Altsounds - The Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard [Album]

So I stumbled upon this really accomplished, well-written, smoothly-produced Pop album, 'The Orange Billboard' by The Moonbabies. “The who? Who are these guys? Surely they were in some other project first,” I said to myself. The sound was such polished Indie Pop, I was sure they had cut their teeth on something else and finally came to this as seasoned musicians. A quick Google search reveals that The Moonbabies appears to be the first project of Swedish musicians Ola Frick and Carina Johansson.

Both core members of The Moonbabies are crack multi-instrumentalists and Johansson reveals herself to be a natural producer. 'The Orange Billboard' (2004) glitters with appealing hooks, interesting lyrics, and tasteful instrumental flourishes. The inventiveness and maturity of the production surprise me, though perhaps they shouldn’t. Sweden has a long tradition of producing top notch Pop music.

'The Orange Billboard' is strong throughout, but give a listen to my three favorites from the album if you want a feel for what they have achieved in the studio.

Fieldtrip USA – Clean, plucked acoustic guitar and a walking bass line back the gentle vocals in the intro, but it quickly swells to a stronger hook. Follow this link to read the funny but nearly inscrutable lyrics: The Moonbabies - Fieldtrip Usa Lyrics. Cool stuff.
Crime o’ the Moon – A great chord progression and a pretty vocal melody are supported by everything from glockenspiel and occasionally funky keyboards to a Beatles-esque cello line. I particularly like the bass guitar work in this track as well.
Summer Kids Go – The melody and keyboard here would make this song right at home on Wilco’s ‘Summerteeth,’ which is high praise from me. Listen to the final minute and a half of this song as Johansson plays around with a little synthesized groove.

If you scroll down ‘The Orange Billboard’ page on Amazon and read the customer reviews, you will see titles like, “Unbelievable,” “Remarkable,” and “No, seriously, this is a great, great album.” It really is that good. Hopefully, The Moonbabies will find a wider audience. I would love to catch their show if they come to my town.

MOONBABIES