There are a lot of weird groups in Scandinavia, but not that many truly weird all-female bands. In my book, of course, "weird" is a compliment, so when I tell you that Midair Condo is probably the weirdest female band from Sweden that I've come across, it means I like them. Very much. Their website (www.midaircondo.com) says that the band "is a constellation who explores beat, sound, voice, improvisation in an audio-visual environment." Sure, and I like cool sounds from Scandinavia. In other words, yes, that description is a bare start, but it doesn't really tell the listener very much. The Gothenburg trio's first album, Shopping for Images, absolutely defies formula. The band members-Lisa Nordström, voice, computer, etc. (that's what it says!); Lisen Rylander, saxophones, voice, computer, etc.; and Malin Dahlstrom, voice, computer, etc.-apparently aren't content to merely make strange and haunting electro-pop music. Instead, they dress up mostly instrumental pieces with sweet, whispery vocals that never add up to a verse or chorus, and create tension by juxtaposing often machine-like mechanized sounds with beautiful tones from a sax, piano or in the case of "Perfect Spot"-one of the album's highlights, wind chimes. When was the last time you heard a song that began with wind chimes? That flurry of sound is then joined by a throbbing bass and a squelchy synth, luring you into a nice ambient trance. But then...good lord...a vocal comes in that seems to be from an entirely different song. It's peppy and jazz-tinged, singing fairly normal lyrics. "I will fill your heart with love/I will find the perfect spot in you," sings our Nordic chanteuse. You found the spot, girls, lemme tell you. This particular piece is one of the few that rocks out a little, and when harmonies kick in to adorn the main vocal near the end, the album reaches a peak of musical ecstasy, if kinda mind-warping. Another amazing track is "Lo-Fi Love," which clocks at almost eight minutes. It begins with abrasive, distorted guitars or synth (hard to tell), with a fairly insistent electronic pulse trying to push through the surrounding sonic squall. Unexpectedly, the piece dissolves into a bit of soft, soothing ambience with a distinctive four-note sequence that repeats over and over on some unknown instrument. Then a female voice starts repeating the phrase "I am here" very sweetly. I wrote down "oddly compelling" when I was listening to this song. Then I noticed I'd written that observation for several other songs, too, like "Could You Please Stop," on which a striking bass line snakes through an Eno-esque synth background while again, a soft female voice repeats the title phrase, followed by "You distract me." Um, yeah. I distract you? It's the other way around, Lisa, Lisen and Malin. "Serenade" is another almost-normal piece, utilizing neo-classical piano and flute as a prelude to an honest-to-God set of lyrics. On "Coffeeshop," a looped background dialogue segment is joined by machine-like sounds and contrapuntal foreground voices with the apparent intent to mess with your mind. This segues unnoticeably into "Sorry, on which sparse, ominous bass underscores a Bjork-like voice singing "Did you hear me say/I'm sorry?" Aw, nothing to be sorry about, girls. Long as you know this here sonic frippery won't be topping the charts anytime soon. Even though "Although I Heard" is nicely reminiscent of Brian Eno (until the voice enters halfway through) and even though "Faces" and "I'll Be Waiting" make wonderful use of horns and evocative keyboard thingies to map out a sound that could almost be called "ambient jazz-tronica." Complete with sleepy vocals. Yep, Midair Condo have made some curious and, uh, "oddly compelling" aesthetic choices on this album. God bless ‘em for marching to the blip of a different programmer. Shopping For Images is weird, wild and wonderful. OR: 8. OM: 4.

+++ 

"Here they come/Skippin' down the street/They give you smiles and sunshine/And make you hit REPEAT/ Hey, hey they're the Tidy Ups!" I don't know what made me think of The Monkees as I sat down to review this Swedish girl group's 4-song EP Dizzy Heights (Music is My Girlfriend Recordings); maybe it was just the eager-to-please quality and overt poppiness of the platter. Dizzy Heights is brisk, upbeat and melodic, and wastes no time at all trying to make you feel good. Band members Maria Stäck, Jenny Westerlund, Olov Antonsson, Emma Andersson and Matilda Norberg aren't doing anything particularly original, but no matter-this is sweet, tuneful twee (or should that be twee tunefulness?) on display. The catchy horns and shy but alluring female vocals seduce you quickly on the title track. Little adornments like a bit of tap-dancing (or something that sounds like it) on "Lack of Nourishment" and the strings on "Death to the Tidy Ups" (NO, girls, NO!) add interest to the sometimes hurried arrangements. The best song is probably "Beauvais," on which some ear-pleasing guitar, crisp percussion and candy-coated vocals make for a fetching tune not too far from Acid House Kings territory. Everything is short, fast and sweet, but I'd sorta like to hear what this band could do over the course of a full-length. The energy is clearly there; now they just need to slow down and stretch out. OR: 7. OM: 1.

That's it for this edition, fellow Scandi-lovers. Tune in next month, when I won't say anything at all about Magga Stina, but I just might say something about Icelandic chanteuse Hafdis Huld and some other cool artists...

---