Mr Jones Machine - De Månbleka Tingen

Man blir nästan lite sugen att skriva på svenska när det är dags att recensera Mr Jones Machine, but then again, nobody would understand a word, part from the approximately 10 million people that understand Swedish. Still, this is the same trouble Mr Jones Machine will be struggling with, since all their lyrics are in Swedish.

First off all, I must point out that I rarely watch Swedish movies, Swedish TV shows or listen to music with Swedish lyrics. I don't know why, I guess it is some sort of traumatic flashback to "Svensktoppen" (a radio show where only songs with Swedish lyrics are played, made by and for people that are 80+). The fact that the A-side is featuring Susie, from the Swedish 80's hit duo Lili & Susie, made it feel even worse.

And it did, for about 3 seconds the first time I heard this single. Then I quickly realized the great talent Mr Jones Machine posses. "De Månblekta Tingen" is a fantastic great track and everything the band does is like an ode to the 80's. Good lyrics, nice melodies and Susie's and Jarmo's vocals blend nicely. A very clean sound with a well made chorus that goes off with a bang. A true hit warning.

Still, the B-side is my favourite (yes, this is a true single!), it's called "Elektricitet" and could be a love song to electricity. But instead of only bringing up the good aspects (like warmth, light, civilization, communication etc), it blends it with the negative aspects of it, all man made though. All this give you a kind of strange feeling where you first are throbbing your fist in the air and scream "Electricity, F*CK YEAH!", but then continues on to a "oh, right?". I like tracks like that. Tracks that make me think and stop for a while. I also really enjoy the effect of the song getting stuck in the end. Made me smile.

I've seen Mr Jones Machine live and I've heard them before. But somehow, this is the first time I really took the time to listen to them, really listen. And at first, it was a bit hard for me to get by the first instincts of that it is to poppy for me, but then, it was all good and made me really looking forward to their upcoming album. Well done! Mar 03 2011