The Cardigans - First Band On The Moon [1996]

Genre: Indie Pop, Alternative

MySpace: thecardigans

My opinion & thought: This is my favourite Cardigans' album, maybe it's thier best I think.  With a little jazzy feels on their music, they sound comfortable.

Stands out track(s): Lovefool

The Cardigans is a Swedish English language band formed in the town of Jönköping in 1992. The band's musical style has varied greatly from album to album and encompasses their early indie leanings passing through '60s-inspired pop and more band-based rock.

Their debut album Emmerdale (1994) gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. But it wasn't until their breakthrough second album Life (1995) that international audiences and critics responded. The band is perhaps best known outside of Sweden for their international hit singles "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game" from the album Gran Turismo (1998) and "Lovefool" from the album First Band on the Moon(1996). Its inclusion in the soundtrack of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet by director Baz Luhrmann secured their popularity. The Cardigans have sold 5 million albums worldwide.

First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by The Cardigans. It features the international hit-single "Lovefool". It was first released on August 12, 1996 and later internationally on September 9, 1996. The album's name is a parody of Neil Armstrong, who was obviously referred as the "First man on the moon". The song "Happy Meal II" can be viewed as either a partial rewrite or a sequel to "Happy Meal," which appears in similar lyric and structure on their last album, Life.

Charts & awards:

Album

• Billboard Heatseekers: #3
• Billboard Top 200 Albums: #35
• UK Top 200 Albums: #18 with 41 weeks in the Top 200
• Swedish Top 100 Albums: #2
• Swedish Top 100 Albums 1996 Year-end Chart: #60
• Grammis Awards 1996: Best Pop/Rock Group of the Year and Swedish Government's Music Export Award.
• Certified Gold in Sweden and the UK
• Certified Platinum in the U.S. and Japan
• Certified 2.5 million albums sold worldwide

Singles

(US)

• Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: "Lovefool"; #1
• Billboard Adult Top 40: "Lovefool"; #2
• Billboard Modern Rock Tracks: "Lovefool"; #9
• Billboard Top 40 Mainstream: "Lovefool"; #1
• Billboard Adult Contemporary: "Lovefool"; #23
• Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: "Lovefool"; #5
• Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxisingle Sales: "Lovefool; #24
• Billboard Rhythmic Top 40: "Lovefool"; #18
• Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents: "Lovefool" #1

(UK)

• UK Radio Airplay: "Lovefool"; #1
• UK Top 75 Singles: "Lovefool"; #21, "Been It"; #56, "Lovefool" (Re-issue); #2, "Your New Cuckoo"; #35

(Australia)

• ARIA Top 100 Singles 1997 Year-End Chart: "Lovefool"; #52

(Sweden)

• Swedish Top 100 Singles 1996 Year-end Chart: "Lovefool"; #60

Tracklisting:

1. "Your New Cuckoo" (Nina Persson, Peter Svensson) – 3:57
2. "Been It" (Persson, Svensson) – 4:06
3. "Heartbreaker" (Persson, Svensson) – 3:42
4. "Happy Meal II" (Lynette Koyana, Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, Svensson) – 2:37
5. "Never Recover "(Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:21
6. "Step on Me" (Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:48
7. "Lovefool" (Persson, Svensson) – 3:21
8. "Losers" (Persson, Svensson) – 3:06
9. "Iron Man" (Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward) – 4:20
   • originally recorded by Black Sabbath on the Paranoid album.
10. "Great Divide" (Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:17
11. "Choke" (Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:26