You're From Barcelona.

I'm From Barcelona follows in the footsteps (fresh, though they may be) of pop/rock giants Broken Social Scene and The Polyphonic Spree. Not so much, musically. You'd be hard-pressed to find a tune between the Barcelonians and Scenesters that sounded alike. Nay, their primary comparison point is as follows: I'm From Barcelona consists of 29 members. Yes, 29. One shy of the big three-oh. (For reference, that's equivalent to about a Spree and a half, or a Scene and a third.)

What do 29 people in one band do? Anything they want. Vocals, guitars, drums, keyboards, trumpets, clarinets, flutes, saxophones, banjos, accordions... kazoos. But rather than face the dreaded "too many chefs in the kitchen" recipe for disaster (see what I did there?), the twenty-nine Swedish individuals (yes, Sweden, not actually Barcelona, as it would be) manage to form a cohesive whole. An all-encompassing mass of joy and happiness and pop. The good kind.

With just the right amount of twee thrown into the lyrics (see: songs about stamp collections, treehouses, sleeping in, and chicken pox) the recipe is complete. And incredibly enjoyable.

Lead man Emanuel Lundgren manages to shape the group into a force to be reckoned with. Proof positive? Debut album Let Me Introduce My Friends, released on North American shores this past March.



And check out the videos for "We're From Barcelona" and "Collection Of Stamps" at their offical website.