This is the time you've been waiting for

Swedish group Da Buzz may fall into the category of "for those who love what you think of when you say 'Swedish pop' only"--that is, their work is seen as too cheesy and formulaic in some eyes--but for those of us who are in the former group, it's tough to find a more reliable act to turn to for good, usually dancey pop songs.



"Let Me Love You" from their first album is as good an indication as any of their sound. It's from 2000, and it sounds like it, a stylistic mix of Cheiron and dance pop with a sweet melody.



Their 2003 Melodifestival entry "Stop! Look! Listen!" does sound better in its studio version than live, but still included a good vocal performance from lead singer Annika and deserved far better than fifth in its semifinal. It's a little less dancey, a little more poppy, and one of my favorite things they've done.



On the other side of things is the purer dance sound of "Without Breaking," a single from their last studio album which is produced by the Jonas Von Der Burg of September fame. The harder electronic beats and little electronic squiggles make this track harder-hitting than many Da Buzz songs, but it's still in keeping with their aesthetic.



After a greatest hits album a few years ago, the three-person group has been on a break, with the members pursuing different projects, but this summer they've returned with a new single, "U Gotta Dance." I have a pretty bad track record of judging Da Buzz songs right off the bat, with a tendency to underrate them, but I feel pretty confident in saying that 1.) "U Gotta Dance" will win them no new converts, but 2.) fans will be happy. Da Buzz includes some pretty talented musicians, so really, we shouldn't be surprised, but still: thank goodness they're back.

I'm not sure when the single for "U Gotta Dance" is coming out, but the song is included on the compilation album Bodywork 11, which you can buy here (physical).

(This post was going to include something about the new Magnus Carlsson single--out, available on iTunes internationally, and sounding like Star Pilots meets Velvet--and the new Ola single--called "Overdrive," co-written by Sharon Vaughn, at radios, as yet unheard by me--but it's already a bit long and I still, as mentioned, haven't heard the latter yet.)

The right way straight to my heart

There aren't many artists more generous with their material than Magnus Carlsson. While, say, Frankmusik's generosity tends to take the form of constantly sharing new songs he's created, Magnus shares older demos of often unreleased songs, but I'm just as eager to hear those, even if they lack the production touches we would have heard if they'd been worked up for a proper release.

The most recent selection of songs Magnus shared on his official site are from his work with the Da Buzz team. Apparently, after participating in Melodifestivalen in 2006, Magnus felt an urge to begin working on English language material and, being a fan of Da Buzz's work, he recorded some demos with the group (well, with the two men in the group) in the summer and fall of 2006. Only one of the songs made it onto the main edition of the album in the end, but the song that made the cut was one of my absolute favorites, though I didn't realize it was by Da Buzz until now: "Don't You Worry," the song I've always imagined in my alternative handling of Live Forever - The Album to have been the late fall/early winter 2006 single (with "Crazy Summer Nights" as the summer 2006 single instead of "Waves Of Love"). It's an incredibly sweet but poppy song which I strongly recommend you seek out the album version of.

Anyway, Magnus recently uploaded to his official site the demos from his work with Da Buzz, though some of the songs--all the ones never previously released except for one, and that one's a ballad--are only long clips, not the full thing. If you bought the deluxe digital version of Live Forever - The Album, you already had the demos for "I Belong To You," "I Found Love" and "Don't You Worry," but the amazing transformation of the latter from its demo to final version hints at what a treat we might have been in for had these demos--which are already pretty good--ever been reworked for actual release. The previously unheard (as far as I'm aware) songs are "Can't Believe," "Even If I Want To," and "Rescue Me." I'd love to hear full versions of those last two if they exist, given how great their up-tempo pop sounds to my ears, but I'm mainly glad we got this little glimpse into Magnus's and Da Buzz's recording vaults.