DEW

Staying in Sweden...

The duo that is DEW hails from Halleforsnas, which is located about halfway between Eskilstuna and Flen. Can you picture that on a map? Excellent.

I should mention that I was beaten to the punch on these guys by the ever-nettlesome HITS IN THE CAR. At least he didn't inspire the post this time; we seemed to discover the group at about the same time. He's just a faster writer than I am. The bastard.

So... one of the reasons I bothered to mention Halleforsnas earlier is that it's one of the only bits of information that HITS neglected to insert into his original post. Thanks for the scraps there, fella. Sloppy seconds, anyone? Excellent.

DEW consists of friends TOMMY ERIKSSON and DAN OSTBERG. They started performing under that name in 2000, but didn't release their first album -- SOMEWHERE ELSE -- until 2005. As near as I can tell, the record isn't available for purchase at this point.

By the sound of it, this is a very casual collaboration, with the two musicians writing and recording whenever they can get a break from work and family obligations. Doesn't seem like they get many of those breaks, though their MySpace page does mention the possibility of a new band member joining the party.

As for their sound, it's highly evocative of '80s British indie-pop -- all jingle-jangle and bouncy basslines on parade. I can't quite peg it exactly, but artists along the lines of THE HOUSEMARTINS, AZTEC CAMERA, PREFAB SPROUT, and/or BILLY BRAGG might put you in the ballpark.

(HITS IN THE CAR was impudent enough to compare them to a group I'd never even heard of -- THE RIVER DETECTIVES. As if writing faster than me weren't already enough, now he's got to go all obscure on my ass. The nerve of the guy! At this point, I'm seriously thinking about hiring TOBY KEITH to stick a boot up his ass. It is, after all, the American way.)

DEW on MySPACE.

[MP3] "All That I'm Leaving Behind"

[MP3] "Still Looking"