The Sounds: from Sweden with rock

(Credit: Crackerfarm)

The Sounds concert photos

Sweden's answer to Blondie rocks L.A. at an exclusive Sunset...

When the Sounds first landed on American soil back in 2003, they were a bunch of bright-eyed Swedes armed with nothing more than a suitcase of skinny jeans and a dream. However, with the success of their first two albums, “Living in America” and “Dying to Say This to You,” this Swedish quintet proved that they had more to offer U.S. audiences than just their Nordic good looks and impeccable style. The Sounds were going to make you dance, whether you liked it or not.

Having spent most of the summer opening for No Doubt—yeah, no big deal—the Sounds are stoked to hit the road on their own headlining tour this fall. We recently caught up with singer Maja Ivarsson on a day off in her homeland to dish about the band’s new album, “Crossing the Rubicon,” her love affair with the Big Apple and Gwen Stefani’s freakishly awesome abs.

You’ve been playing here in America for years, but do you remember what you initially thought the country and the fans were going to be like before you flew over for the first time?
I think we were really excited about it. Growing up in Sweden, you really look up to America in all ways. America has such a big influence on everybody else and, for us it was mind-blowing just to get a show over there. Doing our first show at [famed New York City punk club] CBGB’s made our whole experience even better than if we had played anywhere else. I still remember it so well. Even though we’ve been to America so many times since then, it was love at first sight.

Well, the feeling is mutual. I think it’s also safe to say that New York City is especially smitten with the Sounds. 
In the early days, our bass player Johan [Bengtsson] fell in love with a girl in New York. He was the first guy to pick up and move there and he lost most of his Swedish accent almost right away. It was almost like he was [“Sex and the City” character] Mr. Big. [Laughs] Everyone else in the band then had the opportunity to get to know a lot of people in New York and we have a lot of great friends. I know more people in New York than I do where I live in Sweden, which is quite odd in one way. It’s really nice, though. New York is such a cool town.

Not only have you managed to woo hipster audiences, but playing Warped Tour has gained you a ton of punk fans. How do those two groups get along at a Sounds gig?
That’s what we’re trying to be good at—mixing up all these different genres by having more emotional stuff but also having songs that say it’s OK to dance. Having all these different fans is one of our strengths. Sometimes it can be a disadvantage, though, because we don’t have as clear of an image as some other bands have. We’re like chameleons because we can fit into any kind of tour, whether it be Warped Tour or a tour with No Doubt. Sometimes I wish we were more like Paramore. They’re so clear. They have a certain kind of fans and they look a certain way and their songs sound the same. They know what they’re doing and it’s working. But our fan base is more scattered.

I went on the No Doubt tour for a couple days and the audience was a far cry from that of Warped Tour—unless you count the parents chilling in the adult daycare tent. How do you “bring it” when you’re playing to a crowd who might not have any idea who you are?
I was not a big fan when I first heard about the tour and it had nothing to do with No Doubt, because I think they’re a really great band. For us being in a band for so many years and still be the first band out of three, it’s really tough. At the same time, we’ve always said that we want to be as big as possible. That’s why we did [the tour]. We knew it was going to be tough. First band out of three isn’t really the dream spot to have, but I think we had so much experience doing our shows and all these different types of tours, we knew we could pull it off.

How could you stand to be around Gwen Stefani’s abs day after day? Those things are so ridiculously cut.
[Laughs] I can battle with her! I mean, I have the legs.

That’s true. Between her abs and your legs…
That would be one perfect woman.