Mando Diao - Ode to Ochrasy

Mando Diao have picked up the ball dropped by the mega-groups of England’s last golden age (1993-96) and are running with it. Ode to Ochrasy, the Swedish group’s third album, blends all that is exciting about rock music into a thrilling jet stream of sex and sonarchy. Although punk and pop elements are equally present, their songs are not limited by any defining element. Had Blur combined “Bank Holiday” with “To the End” into one song, the result might be something like "Killer Kaczynski." Wild and reckless punk rhythms support the sweetest melodies this side of the Beatles. Conversely, “The New Boy,” dripping with strings, makes a bid for the most perfect pop-ballad of the century. Although the songs are anchored in the song structures of sixties’ rock, there is nothing retro or stale about them. They are as new to music as “Ochrasy,” the band’s self-coined word, is to the dictionary. And it can mean whatever you want it to mean. [www.mando-diao.com]