Published: May 14, 2008 04:17 pm         

Swedish band revives the ’80s in their music

INDIANAPOLIS — Artist types tend to be self-conscious about displaying their influences too conspicuously.

Not Philip Ekstrom.

As vocalist and chief songwriter for the Swedish band The Mary Onettes, he was determined to reproduce the “big, epic darkness” he heard in bands like New Order and The Cure as a lad.

“I was pretty young when all the great records from the ’80s were done,” Ekstrom said. “I just felt like I had to do that record.”

And not just through epic, U2-style emotion either.

“Not many bands have consequence in the making of an album,” Ekstrom said. “They say they’re inspired by the ’80s, but it sounds modern. I was determined to make an album that sounded ‘unmodern.’ It sounds like it was made in the ’80s. That was important to me when I was doing the album.”

That goes a long way toward explaining the echo-laden, analog gloom darkening The Mary Onettes’ otherwise spirited sound on their self-titled full-length debut. It was a long road to get there. They originally started as two bands in their hometown of Jonkoping, Sweden, eventually uniting through their ’80s obsession. It’s what kept them together through two failed record deals, including one with giant Sony/BMG.

“We didn’t care much about those kinds of things,” Ekstrom said. “We just wanted to make music. For me, it doesn’t matter what happens with the record company. We only worry about songs. We just kept on doing what we do best.”

The persistence is starting to pay off. The Mary Onettes eventually landed on the Swedish indie label Labrador in 2006.

“It was the best thing that could happen to us,” Ekstrom said. “Communication with a big label like Sony/BMG was really hard. They couldn’t make any quick decisions. Now we have more control over the things we do.”

Others are taking notice of The Mary Onettes too. Two of their songs were played on “Grey’s Anatomy” before the band ever set foot on U.S. soil. Ekstrom hopes that kind of exposure gives them a built-in audience when they embark on their first stateside tour this month.

“I think everybody’s excited about it,” Ekstrom said of the 13-city jaunt. “I’m a little afraid of flying over the Atlantic, but hopefully I will get over.”



Wade Coggeshall writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.





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Online:

www.themaryonettes.net

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com