The State of Floral Beings
We Know You Love Us and That's Why We Do This
Trewetha Records

A few weeks ago at a party, a Swedish friend was telling me about how she will say that she is from Sweden and people will mention Norway or Denmark. Those who are more astute will mention ABBA.
"Well, ABBA and Ace of Base."
"Hey, there's Roxette as well," I added. "Oh, and Europe."
I impressed myself with my knowledge of Swedish pop and tried to think of others, but then realized that the rest of the names floating through my head hailed from Norway. Or Denmark.
Now I have another Swedish band to add to the list.
Stockholm-based group, The State of Floral Beings (TSOFB) make music that would fall into that incredibly broad category of post-post-punk, but, thankfully, bears no resemblance to either Joy Division or Gang of Four. If you are one of those people who really needs to read a familiar reference in this quasi-review, think of the Faint circa Blank Wave Arcade-- all hyper energy and unusually aggressive keyboards. The guitars here are a lot heavier than what you might hear on the previously cited record, though, and the bass throbs like the soundrack to a film set in a seedy L.A. bar. (For the locals: Think of the tattered pool table and decrepit men at the Spike mixed with the dilapidated booths and filthy floor of the Echo and the grungy bathrooms of Fais Do Do.) Johan Bring has a deep, eerie voice that compliments the hard-rock, electro-punk madness herein. At sixteen tracks, We Know You Love Us... seems like a long CD, but few songs actually tip the three-minute mark. For people who like electronic music as much as rock, but dislike the overtly 1980s retro that seems so popular right now, check out TSOFB. As an added bonus, the packaging looks like a cross between Green Lantern and an old copy of Raygun Magazine. Good packaging is always a bonus.