4 out of 5 for the Gothemburg gigs!


To sit by the stage when Nina Persson and her Cardigans invite to a show is like going to the circus according to Gothemburg's major newspaper Göteborgsposten.
Here follows the review:

It's generous of The Cardigans to give two smaller concerts rather than one big one. It's like sitting right next to the arena at the circus and feeling the horses' breaths on you. They offer an excellent opening to the set and as expected they mostly play songs from the latest two albums, which are more related to one another. I Need Some Fine Wine is the natural development after Communication from the previous album.

The songs can rattle one moment only to still in the next, like a great movie you can't take your attention from. The beautiful guitars provide the country background that works so well in dynamics with Nina Persson's words and harmonica. Every line in the songs reaches out and it hits me once again how much I like her lyrics.

When they go back to Gran Turismo's colder and harder songs it doesn't work quite as well. It's stronger and heavier but somehow the dynamite doesn't ignite, not on Erase/Rewing or the other hits. Maybe too much has happened between records but I would actually rather hear the pop goldies from Emmerdale.

Nina Persson is still the ringmaster - self-confidently leaning back and offering a crooked smile just taking in the audience. You're left wondering how she can keep that corset on for the entire concert with that voice and those lungs. She's strong as well as provocative, but also vulnerable enough to reach tenderness. A wave with her hand is like a crack of the whip that grabs the audience's attention and makes them listen until she has sung the very last note. Superb.

I feel that The Cardigans can reach a superior level, but maybe they're at their best like this? The band is tight, secure with eachother and look like they're doing very well onstage and that's really what's important. But I would want a bit more nerve. Still, it feels like they've found the right path with their latest album so they can safely walk along.

By Viveca Bladh, Göteborgsposten. Link in Swedish.
 
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