Review Summary: a quaint, beautiful indie rock masterpiece
bob hund is an album released in 1994 by the Swedish band Bob Hund. It is ten tracks long, clocking at forty-four minutes, and within it lies some of the most vivid music ever dubbed indie rock. Guitars fizz and whirl, positively ricocheting around the listener’s headspace, with sugary-sweet hooks that crunch perfectly. It has the tossed-off air of slacker rock, and with a full five-piece band (bass, drums, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, synth) making up its lineup, crafting some of the catchiest pop songs this side of The Soft Bulletin certainly looks easy while they do it. The vocals, to a listener who does not know Swedish, appear rather comical: imagine a Swedish lad, perhaps young twenties, who hollers in his native language, never afraid that he may be unable to carry this particular tune. The vocals, paired with the occasional use of a plain acoustic guitar, bring to mind Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum and both Neil Young and Wayne Coyne’s voice from Clouds Taste Metallic-onward. However, it’s not enough to sound like Jeff Mangum—we need to be able to feel the way that In The Aeroplane Over the Sea feels. Not the same way, exactly, but bob hund needs to be able to find its own musical niche in the same manner as the aforementioned classics. And frankly, I’d argue that it does: the juxtaposition of all the elements that bob hund has to offer leads to a truly novel experience. bob hund is a worthy addition to the rotation of any indie rock/noise pop/slacker rock/indie pop fan, and at only forty-four minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Plus, provided you don’t speak Swedish, there are gems to be found should you translate the lyrics, such as those found in the nine-minute centerpiece of the album, ‘Det skulle vara lätt för mig att säga att jag inte hittar hem men det gör jag; tror jag,’ reading:
“It would be easy for me to say that I can't find my way home/But I do, I think
It would be easy for me to say I don't like you/But I do, I think”
