They're Building Walls Around Us

The first thing you notice when Swedish singer Anders Wendin, aka Moneybrother, utters the first notes from his EP They're Building Walls Around Us is that he sounds disturbingly like Joe Strummer. Seriously, it's enough that anyone within earshot and familiar with the Clash will inquire as to just what exactly you are listening to. But getting over this striking resemblance to the punk icon — which admittedly is more weird than upsetting — Moneybrother is found to be a true star in his own right, an engaging performer able to convincingly pull of grand, sweeping rock arrangements alongside calmer, more composed bouts of reflection without hardly breaking a sweat or stumbling between the two extremes. The extravagant title track is all riveting string and brass sections, warm harmonies, with a disco-like beat guiding it along, while songs like the sparse "Feelings, Getting Stronger in the Dark" and "Bum F****d (For Sure)" are filled with little more than gentle strumming, light piano or tender touches of string; all are completely captivating. And let's not forget the bomp-bomp-bomp opening of "Reconsider Me" that quickly folds into power piano theatrics for a song that sounds directly swiped from one of Bruce Springsteen's arena-sized shows. This mere six-song EP, something of a sampler compilation drawing from his earlier releases, is Moneybrother's only easily accessible album for stateside audiences as of 2006. He's already a huge star in Scandinavia, and if the rest of his catalog is as entertaining as this, it's easy to see why. More please.