Sweden, seriously.

In terms of music, I am notoriously anti-Sweden in a manner not particularly fitting to the current indie (especially twee) climate. Among the most popular acts from Sweden are adorable mainstays such as Jens Lekman (cute, but a painfully awkward lyricist) and I’m from Barcelona (cute, but kind of terrifying in their pressured sweetness). Though I’ll admit to liking both Barcelona and Jens, I can’t listen to either for a long period of time, usually because their lack of grasp of the English language and forced rhymes get to me—not to mention that they constantly sing about unrequited love. Ick.

However, my new favorite Swedish act is none other than Hello Saferide, a band notorious for singing specifically about unrequited love. Hello Saferide is the essence of adorable—but unlike the other Swedes, their lyrics don’t have such an irritating quality (i.e. they don’t write their songs in weird couplets which rhyme ‘make believe’ with ‘maple leaves’ or ‘goddamn’ with ‘last tram’). Hello Saferide’s last EP (my preferred method of listening to Swedish pop) Woud You Let Me Play This EP Ten Times A Day? has two fantastic songs on it. They are both hopeful and broken, sarcastic and honest. “The Quiz” is a laundry list of things that are important in a new relationship: “Would you freak out if I said I liked you?”, “Can you at all times wear socks because I’m still scared of feet?” and “Do you read at least two books a month?” The criteria may be random and strangely idiosyncratic (staying quiet during Seinfeld and sloppy eating also make appearances), but it has a well-articulated heart. “2006” ("January 1st and it's already clear, it's gonna be another shitty year") also functions as a list song—resolutions ending, of course with “I haven’t told you yet, I’m gonna be with you." I’m also a fan of the resolution “learn a new word everyday, today’s word is ‘dejected’”. I think it’s just the right kind of adorable.

But what is Swedish and definitely not adorable? The answer is, of course, both August Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman, my two obsessively self-involved Swedes. They are adorable in a misogynistic, hateful way (exploring the depths of human cruelty, if you will). I’m particularly into Strindberg, currently. In many ways he is completely insane, but his plays (Miss Julie and The Creditors are especially entertaining) make normal people into monsters, based mostly on their horrible decisions and some compelling character flaws. The mileage Strindberg gets out of this intimate betrayal and manipulation is really marvelous. It also totally redeems Sweden from the cloying, saccharine grasp of even the best twee pop.