Hailing from a dark corner of the world known as Sweden, it’s easy to understand why The Bell would be drawn to the brooding bass lines and metallic guitar clangor of post-punk. Singer Mathias Stromberg even has the Ian Curtis deadpan thing down pat, but Make Some Quiet reveals him to be more Morrissey’s hopeless romantic than Curtis’s suicidal gloom merchant on the mopey scale. That said, the best moments on The Bell’s debut come when they let their new wave pop sensibilities shine through. “I Need Nothing” and “Gone for Days” are straight out of a John Hughes coming-of-age flick that never was, evoking teenage longing and regret with all the weeping wit of The Smiths or The Psychedelic Furs. It’s a good mode for Stromberg, because as mysterious as he may wish he were, he lacks the introspection and macabre implications of an Ian Curtis (or even Interpol’s Paul Banks). Musically, The Bell can work an icy vibe with the best of the post-punk revisionists, but Stromberg’s oft-thin lyrics kill the mood quickly. The best example is “Target Group” and its regrettable chorus of “You’re a man/You are white/And you’re young.” The song’s title implies some sort of socio-economic statement, but it just comes off sounding stupid. Make Some Quiet’s strengths, however, suggest these three young Swedes will find their footing — the Coldplay-isms of album closer “Let Love Be My Only Guide” are promising — and deliver a killer front-to-back record before we’re sick of the ’80s.
--Chad Dryden
