Caesars - Strawberry Weed

Genre indie-pop Publisher Astralwerks

Sweden's favorite pop darlings Caesar's wowed TV audiences with their hit single "Jerk It Out." Invading eardrums everywhere via iPod television commercials, it was an irresistible euro-pop sensation perfect for the Apple marketing machine. Dropping back into form in 2008, the Caesar's find themselves recovering from a long hiatus - including some substantial side projects (most noteably Ahlund's work with Teddybears).

With 10 years of recording under their belt, the obvious move would be to start simple and work outward from the familiar. Strawberry Weed is both expectant and mysterious. It provides a tangible Caesar's sound, but with some lo-fi twists that draw comparisons to all those 60's invasion bands that made rock great. The opening track, "Fools Parade," quickly establishes these pop sensiilities. The percussion provides a feat in itself, hammering through 3 minutes of cymbal crashing splendor. A sporatic keyboard playfully teases you in and out of rhythms, while the guitar riffs carry the foot tapping along. "Boo Boo Goo Goo" and "Tough Luck" are throw-backs to early The Who or The Kinks rage with a nice steady lo-fi fuzzed out guitar. The sporadic keys on the latter make for a nice summer of love vibe.

Where the album seems to sour a bit comes with the vocal presence - or lack there of. Lead singer César Vidal provides an unfortunately bland unassuming taste under the heavily produced indie pop candy that makes it all a bit hard to swallow. Furthering the chemical imbalance, he shares the duties with guitarist Joakim Åhlund and drummer Nino Keller, ruining any chance of remedying the recipe. Reflecting on all the great garage and pop outfits, the frontman always seemed to know how to take center stage and force feed his unsuspecting victims a load of powerfully addicting persona. Until the lads can find that secret ingredient to pull it all together though, they will continue to churn out a great collection of singular size guilty pleasures.