lonley at the Top, August 6, 2004

By	Pat Charles (No Where, NW) - See all my reviews

With 'Long Gone Before Daylight" Sweden's Cardigans have finally made a mature, intimate, and dark album. It's hard to say why they chose the pedestrian country-rock backing that they did, but you know what? It works and it works well. Perhaps by stripping their songs of the usual quirky keyboards and extraneous instrumentation they finally found their biggest stregnth- the lyrics and vocals of front woman Nina Persson. On these songs she doesn't sing with the 'I've seen it all' weariness typical of most country tunes. She sings it with a mixture of tenderness, knowingness, and innocence- even lyrics with a darker undertow, such as the "blue, blue black and blue" bridge of "Then You Kissed Me", easily the album's best track. Elsewhere, she tells her doomed lover "c'mon let's drown" in the quiet, haunting "Feathers and Down."
Thus far, many critics have slammed this for being too produced or too bland. Sure, this album is more produced than their previous works, but that certainly does not take away from the stregnth of the songs or the arrangements. And yes, this record may sound derivitave upon first listen, but what the Cardigans have done is made confessional pop songs that actually require your attention. Their sound was always thus- they have never been (and probably never will be) sonic innovators. As 'Long Gone Before Daylight' proves, they have a gift for writing little songs that you'll surely remember long after the fact.
It seems that the Cardigans have great things on the horizon- and what a lonely one it is.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Been Too Long, August 1, 2004

By	C. Mitchell "nerdcore elitist" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I absolutely love this album. I'm a long time Cardigans fan and I had been anxiously awaiting another album ever since Gran Turismo. I really didn't know what to expect from this one, since The Cardigans have developed somewhat of a reputation for changing styles. From the kitsch-pop sound of Emmerdale/Life and First Band on the Moon...to the dark, cold, electronic sounds of Gran Turismo...and now Long Gone Before Daylight.

It's so beautifully done. Their sound has changed in every way...the instruments are more organic, and Nina Persson's voice has gone from the syrupy sweet, high pitched thing we heard on Lovefool to something much deeper and sexier, reminiscent of a lounge singer. The lyrics are even more impressive than the sound. Nina really pours her heart into this one...from the vividly descriptive "You're the Storm", to the hauntingly fantastic "Couldn't Care Less" and "Feathers & Down".

This album is amazing from start to finish. You'll love it more and more each time you listen to it.