Kate-97

Swedish singer/songwriter Lasse Lindh first appeared on American shores in 2002 with a swell little acoustic/electronic album called You Wake Up at Sea Tac that sounded like a much less precious Belle & Sebastian. Lindh's follow-up was written and recorded with the same collaborator, producer Claes Bjorklund, but this time, Lindh and Bjorklund are working under the "band" name Tribeca. Kate-97 is a more lighthearted album than its subdued predecessor, mixing the Lindh/Bjorklund originals with a handful of heartfelt covers of cheesy Europop songs from the '80s like a-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on TV" and Alphaville's "Forever Young." Reworked to the point that they might as well be originals, the covers fit perfectly alongside songs like the groovy, danceable single "Teenage," which mixes the wry adolescent angst of classic Smiths with the sequencer-driven beats of prime New Order. A fun but not silly or frivolous record, Kate-97 continues Lasse Lindh's winning streak, under whatever name.