They’ve come a long way since the contrary hip-parodists of ‘Carnival’, ‘Lovefool’ and the immeasurably sunny and delicious ‘Life’ album whose kooky, lounge jazz and post-Bacharach irony had us kitsched up to the nines and swooning and humming for a full half decade. They’ve also come a long way since the irrepressible modernist complications of perfectly measured masterpiece of ‘Gran Turismo’ (1998). True it had its share of sunny off-kilter pop nous, but it was dark and frosty affair all the same by Cardigan standards. What with the distortion, the weird keyboard effects and the jazz-informed trip-hop drum patterns any self-respecting fan would have thought the sun had rolled right out of the sky and left a big existential void in its place. But The Cardigans have always been reluctant heroes. Even the grinning pop euphoria of the ‘Life’ album has something rather twisted about it. ‘The First Band On The Moon’ (1996) was even quirkier still – perverse even. So let it come as no surprise that The Cardigans have wrong footed us again with the release of fifth album, ‘Long Gone Before Daylight’ which extends the aching melancholy of ‘Gran Turismo’ whilst introducing a mature and natural warmth. It’s grim, yes, but prettily so; the dull pangs of Nina Persson’s sweet lullaby voice bearing the weight of a dozen or tracks of bruised and careless love. But where once there was the densely arranged studio magickry of Tore Johansson (who is mentioned on the sleeves notes somewhat ambiguously as ‘initial’ co-producer) is a smooth but bland ‘band’ sound.
Having more in common with Sparklehore’s ‘Wonderful Life’ than anything by the band themselves, influences fail to stray beyond your typical standard ranch stash: The Band, Michael Nesmith, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, Neil Young, Van Morrison with perhaps only ‘You’re The Storm’, ‘Communication’, ‘Could Care Less’ and ‘Live and Learn’ offering any significant melodic worth, the remainder being a virtually indistinguishable collection of melancholic indulgences and half-realized (if well rehearsed and consummately played) band ‘preformances’. And it’s this ‘band’ theme that really characterizes the album; standing as it does as a polar opposite to the fabulously exhaustive and well-realized studio albums that precede it. It’s ‘mature’, it’s ‘warm’ but it’s also on occasions ‘boring’.
This new US version of the album comes complete with a bonus track and a ‘value-added’ Bonus DVD featuring videos for ‘For What It’s Worth’ and ‘You’re The Storm’ plus interviews with the band and live performances of major hits ‘Lovefool’ and ‘My favourite Game’.