First Band on the Moon

Rolling Stone (11/14/96, pp.112-114) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...The music remains cotton-candy sweet, but vocalist Nina Persson and guitarist Peter Svensson temper the giddiness with strikingly downbeat songwriting..." Entertainment Weekly (9/20/96, p.82) - "...Nina Persson's dream-whipped vocals tra-la-la through ditties about being hit, stepped on, or abandoned....Thankfully, the happy musical arrangements keep the themes as featherweight as an episode of LOVE BOAT." - Rating: B+ Q (10/96, p.158) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...the quintet cook up a highly appealing blend of instantly accessible indiepop, made less twee by Peter Svensson's roaring but controlled guitar and given more depth by Lasse Johansson's rumbling keyboards..." Alternative Press (1/97, p.66) - 4 (out of 5) "...Just like this album." Option (11-12/96, pp.96-97) - "...The arrangements again are lush yet crisp, with bouncy beats, charming hooks, Nina Persson's girlish voice, and crunchy guitar chords rubbing against flutes, strings and chimes....shifts tempos, accents and effects imaginatively..." Melody Maker (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #30 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's `Albums Of The Year.' Melody Maker (9/21/96, p.49) - Bloody Essential - "If people this cool, this clever and this outrageously gifted weren't also thoroughly misunderstood, it wouldn't be fair....FIRST BAND ON THE MOON is, on its own terms, one of the most accomplished and affecting pop records of the year....This is real music..." NME (Magazine) (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #43 in NME's 1996 critic's poll. NME (Magazine) (9/28/96, p.57) - 8 (out of 10) - "...LIFE was actually a sweet'n'simple compilation of their first two Swedish albums, which rather sneakily left out all the weird'n'nasty bits. Here, however, are The Cardigans in all their Ozzy-worshipping, ex-boyfriend-abusing, ambient cocktail jazz-embracing glory....But they all sound like heavenly pop hits regardless..."