Mando Diao formed at the end of last century in Borlange, a place in the central province of Sweden. They had their ups and downs. They raised with sophomore Hurricane Bar and then fell down just to raise from the ashes with the biggest hit of their career - Dance With Somebody. Media has been following the departure of Gustav Noren back in 2015 since everyone was questioning will the band exist after that. For this week’s Sunday Spotlight, I am going to focus on the career of Mando Diao following two major members’ departures, plus on the comparison between their last two albums.
When there are 2 bosses in a band, and one of them leaves, it is clear that the new release becomes highly anticipated. Luckily, the previous album was a catastrophe, so many have deleted Mando Diao from their playlists, which is why they could work peacefully on successor. I mean, it can not be worse than the previous one. Anyhow, Good Times turned out to be solid.
I have no idea what happened between Bjorn and Gustaf, but that is not even important anymore. Aelita was a terrible album which was supposed to bring Mando Diao closer to the audience who prays to electronic gods. Unfortunately, that did not occur and the band continued walking on the path of downward spiral. I am not sure If the new record will be able to bring them fame and respect back, but as I have said, Good Times is a solid album. The problem is that it is comprised of compromises. Now that Bjorn is alone, it really makes no sense to compromise as he can do whatever he wants.
The opening number Break Us shows Mando Diao in a completely new light, as If they are craving to step into Coldplay territory that disappeared ten years ago. It is a piano ballade where vocal interpretation is supposed to be touching. When orchestrations join piano, the song becomes more substantial, so it would be interesting to hear what would happen If the band was more interested in playing with those motives. Yet, as soon as the next track starts, it becomes clear that this is an exception.
All the Things is a hybrid of The Strokes, Jet and Kasabian. It is a mess that lacks appropriate chorus. At least a good chorus will take it all the way the radio. It might not reach the status of Dance With Somebody, but modern radiophonic quality had the potential. Title track Good Times continues where Aelita stopped. I detest it. This synthetic vibes do not go along with Mando Diao. On the other hand, Shake sounds like a dance rock that could have preceded the previous album (so that we could get used to it more easily).
Mando Diao are not sure what they want. From piano ballads to dance jam in a matter of few seconds shows that this album was based on a principle "a little bit of everything for everyone". Ok, I am a romantic and I still believe in a concept of an "album", although I am aware that vast majority of population only listens to singles. There are few songs that could be intriguing,.but the rest of the bunch is just redundant. Money has a funky vibe, Watch Me Now is a classic Mando Diao tune, Hit Me With a Bottle is same as Break Us (guitar replaced piano), and Brother is a downtempo average. Dancing All The Way To Hell is ideal for the next single because it sounds like a sequel to Dance With Somebody. The album closes with love anthem Without Love.
