I was very uncertain what to expect from this band and after I had borrowed it from the library it lay on my desk for quite some time and then I was like, it can't hurt to listen to it, so I did. It is good, but not as good as I had expected. The females vocals are a bit weak and the lyrics are not their strong point. Then why do I give it four stars. Well, the sound, and vibe are great and one starts to think back on 60's pop and it is a blend of 60's pop and modern rock. The book-let is shoddy with terrible photographs that seem to have been shot by a 7 year old kid and what is up with that hair. It is called using a comb...? Even so, this is a good debut album that has some issues...

I fell in love with the cardigans when I was 10 with "Lovefool." At the time I liked the mindless bubblegum quality, but now, 9 years later I'm (amazingly) still in love with them, though for different reasons. They grew with me, I guess, and when I think of the music of my childhood, the cardigans are it for me. It's crazy that after listening to them for so many years I still enjoy them so much, but their music just doesn't get old. If you're debating, just try it! at first the blatant pop my get on your nerves, but I like it because it's.... unapologetically pop. try Dressy bessy if you like the cardigans

This is a nice Swedish Pop/Rock CD with touches of dance/disco. Very undrrated here in US.

Most songs here are very catchy, and happy, but with rather depressing lyrics here and there. "Lovefool" of course was their big hit (very much over-played on radio at that time, and they even performed it live on Beverly Hills 90210 as I can remember), and it's a very nice clubby dance song. "Been It" was also rather popular.

But as I said this album has way more potential hits, like for example "Never Recover", "Step on Me", "Losers", "Great Divide", "Choke" and "Your new cuckoo" (also an upbeat song) are all Great songs with great distinct melodies, and with a lot of Hit Potential.

For a bit darker trip hop sound check out their 1998 album "Gran Turismo".
And for a more down-to-earth simple Pop/rock sound check out their 2002 album "Long gone before daylight" which was recently released in US.

Peter Svensson, I believe, is the composer of all the melodies. A talented man.
It's simply Great Music from a very underrated Swedish band.

This album is a shining example of the Cardigans' mastery of the retro yet fresh sound they had been churning out since the beginning of their gifted career.
Though known mostly for the hit song "Lovefool", this is no banally sugary collection of candied schlock that so many would assume.
The songs are delightfully subversive with immediately catchy melodies, ingenious arrangements...and despite this, are mostly centered around stories of a woman willingly accepting abuse from a partner who obviously couldn't care less. Tales of the unfortunate, made amusing by the obvious self-depracating quirks of the main character. These songs do include Lovefool, but also the aptly titled "Step on Me", and the song "Heartbreaker" in which a self-proclaimed loser speaks of her willing self-debasement with random men.
Elsewhere, are clever and tounge-in-cheek descriptions of people's feelings about the nature of love, giddy preparations for a "kinky" meeting between new lovers, and a tale of a wary and bitter attitude of hearing a previous lover use the same words on another naïve target.
There isn't one song on here that I couldn't listen to again and again.
With all this plus an amusing yet spot-on cover of Black Sabbath's Iron Man, you can't miss this piece of 90s delight.

"The Cardigans" were one of those bands that got popular suddenly, and then vanished the same way, in the US anyhow. They have released a few albums, but "First Band On The Moon" was their big one. "Lovefool" was the hit from this, and it was also on the "Romeo And Juliet" soundtrack. The rest of the stuff here is good, and much like that song, happy and 60's sounding. In fact, half these songs could be about death, and you wouldn't know it because the delivery is so pop and catchy. "Been It" and "Step On Me" are good, and there's also a cover of "Iron Man", that people will either love, or shoot themselves over. Anyway, it's a good album, and a nice slice of 1996 alt-pop.