The Cardigans

Released: May 1, 2008

[Verse 1]
I can't get out of bed
Can't get my dreams out
Of my sleepy head

[Verse 2]
I open up my eyes
And wonder where you are
But soon I realize
That you're not real
And I am

[Chorus]
In between of day and dream
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam

[Verse 3]
I try to seal my mind
And get back to where you were
You were that perfect kind
You drove me crazy
Somewhere

[Chorus]
In between of day and dream
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam

[Bridge]
I'm floating down again
And my world is a syrup waterfall
I can't remember when
Or where
Or why

[Chorus]
In between of day and dream
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam

One of the most pleasing pop groups of the ‘90s, the Cardigans specialized in sugary confections that would grow annoying very quickly if they weren’t backed by solid musicianship and clever arrangements. The band’s 1995 breakout album, Life, reflected the Cardigans at their most saccharine – the sunny disposition of vocalist Nina Persson being the major argument in favor – and critics inserted the group into the space age pop revivalist camp. the Cardigans later proved that they were more difficult to pigeonhole, however.

Even the band’s origins showed that their later appearance was quite misleading; two heavy metal fanatics formed the group in October 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden. Guitarist Peter Svensson met bassist Magnus Sveningsson in a hardcore group, though he had previously trained in music theory and jazz arranging. The two later grew tired of metal and decided to form a pop band with vocalist Nina Persson – an art-school friend who had never sung professionally – plus keyboard player Lars-Olof Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.

All five Cardigans moved into a small apartment in 1993 and began recording a demo tape that entered the hands of producer Tore Johansson later that year. He liked what he heard and invited the group to record at his Malmö studio. Signed to the dance-oriented Stockholm label, the Cardigans released Emmerdale in May 1994. The single “Rise & Shine” became a hit on Swedish radio soon after the release of the LP, and a readers poll in Sweden’s Slitz magazine voted Emmerdale the best album of 1994.

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The Cardigans

Best Of (Bonus CD)