They Live By Night - They Live By Night (2009)

Don't be shocked if you can't get They Live By Night's "Ctrl+Alt+Del My Heart" out of your head. As far as I am concerned it has unseated Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" as indie pop's reigning whistling ear worm. It's the standout track on their poptastic new self-titled album, which is jam packed with unrelenting bouncy, upbeat pop. Not surprisingly, it's catchy as hell. "Catching Up" kicks the album off at a runners pace with more whistles, strings and wistful love. It rarely lets down after that. "Meaningless Repair" finds the middle ground between the Spinners and the Beach Boys. There are a lot of opportunities for singing along, but the chorus on "Excuse My Troubling You" is one of my favorites. The moody and melancholy may want to go elsewhere for their summer jams.

They Live By Night - Art And Wealth (2007)

They Live By Night make excellent indie pop, employing the now classic indie rock sounds of strummed guitars, strained vocals, and catchy choruses. The best songs, like "Truth or Dare" or "Factory" are propelled forward by anxious vocals and tense drumming. However, bop-bop-ba-da-da backing vocals never let the songs become too bitter. Like quite a few Swedish bands before them, they are comfortable mining the last 30 years of pop music for ideas and sounds (a little Beach Boys here, a little alt. rock there) and then combining them into something fresh and interesting, if not completely new.