Sweden’s Alice In Videoland easily rank as one of my all time favourite bands, describing them isn’t easy as no-one is doing anything quite like them.
A lot of bands use the term Electro-Punk, but it seems to mean something different to each if them. If you ask me, the band that really deserves the title is AiV, Rather than just being some sort of shock-Electro or Minimal-Techno-with-funky-hairstyles act, they actually make Punk songs (well, Pop-Punk) with electronics. Take the best in female fronted Pop-Punk, from No Doubt all the way back to Blondie, give the band synths instead of guitars and you’re beginning to get the picture.
The music is as Danceable at it is pogo-able, noisy synths and frantic drums are cut through with poppy 80’s-esq lead lines and Toril’s sweet & sour vocals.
Their first album, 2003’s ‘Maiden Voyage’, was 10 tracks of absolutely perfectly crafted Electro-Pop-Punk. every time I hear it I always think that, if AiV were promoted more outside Scandinavia or their label had bigger distribution and marketing budget, this record would have been huge!
♫ Alice In Videoland – Got To Go (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Alice In Videoland – Lay Me Down (zShare) (MediaFIre)
Their 2005 follow up, ‘Outrageous!’, had a rawer, punkier sound whist retaining the Pop melodies and hooks. Again, this could have been a hugely popular record, with more exposure Alice In Videoland would have quickly been embraced by the Modular loving Indie-eEectro crowd.
♫ Alice In Videoland – Emily (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Alice In Videoland – Ladykiller (zShare) (MediaFire)
Their most recent album, ‘She’s A Machine!’ from last year, was quite a low key release. It saw a move toward a heavy electronics, almost EBM sound, displaying more club influences than previously.
♫ Alice In Videoland (Feat. Maja Ivarsson) – We Are Rebels (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Alice In Videoland – Weird Desire (zShare) (MediaFire)
Alice In Videoland have meshed Punk/Rock attitudes and songwriting with electronic music in a way that no one else has, and arguably more successfully. Unfortunately, the place AiV have had the most success is the EBM/Industrial scene, which is a musical ghetto and almost a death-mark when it comes to wider exposure. Alice In Videoland deserve better.
So…that’s the point of this post, hopefully some of you Electro kids will give these track a listen, believe me, you won’t regret it.
The band have some new material on the way, keep reading electronic rumors for news.
A fantastic live band, although the one time they visited the UK (back in 2004) seems like so long ago, all three of their albums come very, very highly recommended:
Alice In Videoland @ Alice In Videoland Store
electronic rumors 