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Freeplay: Bedroom Eyes
By Christopher Gilmore
cgilmo10@mscd.edu

Bedroom Eyes Embrace in Stereo EP

Bedroom Eyes rubs the sleep out of the baby blues of Swedish pop music and prepares the world to forget all previous notions about music from the land with the blue and gold flag.

The pantheon of Swedish pop music usually begins with ABBA, then dances its way through the A*Teens. Bedroom Eyes breaks away from the traditional happy-go-lucky dance music and establishes their credibility with playful indie pop.

Jonas Jonsson is the band’s leader and is backed by a group of mercenary Swedish musicians who flesh out the band with all the fun sounds of handclaps, cellos, ukuleles and French horns.

These instruments join with the staple instruments of rock, allowing Bedroom Eyes to explore the possibilities of pop while being grounded in the fundamental elements of the genre.

The band’s motto is “to the topmost of the popmost.” While some bands may think of pop as a four-letter word, Bedroom Eyes embraces its uplifting elements. The band looks their national pop heritage in the eye and salutes it.

The aptly-named song “Dancing Under Influence” is a DUI everyone will want. The song blends ukulele and melody to create a story of starry-eyed young love. The simple chorus of “ahs” matches the casual freedom and the innocence of being young and in love. The combination of nontraditional instruments, sincere lyrics and a minimal chorus makes it hard to resist dancing under the influence of this track.

Bedroom Eyes aren’t likely to have their songs adapted to a major Broadway musical, but the mellow narrative tale “The Skywriter” could be the perfect inspiration if they did. The song begins as a story of a failed lover hiring a skywriter to share his message of love. The narrative then follows the depressed skywriter, who repeatedly plasters the skies with messages of love while suffering from loneliness himself. The story ends with a jarring medley of solos that contrast with the overall tenderness of the song.

Featuring just four songs, Embrace in Stereo showcases the band’s knack for sophisticated, memorable lyrics to complement their enthusiastic arrangements. The songs fly by with glimpses of supporting female vocals and Swedish accents. It’s hard to imagine a band with this much mass appeal will stay unsigned for long.

Download Bedroom Eyes’ Embrace In Stereo EP at http://www.bedroomeyes.se/.