Speaking of things I should have written about long ago...Swedish artist John ME's (a stage name for Mattias Edlund) "Love Is My Drug" first came to my ears in December, I think, but I didn't fully realize its brilliance until it was too late for it to make my 2008 singles countdown. It very well could have, though: appropriately enough, it's intoxicating. Pop-rock covered with synths and catchy throughout, it's one of those songs that manages to be commercial and credible all at once. John has a distinctive voice--well, perhaps not distinctive exactly, but surely the kind that is rare to hear over this sort of backing, that is strong enough to carry the song without it ever devolving into total mushiness (the aforementioned synths and overall production help with that, too, keeping the song interesting and out of the acoustic singer-songwriter danger zone) but plaintive enough to tug on the heart strings.
Preorder John ME's album I Am John here (physical). It comes out April 8 and won't be John's first album (he used to be the lead singer for the Motorheads, who from the little I know of their work did croony gentle rock music, the sort of stuff that sounds like it should be soundtracking TV shows), but it is his first solo album. I'm tempted to preorder it, but the official commentary that "[t]he first single ”Love Is My Drug” is an infectious floor-filler and provides an interesting contrast to the crooner style that characterizes many of the album’s other tracks" has me too nervous to do so.
Next up: something else from Sweden, maybe.
