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.

Life (1995) is, to my mind, the best album the band released. Their debut, Emmerdale, was a little disjointed, not that that made it any less enjoyable. With Life there's more of a natural flow to the songs, not to mention the fact that almost every track could be single in its own right.

Once again Nina Persson's almost child like vocals are what makes the band so memorable. The album contains 11 tracks (45 min, 17 sec). To my mind this is the only The Cardigans album you really need. The rest are good, but this is by far the finest.

10

Nick Smithson