The Drowners - Destroyer [1996] torrent

Granted, The Drowners 2000 album (and domestic debut) Is There Something On Your Mind? has turned up in a lot of bargain bins throughout recent years, it still stands as one of the finest overlooked power-pop platters of the new millennium. A quintet from Skelleftea, Sweden, The Drowners derive much of their inspiration from fellow Scandinavians like Johan, The Merrymakers, and Popsicle, but moreover, there's a decidedly Americanized bent to their recordings. In fact, the band was so enthusiastic about Stateside demi-gods The Posies, they included a paean of sorts to their heroes on Something's "Bellingham."
Imparting a sumptuous cavalcade of crunchy power chords operating in tandem with a commanding, but none-too-glossy production job, that album's 13 indelible songs left me craving more. Luckily, the Drowners had a back catalog to plunder, but it would take some hunting to obtain their previous LPs, Destroyer and World Record Player.

Destroyer would have been a superb debut effort for any of their ilk, but factoring in The Drowners much stronger albums to follow, it wasn't quite revelatory. The record would generate a number of singles for them in their native Sweden, including "Teenager" and "Stupid Way," but album cuts "Responsibility" and "Turnpike Down Again" found them working to their true potential.