Noughties By Nature #31: Pelle Carlberg – Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls

Whilst the British charts were full of fake RnB for 12 year olds, if you wanted to find some pure pop in the 2000s then Sweden was the place to look. Taking some cues from the C86 generation and mixing it with the shiny pop sensibility of St Etienne, Labrador records led the way with the Acid House Kings at the forefront. Pelle Carlberg featured on their highly recommended Sound of Young Sweden series as Edson, but it was when recording under his own name he hit perfection.

Seemingly a cautionary tale of falling for the wrong person - “Should have listened to what mama said” - this is unashamed pop music with handclaps from the first beat. It’s catchy as hell and does what pop music should reminds you of summer and makes you happy, it gets to the chorus and you need no more, variations on the chorus repeating til end.
Matt Gaynor

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[Album: In A Nutshell]