Have Sweden's Red Sleeping Beauty really been cranking out beautiful indie-pop for more than 30 years? The group's newest, Diary, is out this week, and it's absolutely as superb as you'd hoped it would be. From the emotive and direct "This Heart's Now Yours", to the sleek New Wave of "New York, New Me", this is smart stuff. Red Sleeping Beauty are doing things here which take this away from the genre conventions of jangle-pop and into the realm of electro-pop, though there's a sensibility that's the same, of course. The elegant "Summer House", for example, owes more to New Order than anything else, and that precise sense of how to present a song carries this into its own special space. "Could Have Been Me", to use another example, veers into the mannered indie disco of Nineties Saint Etienne, and fairly convincingly too. Still, there's a lightness here which is utterly beguiling. "The Sound of Summer", a cut with Mary Wyer of Sarah Records pioneers Even As We Speak, is a delight. A neat blend of the conventions of dance pop with the mind-set of indie-pop, the track is a clear highlight of Diary. Taken together, the selections on Diary maintain a vibe that's measured, with sleek surfaces and percolating bits of keyboards and rhythm backing throughout, behind vocals which are warm and emotive. Those comparisons to New Order point in the direction of others of that era: Pet Shop Boys, Electronic, and even a hint of Momus. Red Sleeping Beauty have pulled away anything that would weigh these numbers down, and the material soars and swoons in equal degree. Every composition here is neatly constructed, and simple and direct in a way that lots of indie is not. That's a sign of confidence in the skills of the members of the band. And in the case of Red Sleeping Beauty, they've got a lot to be confident about. —A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed

Swedish pop legends Red Sleeping Beauty named themselves after a track by the 1980s indie band McCarthy (featuring pre-Stereolab Tim Gane) who were of course well known for their staunchly Marxist lyrics…such that another famously political bunch Manic Street Preachers also later covered a couple of their songs (e.g. We’re All Bourgeois Now). In the case of Red Sleeping Beauty, it was the McCarthy track of the same name which they subsequently recorded a version of in 2019, and featured on that year’s album Stockholm. Their beginnings however, stem right back to the late 1980s when founder member Niklas Angergård (who later formed the Acid House Kings – one of Sweden’s best known pop bands at the time) and Mikael Matsson teamed up with singer Kristina Borg and bassist Carl-Johan Näsström to form the initial four-piece incarnation of the band. Their early releases were mainly influenced by the C-86 and Sarah Records jangle guitar pop bands that was so prevalent in the UK around that period of 1987-1994. After a string of singles/EPs and two albums on a variety of labels released between 1992 and 1998, the band went on a lengthy hiatus as Niklas Angergård concentrated on the more successful Acid House Kings. In 2015 – after a gap of more than 17 years – Red Sleeping Beauty returned as a sleek electro synthpop act, slimmed down to a trio featuring Angergård, Matsson and Borg and released the single Always – an irresistible slice of breezy Europop whose drum machine intro bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Enola Gay by OMD. A further single, the beautiful Hispanic-tinged sunset shimmer Mi Amor, followed before their first album of almost 20 years – Kristina – was released to much acclaim on Sweden’s renowned Labrador independent label. After a few more one-off singles, the second album under their new electronic guise – Stockholm – was released in 2019, and like their previous one featured ten dazzling synth-driven pop gems. It was precisely at this point (mid-2019) where I belatedly discovered their music (at the same time as that of another of their contemporaries and erstwhile label mates – The Radio Dept.) whilst rabbit-holing on YouTube in the early hours searching for new sounds to soothe and brighten up an otherwise desperately traumatic year which saw several of my best friends and colleagues all dying one after the other. Silently thanking the gods above that the music of two dream pop bands as truly wonderful as The Radio Dept. and Red Sleeping Beauty serendipitously came along to gradually lift me out of the doldrums, I became a fervent fan of both bands thereafter. Four years on, in 2023, after a few years of post-pandemic dormancy, Red Sleeping Beauty released a one-off EP – From Sarah With Love – showcasing their love and admiration of the eponymous Bristol based indie label whose legendary influence now appears to have completely mitigated all of the previous disdain and contempt some earlier music publications often held against them (NME for one). The EP featured contributions from erstwhile Sarah Records alumni Mary Wyer (of Aussie-based indie legends Even As We Speak) and Amelia Fletcher (of equally feted bands Heavenly and Tallulah Gosh) guesting on vocals, as well as two covers of songs by other Sarah stalwarts, The Sea Urchins and Harvey Williams’ Another Sunny Day. At the start of the 2024, Red Sleeping Beauty hit upon the novel idea of quickly writing and releasing a brand new song each month and making it available as 12 separate downloads (or indeed ‘singles’) for their fans via their Bandcamp page. They duly stuck to the brief and released a series of sublime pop tunes that were as alluring and charming as anything that came out during their resurrection years (2015 to 2019). With one song still to be issued in December, they set about compiling many of these for a new physical release, which comprises the new album Diary. One thing which immediately comes as a surprise is the realisation that the ten main tracks on Diary have a total running time of less than 29 minutes in duration! Granted, the physical CD also comes with four additional bonus tracks – a brace of which are the other two monthly singles that were released during the year – and they add another 8 minutes or so. Nevertheless, the new Mk II post-2010s Red Sleeping Beauty have this enviable knack of bringing out impressively brilliant but tantalisingly brief albums. Maybe that’s because they believe in conciseness and leaving fans wanting more. It works in their favour precisely because of this brevity – as the songs are so immediate and so melodically pure that one listen is enough to have them ingrained like ear worms inside your head. This has been the case with previous albums Kristina and Stockholm too : both of them are less than 35 minutes long. There is no filler, no padding, not even any weak tracks. Everything is perfectly formed and immaculately conceived – 2 or 3 minute pop gems which sparkle and gleam like freshly minted coins, and glide and cruise effortlessly like the sleekest of new Volvos coming off the production line. Red Sleeping Beauty’s own production line, similarly, is damn near faultless: faced with tracks as utterly ravishing and downright gorgeous as dazzling uptempo album centrepiece Could Have Been Me – probably one of the strongest tracks here on an album filled with lots of equally flawless tunes. The rousing intro’s Fairlight orchestral stabs tips its hat reverentially to the sound of Pet Shop Boys at their late 80s peak….and on it, they even revisit another PSB-alike highlight from Stockholm (We Are Magic) as it features guest singer Julia Lannerheim of Acid House Kings on vocals. A sense of spontaneous playfulness is made even more endearing when you hear Julia breaking into giggles during the middle instrumental break. This song is as perfect as it comes. Album opener Caroline (I Found Love) – the only song on here that exceeds three minutes – is the duo playing to their undeniable strengths: the pristine twinkling synths and keyboard flourishes which sprinkle across this song like cosmic fairy dust are as joyful on the ear as anything they have done before. Coupled with its infectious chorus, it is ear candy of the sweetest kind. It’s rivalled by the exuberant jangling electro-pop of The Sound Of Summer which features guest singer Mary Wyer from Even As We Speak (who also reformed in the 2010s after appearing at the famous, now sadly defunct, Indietracks festival in Derbyshire – at which Red Sleeping Beauty were also no strangers to). Hearing her jubilant and spirited vocals when she beams out ‘This is the sound of summer / this is the sound of me and you’ conjures up images of those nostalgic old TV programme idents featuring happy families on sunkissed beaches (a relative rarity these days, more’s the pity). One small eyebrow-raising curiosity comes at the very start of This Heart’s Now Yours, which begins with the opening line ‘Taking my clothes off, walking down the boulevard’, but there is nothing sleazy about this upbeat ballad at all, unlike others which might be a bit more outre and suggestive. It’s just another unabashed romantic paean where a clearly head-over-heels Niklas declares his undying affection and devotion for his lover. The bells that adorn the choruses lend a nocturnal aura to the song by way of enhancement. Where the duo start to let their hair down, as on the upfront dance number New York, New Me, there is a sense of abandon and throwing caution to the wind as they chant ‘That’s right! That’s right! Let’s take a chance tonight’ (okay then, just a wee bit, there’s nothing here that involves breaking into too much of a sweat as everything stays just the right side of elegantly cool). Two other special guests, Jane Wildson (of the Spanish indie band Papa Topo) and Emol both make cameo appearances, singing in native Spanish and German respectively, on the simply swoonsome piano-led ballad Cruising Slowly which is as utterly majestic as anything by Saint Etienne (think their 1999 soundtrack Misadventures of Saint Etienne) who are also clearly massive influences on the trio. There are some lovely synthesised swooshes going on in the background rather like crashing waves which create a wonderful sense of atmosphere too. Head Up High heralds a slightly more downbeat moment, with its colder Teutonic synths bringing to mind Vince Clarke’s Yazoo but nevertheless offers hope among its more contemplative lyric, of keeping the faith:  ‘So we walk side by side, hiding feelings deep inside’….’So is it you or is it me? / Lost in dreams that cannot be?’. The fade however is strangely abrupt on this song, which leads me to suspect it was incomplete! Likewise, the more consciously reflective pace and tempo of Summer House also offers a bit of a change from the prevailing sunny mood of much of the other tracks, again reminiscent of Saint Etienne circa 2002’s Finisterre. As on a few other songs, the piano is more upfront instead of the synths, lending the track a more delicate and elegaic quality.  Is This Love is a return to the more indie-pop style of their earlier incarnation with more in the way of guitars and retro organs to the fore….whilst breezy closing number I’m Here Tonight  (‘Turn around bright eyes, I’ll be there for you…’) is a nice sultry way to sign off a most impeccable half hour of gloriously uplifting and life-affirming electro pop delights. Red Sleeping Beauty may not be anywhere near as well known or feted outside of their native Sweden as they truly deserve to be, but, hopefully given time, more listeners and admirers will be enchanted and captivated by their exquisite knack for perfect pop confections and this latest mini-masterpiece of theirs – for all of its conciseness and brevity – is no exception. —Louder Than War

Red Sleeping Beauty have been around for 35 years now and they made the transition from guitar based indiepop to producing synth pop nuggets without anyone actually noticing. Who could tire of such pop deliciousness especially when it features collaborations with the likes of Mary Wyer (Even As We Speak), Julia Lannerheim (Acid House Kings) and Jane Wildson (Papa Topo)? Not me for one. —Records I Like

Sappiamo bene del progetto dei Red Sleeping Beauty di piazzare un brano al mese. Proprio da questo spunto nasce “Diary” che è praticamente una raccolta basata sull’esperimento sonoro della band. Il progetto, che ora vede coinvolti Niklas Angergård e Mikael Matsson, è il viaggio ‘made in Sweden’ alla ricerca della perfezione indie-pop, declinata spesso e volentieri sul credo del synth-pop più che a quello del guitar-pop scintillante della band negli anni ’90. Il fatto è che, quando la melodia ce l’hai nel sangue, l’arrangiamento sembra quasi essere un orpello secondario, perché alla fine il ritornello vincente arriva sempre e comunque. Quindi ecco questo sound che sta a metà strada tra i Pet Shop Boys, New Order e i Saint Etienne, con momenti più che ballabili e altri dove invece sembra di esser in un “post dancefloor”, meno ritmati e dal gusto agrodolce. Tutto molto elegante, raffinato ma sempre coinvolgente. Da notare che tra gli ospiti del disco c’è pure Mary Wyer degli Even As We Speak. Ai Red Sleeping Beauty si vuole sempre bene. Altra missione compiuta. —Indie For Bunnies

Quando cominciai a scrivere di indie pop scandinavo, quasi vent'anni fa, i Red Sleeping Beauty erano già considerati una piccola grande istituzione alternativa in Svezia. In effetti Kristina Borg, Mikael Mtssen e Nikals Angergård (quest'ultimo anima anche dei coevi e altrettanto mitologici Acid House Kings) hanno cianciato a suonare insieme in un'era in cui, per dire, la Sarah Records era aperta, band come i New Order e i Pet Shop Boys erano ancora in piena attività e a Stoccolma cominciavano a muovere i primi passi produttori come Denniz Pop e Max Martin, che avrebbero portato lo swedish pop touch ovunque nel mondo. Da tre decenni i Red Sleeping Beauty pubblicano musica, seppure con distanze anche siderali tra un'uscita e l'altra. L'ultima impresa è questo Diary, che raccoglie dieci canzoni uscite con cadenza mensile durante l'ultimo anno solare. Lo stile è ovviamente quello consueto dei RSB: un synth twee pop che affonda le radici negli anni '80, di per sé assolutamente démodé ma - in un'epoca in cui gli eighties sono tornati ovunque nella musica - assolutamente contemporaneo, raffinatissimo (anche nella grafica delle copertine), delicato e programmaticamente leggerissimo. Ispirato sia ad elementi precipuamente indie che al pop da classifica dell'epoca (vedi i nomi citati sopra), semplicissimo nella fattura e al contempo intriso di una eleganza compassata e cordiale insieme. —Just Another Pop Song