The Sounds are on to something. In the 10 seconds it took the house lights to dim, the crowd at the Wiltern went hush. You could seriously feel the anticipatory energy. What’s funny is that Angelenos aren’t typically known for their attentiveness at rock concerts, so the whole situation caught me by surprise!
Swedish New Wave band The Sounds brought their Missing Persons meets the Cars brand of rock and roll stateside for two back to back nights at the Wiltern. Admittedly I was only a casual fan of this band when I decided to check out the show. I had their 2006 release Dying To Say This To You and enjoyed it, but hadn’t yet picked up their recent CD Crossing the Rubicon.
I was floored at the band’s energy and stage presence, and when hood ornament Maja Ivarsson sashayed on stage it was deafening. The band crushed its opening number “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” and lead singer Maja played into the crowds chaos by contorting her fingers in the shape of a heart and then pointing wildly into the audience. The band cruised through a bunch of new cuts to promote their recent record, but it was Indie rock radio staple “Song With A Mission” and the familiar “Don’t Want To Hurt You” from a recent Geico commercial that brought it full circle for the exhausted crowd.
In 90 minutes flat, the Sounds made me a believer. They still have a couple North American dates left on this tour… check them out!
