Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein are about to become the band that every indie kid's younger sister wishes she had started. Making a splash on the international indie pop scene with two hard-to-find but attention-grabbing singles, 2007's Stalking Skills and last year's Apathy, the Swedish trio of Renée, Naemi and Elin are poised to really make waves with their own unique take on the girl-group post-punk sound of early '80s groups like The Au Pairs and Kleenex. We are thrilled to team up with the band's hometown label, Gothenburg's Fraction Discs, in order to bring their subversive pop to a larger audience in the form of their new mini-LP, Survival Strategies In A Modern World.

With the nine song Survival Strategies, Liechtenstein not only deliver the spooky harmonies and loping basslines that earned their singles such critical attention, but also stretch out into realms they only hinted at before. Here, the band prove that not only can they give Love is All a run for their money in the Swedish post-punk revival department, but that they can fit right in alongside labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (not to mention "lost" bands of the C-86 era like Swiss buzzsaw-pop girl group Chin Chin) in delivering manic pop thrills. Clocking in alongside the post-punk flavor of lead track "All at Once" and "White Dress", for example, comes the bubblegum sugar rush of "Roses in the Park." The band also prove that they've got more than angular post-punk tricks up their sleeve by channeling the naïve-yet-proper Oxford charm of groups like Talulah Gosh and The Carousel on tracks like "Postcard" and album closer "The End."

Mixing its '80s influences with a very fresh and contemporary enthusiasm, there's so much excitement packed into less than 23 minutes that you'll discover a new favorite song with every spin of Survival Strategies In A Modern World. At least, that is, until your sister sneaks into your room, snatches it (along with your Vivian Girls records and rare Mo-Dettes 7"s), and takes her own shot at indie stardom. Better buy two.