With My Computer (Hacking Skills)

I don't know if you guys have heard, but Sweden has been producing a whole lot of quality indie bands lately, not the least of which is the twee pop duo Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. We've thrown out the name here before, but most of our readers likely have never heard of them. Well, as the story goes, Johan Hedberg writes some drafts of songs and hands them over to Peter Gunnarson, who polishes them and turns them into catchy hits. All this is supposedly done in the storehouse of the home of Peter's parents, and it's certainly not surprising that they don't come from a professional studio. Their albums (simply titled #1, #2, and #3) are very lo-fi, a sound which fits well with their image, which has been reinforced by their publicity photos, stage presence, and music videos.Just a couple of nerdy guys, right? And their performances and videos are carried off with limited emotion and deadpan strumming of the guitars (watch the Rent A Wreck video to see what I'm talking about). Now, take a look at why I think these guys are such a hit, at least in America.
Look and sound familiar? Like it or not, Napoleon Dynamite was another surprising hit with the indie scene in America, and it too is known for its deadpan humour. A famous line from a SKWBN song goes "I wanna turn their dance floors into a burning inferno of ba-ba-ba." Which brings to mind the climax of Napoleon Dynamite, of course. A more talented author could probably write a book (or at least a pamphlet) on the parallels between these two phenomenons.
Anyway, whether their success here was due to previous hits or to their surprisingly catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics, give Suburban Kids a listen.