The Embassy are without a doubt one of the most influential Swedish bands of the 21st century. As leaders of the blooming Gothenburg (Göteborg) scene, Fredrik Lindson & Torbjörn Håkansson opened a new era in Swedish music. Their light and elegant sound, subtle melodics, sharp lyrics and blending of acoustic and digital elements became a model.
However, The Embassy have always been to cold war against the actual present and the current values, as expressed in the title of their singles and b-sides retrospective Life in the Trenches (2009). With humor and style, they misinformed, deconstructed and monkey-wrenched. These pop saboteurs are neither contemporary nor ”timeless”, but untimely: in favor of a time to come.
The new album E-Numbers explores an almost self-celebratory nihilistic position, possibly with irony. ”I don’t want the world to change. I just want to be against. Three cheers for us” The tone is darker than before, both musically and lyrically. But the force and the beauty of the composition points further, to an overcoming of nihilism by affirmation of creative power.
This affirmation is the truly transformative moment in which the habitual is opened up to the yet unknown, the past is opened to the future. To make space for this moment – when critique of status quo–preserving doxa turns into affirmation of the different and the coming – is the inexhaustible task for our music label starting this October: Dream on…|