Bring On the Sweetlife

Sweden's Mainliners do away with fashion concerns on Bring On the Sweetlife, an album that draws heavily on primitive, mid-'60s-era garage rock, while incorporating some modern touches. The Mainliners are not unlike revivalists like the Hoodoo Gurus and the Hives in sound, and frontman Robert Billing croaks with the same gritty spirit that made the latter's' Howlin' Pelle a scene star — but beneath the veneer of a hyper, cocksure mike toter is a wicked brew of dirty rock music. From the celebratory title cut to the roof-raising "Daughter of Dimes" and on to the irresistible grunt of "Crocodile Roll," these Scandinavian rock & roll loons serve up an arsenal of basement party anthems with excellent titles (like "She's an Overdoze" and "The Rubber of Your Soul"). At times, the group even reveals an affection for Chuck Berry, but most often the Mainliners play fast, furious, dirty rock & roll. ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi