 In 2001, a Gothenburg, Sweden-based duo called the Embassy released a 7" titled Sneaky Feelings. Sharing a name with both an Elvis Costello song and a jangly 1980s New Zealand indie-pop group, the four-song EP was little-noticed by Americans at the time, but it marked a turning point for their city's music scene. Blending Fredrik Lindson's yearning vocals and chiming guitar chords with Torbjörn Håkansson' pattering percussion, euphoric electronics, and occasional exotic sample or two, the record had more in common with the twee-meets-house hybrids of early-1990s Saint Etienne than with any record of its period-- even the Avalanches' similarly balmy, ambitious Since I Left You. By the end of the 2000s, echoes of the Embassy's aesthetic could be found in critically acclaimed albums by Jens Lekman, the Tough Alliance (who named their imprint, Sincerely Yours, after an Embassy song), Studio (ditto for their Information imprint), Air France, jj, and the Honeydrips, among others. Gothenburg's indie pop scene was now run by mysterious pranksters all too happy to tie the already thin line between sincerity and artifice up in sailing knots.
Life in the Trenches contains 13 hard-to-find tracks, most of which haven't appeared on an album. The set has a gleaming surface-level appeal, with the meticulous production and bountiful melodies that are to Sweden what beer is to Milwaukee. This music's vibrant lushness is most evident on the two newest tracks, the stoic strummer "You Tend to Forget" and loping fake-it-til-you-make-it manual "St8", both 2009 singles-- a woman's soft moan, a vaguely African vocal snippet, or a bit of oceanic echo converts fairly simple songs into endlessly replayable tracks. But there's a fragile, unfiltered quality to Lindson's contributions, in particular, that keeps the atmospheric prettiness from lapsing into wallpaper. Slick craftsmanship? Raw expression? The Embassy reinforce how moot such questions can be.
Life in the Trenches also embodies most of the contradictions that make the Embassy so beguiling. The impression of earnest sensitivity that makes you want to pat the guys on the head often gives way to a mischievousness that leaves a not-unpleasant sensation that you're being had. Subtitled "The Other Side of 2001-2011", the album sure gives the impression of being a rarities compilation, but a couple of the songs appeared on the second of the band's two highly recommended full-lengths, 2005's Tacking. One of these, "Flipside of a Memory", starts with a guitar part that's jarringly similar to Nirvana's bone-simple "Come as You Are" riff, then builds it into a shiny electro-pop stomper about old love-- vague and vaguely familiar but no less affecting for either. Whether venturing into synth-drenched instrumentals ("Puttgarden"), dubwise hip-house ("Heathrow"), or distorted electro-rock ("No Thanks"), Life in the Trenches rarely keeps its simple pleasures as simple as they may at first appear. If these guys were handing out Halloween candy, you'd check it for syringes....full text |
| 1. The Embassy are a balearic synthpop duo from Gothenburg, Sweden that released some records through the local label Service. 2. The Embassy is also a christian band out of Upper Austria, Austria. 3. The Embassy is also an indie-rock band from Montclair, New Jersey, USA. 4. The Embassy is also a alternative-hardcore band from Bedford, Texas. After a change of vocalists and a name-change, The Embassy (formerly Slow Burn Theory/Reckless) is back. A peaceful spilt with longtime bandmate and still brother Mark Ramirez opened new avenues for both the “Reckless Boys” and their former singer....full text |
Send "The Embassy " Ringtones to your Cell 
