PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | Decked out in a black mini-dress, motorcycle jacket, and metallic stilettos, her bleached hair held back in a ponytail, The Sounds lead singer Maja Ivarsson certainly looks like your quintessential rock star. And with a full-volume, energetic show Saturday night at the 9:30 Club, the band proved to an enthusiastic crowd that sixteen years later, they still have it.
Despite playing an early show—The Sounds took the stage at 7:45pm—the Swedish new wave act performed as if were midnight. Formed in 1998, the band’s set included songs from all five of their albums, from their 2002 hit debut, Living in America to their most recent effort Weekend, released in late 2013. Their sound has varied little over the years, sometimes adding more punk elements or more synth or leaning toward dance or pop. This consistency allowed the show to feel complete, despite the time span their songs covered.
Within this deep history, The Sounds are not known for their sophisticated song writing or musical originality—but they are known for catchy rock and dance tracks. Most of their songs work especially well translated live, with their often-simple lyrics easy for eager fans to sing along to every word with Ivarsson.
To point, the set kicked off with “Emperor” off of Weekend, with Ivarsson shouting, “I don’t want to give you one more chance, ’cause you don’t ever seem to understand.” These are relatable lyrics accentuated by strong beats, allowing the crowd to shout and dance along, losing themselves in whatever emotions they associate with the song.
As a lead singer, Ivarsson is fearless, hearkening back to the freer and more rebellious days of rock and roll. The band is often compared to Blondie, and it is a comparison that stems from Ivarsson’s performance as much as their sound. Throughout the set, Ivarsson strutted around the stage, lifting her skirt to show some leg (and more, once or twice), simulating fellatio on the band’s guitarist, smoking a couple of cigarettes, and spraying the audience with beer or water.
She is the epitome of confidence on stage, clearly relishing the spotlight. Her fellow band members, Felix Rodriguez on guitar, Jesper Andererg on keyboards and piano and guitar, Johan Bengtsson on bass, and Frederik Blond on drums, allowed her the attention as they focused on their instruments.
Live, Ivarsson’s voice was deeper and grittier than the produced studio albums. Songs like “Rock N Roll” that are meant to be genuine rock songs fared better than some of the newer, more traditional pop songs. Somewhat ironically, the title track off of Weekend was one of the weakest of the nights. Ivarsson’s “fuck all” attitude on stage clashed with the beachy, breeziness the song tries to convey.
And while the crowd loved her bravado, it seemed almost anachronistic to me. Decades ago, Ivarsson’s attitude would have been shocking. But in 2014, and after more than sixteen years performing and five full-length albums (all with original band members, unusually enough), it seems more like excess theatricality or a distraction from the music.
But I would guess that on this point, mine was not the prevailing attitude of the night. The audience more than matched the energy of the band, cheering on Ivarsson’s dancing, easily clapping along when the band encouraged it, singing to every song. The 9:30 Club was filled with energy and love, and when their set ended around an hour and a half later, there was a collective sigh of sadness that it was already over.
