Bands stealing older bands styles doesn’t matter when the stealing is done so well. Poseurs copy, the real deal steals. Sad Day For Puppets blah blah blah. Blah. Which is to say they steal a bunch of older styles mash ‘em together and come up with Unknown Colors, except, as I’ve just been saying, these colours are known. They are catchy pop couched in distorted guitar and thick bass, Dinosaur Jr., The Posies, bands that the Labrador label’s bands love, dream pop, C86. They juggle all those balls, and then let them drop. Because, look there, they make pretty patterns and colours when they are all bouncing together in a group like that. This 5 piece are from Sweden. Sweden. Sweden. Sweden. I mean, where else? Sweden.Anna Ekland manages to sing with both dusky seductiveness and childish happiness. I’m not quite sure how that’s possible, and to be honest it makes me feel a little uncomfortable when I think about it too hard. But anyway, her and the rest of the band (guitarists Martin Källholm and Marcus Sandgren, bassist Alex Svenson-Metes and drummer Micael Back) imbue this bag of swag with their own distinct mark. There’s an roominess to the way Ekland’s vocals are recorded, there’s a white-hot searing when a guitar is let loose for a solo (check out ‘Marble Gods’), and a giddiness to the way the bass is played (‘Little Light’ sounds like some baggy-era thing, Mock Turtles like). So, there’s a bunch of stolen styles, an edge of their own identity too, and the last thing to note is the high quality of the songs. Sweden.‘Little Light’ is a good example as any of the coherent melodies to be found here. After a brief bit of twinkly guitar it kicks off with a tasty drum fill and the bass and guitars come in with a happy-time kick to the groin. There’s a swing and surprising languor in the melody and Ekland’s vocal, but always propelled by an awesomely simple riff and bouncy bassline. Touches like chimes and keyboard around the edges only serve to make that grin plastered to your face ache all the harder. This form of song can be slightly rockier (‘Marble Gods’), or slightly poppier (‘Shiny Teeth And Sharpened Claws’), but always at the same level of quality. Sweden.And Odin it’s not the only type of song on the album, because as good and great as those songs are, if you wang ‘em in next to similar ones then it can drag an album down. ‘Blue Skies’, ‘Mother’s Tears’ and ‘My Twin Star’ are atmospheric and melancholy, ‘Lay Your Burden On Me’, ‘All The Songs’ and ‘When The Morning Comes’ are slower sentimental songs. These six serve to keep your interest, offering up pleasing variations and detours, while there’s always ‘Last Night’ and ‘Romans’ to shivvy it along. Then one final change with ‘Withering Petals And Dust’, which is what I imagine The Cowboy Junkies sound like, though I might be way off there. Sweden.It’s a fun album, I mean what do you want from me here? I’ve explained how it sounds. Weak points? Hmmm”¦ if you’re not actively listening to it, it can be easy to think there are some duds in there, the slower songs might feel like they are in the way if you’re just looking for some power pop. But that’s not the album’s fault, that’s yours you arsehole. Sweden. 75%Sad Day For Puppets on MySpace