Send "I'm From Barcelona " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Absolutepunk |
 Who?The geographically incorrect I’m From Barcelona are actually an indie-pop collective from Sweden that features a staggering twenty-plus members (the actual number seems to vary with the source, though I imagine that’s because it’s changed over time). Though many members contribute just backing vocals, the band typically does make use of a wide array of arrangement choices as well. Forever Today is their third release, following Let Me Introduce My Friends (2006) and Who Killed Harry Houdini (2008) How Is It? With the plethora of self-serious artists today, it’s difficult to find an album quite as unilaterally happy as Forever Today. It’s been an unseasonably cool spring for those of us in the Northeast, but this will be one record worth breaking out to soundtrack the days when the sun emerges from behind the threatening gray clouds, flowers begin to bloom, and chirping birds take to the skies. It forges a middle ground that should be appealing to those who find a band like The Boy Least Likely To a bit too cutesy and Broken Social Scene (or perhaps even I’m From Barcelona’s own Who Killed Harry Houdini) too weighty. Despite the band’s mob of members, Forever Today has a pleasantly uncluttered sound. Their trademark eclecticism is offered in measured doses, which allows their unique orchestrations to accent the almost impossibly snappy melodies rather than crowd them out. Lead vocalist Emanuel Lundgren’s lyrics are accordingly on the light side, offering up candy-coated messages about “stay[ing] true to your heart” over horns and handclaps on “Can See Miles”, and waxing celabratory about “shooting stars, firework and neon lights” accompanied by twinkling piano on “Battleships”. Even when Lundgren’s words are touch less than completely cheery—on “Always Spring”, he sings, “I want to be up, I want to be down, I need a new direction,” suggesting a sense of unsettled angst—the sprightly keys convey a perpetual sense of hope. Likewise, on “Dr. Landy”, he sounds almost ruminative—“I’ve got trouble in my head, I just want to stay in bed”—but the buoyant bells and brass are like a shining silver lining. With tunes this infectious and an overarching aura of well-being, Forever Today is a favorite to be the feel-good album of the spring....full text |
| Popmatters |
| ’m going to go out on a bit of a limb for a moment here, and make a comparison between the new I’m From Barcelona album and Broken Social Scene’s 2010 Forgiveness Rock Record. That might seem like a stretch to those familiar with the twee sounds of I’m From Barcelona (and they’re not – they’re Swedish) and the more experimental starkness of BSS, but there are reference points between both bands that are, well, similar. I’m From Barcelona is a collective made up of, at maximum, 29 members, just like Canada’s Broken Social Scene boasts a huge rotating cast of characters. Both of the band’s most recent records begin with the letters “F”, “O” and “R”. More bluntly, after hearing I’m From Barcelona’s third proper album Forever Today numerous times, I’m convinced that this is the record that Broken Social Scene was trying to make with Forgiveness Rock Record but, in my humble opinion, failed at: a big, bright poppy collection of songs so cool you gotta wear shades topped with female vocals and expansive brass instrumentation. Truth be told, I was a bit disappointed in Forgiveness Rock Record. I know some people, including a few here at PopMatters, really liked it, but, to me, it just sounded like a Kevin Drew solo record, with a few post rock touches via the presence of Tortoise mastermind John McEntire. And what can you say about an album that your heavy feminine artillery (in the form of Feist, Emily Haines and Amy Millan) barely appear on? Ultimately, my opinion of that disc can basically be summed up in one word: meh. Forever Today, on the other hand, is an infectious, catchy-as-hell, big, breezy, summery statement that doesn’t boast a single bad apple across its expansive ten tracks. It’s a return to I’m From Barcelona’s notably twee sound, considering that their sophomore record, 2008’s Who Killed Harry Houdini?, was a remarkably darker and more melancholic affair. But, here, I’m From Barcelona mastermind Emanuel Lundgren has opened the blinds on his bedroom window, and just let the lazy sunshine come flooding right in....full text |
| Pastemagazine |
| I’m From Barcelona is known both for being the biggest band in Sweden (currently 27 members) and for the convivial, bacchanalian, whatever other words mean “clusterfuck-of-awesome” atmosphere of their live shows. Which is why it makes sense that the band made the conscious decision to record the entirety of their third album, Forever Today, live in studio, all 27 bushy-tailed members playing and singing happily in Scandinavian harmony. The album was recorded over two sessions, the first a five-day sit-in that involved the whole crew living, eating and recording together in Gothenburg. To finish the album, frontman and founder Emanuel Lundgren led them on a soul-searching pilgrimage by the sea in Vargerg. Regardless of what final-touch effect their second sojourn had on the album, you can feel the energy of the first session throughout. It’s the scattered, ambitious energy of twenty-somethings, when everything seems possible and even though you don’t know where you’re going or what you want when you get there, you feel compelled to run the whole way. The party gets going from the first beat of the opening track, “Charlie Parker,” a quick-moving mix of sparkly refrains, bubbly instrumentation and what sounds like a good chunk of the near 30 members singing in choral unison. The album slips a little on the second song, “Get in Line,” which although it’s the first single, doesn’t quite fit with the rest. If you think of the record as a concept, you could rationalize it, but outside an imagined context, it’s an outlier. Track three, “Battleships,” gets back on track, taking its cues from the first song and setting the tone for the rest of what’s to come. A mantra as much as a song, it invites the listener to join their cult of pop, and its central conceit, “We’ve got everything you ever wanted here tonight” is tough to argue with....full text |
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