The Legends
The Legends are a Swedish rock band led by front man Johan Angergård, the label boss of Labrador Records . The band was founded in 2003 by him and initially eight fellow musicians, now only he himself is an integral part of the project. Musically, the band moved over time from rock 'n' roll to wave to synth pop , but always melodic and emotional.
history
Up Against the Legends
Johan Angergård is usually busy discovering and supporting, producing and managing talented up-and-coming bands from Sweden . His own song ideas finally prompted him to get on stage himself. So he put together a band from eight friends and musicians and appeared in January 2003 as the opening act for The Radio Dept. on. As a result of the positive feedback, The Legends were founded and the first album was recorded. Up Against the Legends contains twelve songs that are minimalist in the rock 'n' roll style of the 1960s, but at the same time have modern borrowings from emo and shoegaze . The musically universally versed frontman played the instruments for the album himself. For his live band he built on the principle of Adam Green's previous band The Moldy Peaches and consciously sought out newcomers to the respective instruments, mainly from his circle of friends.
Public radio
After various disagreements with the fellow musicians, the former nine-man band finally became a solo project in 2004. Angergård wrote and recorded the second album Public Radio completely by himself. Musically, it is based on Manchester Rave and the typical New Wave sound of the 1980s and integrates wide-area synthesizers and subtle, sad melodies. It is stylistically more similar to Johan Angergård's actual main band, the Acid House Kings . The pre-release single He Knows the Sun became a summer hit in Sweden in August 2005 and rotated on many radio stations in the country. For the subsequent tour, which took him to Germany as part of the Electricity and Guitar Festival with a retro mustache look in January 2006, this time he engaged four professional musicians from bands that are under contract with Labrador Records .
Facts and Figures
At the Germany concerts in January 2006, fans were confronted with new songs like Lucky Star . The accompanying album Facts and Figures was released in September of the same year. Stylistically, it represents a further stage in Angergård's historical journey through the musical landscapes of his influencers (" legends "), which he explicitly records in the accompanying booklet with Ramones , The Jesus and Mary Chain , The Cure , The Smiths and the Pet Shop Boys . The latter in particular primarily shape the sound of the third work, which is musically presented in the colorful synth and disco garb of the late 1980s. The Labrador label site announced the album as a collection of " smash hits for the gay dance floor ". This was the logical continuation of Angergård's "historical journey" after rock 'n' roll of the 1960s to 1970s debut and the wave sound of the 1980s by Public Radio .
Over and over
The fourth album Over and Over was released in 2009. Musicians from Club 8 and The Mary Onettes were involved in its creation. The twelve songs move stylistically between noise pop , indie rock and krautrock .
Discography
Albums
- Up Against the Legends (album, 2004)
- Public Radio (album, 2005 or DE: 2006)
- Facts and Figures (album, 2006)
- Over and Over (album, 2009)
- It's Love (album, 2015)
- Nightshift (album, 2017)
Singles and EPs
- Make It All Right (single, 2003)
- There and Back Again (EP, 2003)
- Call It Ours (EP, 2004)
- He Knows the Sun (single, 2005)
- Hide Away (single, 2006)
- Play It for Today / Blue Lights (double single, 2006)
- Lucky Star (single, 2006)
- Seconds Away (single, 2008)