The Cardigans have released their entire studio album repertoire on remastered vinyl LP. The celebrated Swedish quintet have issued all six of their albums on the format, two of which will be available on vinyl for the very first time: the band's head-turning debut Emmerdale; plus, the last album of their spellbinding 1992-2005 creative output: Super Extra Gravity. The collection will also feature world-dominating titles from their illustrious back catalogue, including Life (1995), First Band On the Moon (1996), Gran Turismo (1998), and Long Gone Before Daylight (2003). All albums have been remastered at Sterling Sound studios in New York and are pressed on gatefold 180g gram vinyl...

I originally bought The Cardigans's first two albums on CD when they were released in the '90s, and for a while they were the soundtrack to my life as I commuted to work in London. For some reason I never followed the band after Life (1995)... and if I'm being totally honest, I wasn't even aware they'd released more albums.

Emmerdale (1994) is a pretty flawless debut. It's got variety, not to mention novelty value. Firstly Nina Persson's vocals are hauntingly engaging. The strange instrumentation on songs like 'Over the Water', 'Our Space' and 'Seems Hard' make you sit up and take notice.

The album contains 12 tracks (43 min, 54 sec) and sounds as fresh today as when it was originally released. Do yourself a favour and pick this up.

9

Nick Smithson