David Sandström Overdrive - Pigs lose
(Razzia Records)

Quite possibly the only former Refused member still musically relevant, the David Sandström Overdrive have returned with their third album "Pigs lose", their first for indie-stalwart Razzia. Keeping true to his Elvis Costello-inspired garage rock, "Pigs lose" gives us some of David Sandström's best material, but at sixteen tracks in length, also a few that are not. The lamenting balladry of "Lisa, Lisa", the plodding "Happy home" and the sheer epicness of "Tearing through the decades" showcase and hone the songwriting perfectly, whilst "Songs that maybe won't be forgotten" is easily one of the best songs of the year. However, "Dead alive" and "The god thing" are downright hokey and disrupt the album's flow. However, fans will not be disappointed; although a little editing down to ten or eleven songs would have made this album one of the more memorable of the year just past.
- Matt Giordano