Sad Day For Puppets

Sometimes, listening to a record only tells half the story. In the case of melodic indie poppers (in the most literal sense of the phrase) Sad Day For Puppets, it doesn't even attempt to explain their existence. Indeed, we're only ten minutes and three songs into their first ever headline show in Nottingham and already comparisons with Lush, Metric and Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins immediately spring to mind.

Partly down to the almost childlike cooing of elfin singer Anna Eklund, other times courtesy of an astute engine room that for all its fey intentions can conjure up a quadraphonic shitstorm where necessary.

Despite hailing from the sleepy Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg, the fact that Sad Day For Puppets have spent the last two years almost continuously on the road seems to have served them well. While not exactly in the same league in terms of rock'n'roll excess as fellow Swedish natives Backyard Babies or Hellride, their appearance may look deceptively twee but every now and then the twin axe coupling of Martin Kallholm and Marcus Sandgren deliver riffs the size of monster trucks to everyone's surprise, their on stage colleagues included.

While Guitar Hero may be every boy's fantasy, Sad Day For Puppets are at their best crafting hazy, sun drenched pop songs fuelled by melody, enthusiasm and no doubt very extensive record collections bursting at the seams with imports of the best 4AD, Sub Pop and Creation Records had to offer in the early 1990s.

With a set that draws heavily from last year's sophomore album Pale Silver & Shiny Gold, it's when they cut the shackles loose on older material like 'Marble Gods' and 'Mother's Tears' that they really come into their own. Eklund's effervescent smile is a focal point throughout and there's a captivating aura that radiates from beginning to end.

The biggest criticism of Sad Day For Puppets is that, at times, they seem almost too nice and pleasant to grab the bull by the horns, as it were ,and create an identity of their own. Still, there's fun to be had playing the referencing game of "guess which artist the next song kind of sounds like?", as given time and a more focused approach to songwriting, there's no reason why Sad Day For Puppets influence can't be cited in the future.