Mando Diao

Swedish mod-punk-popsters Mando Diao reinvigorate the scene with their quirky concept album, Ode to Ochrasy. Self-produced during a fortnight, it features slice-of-life tunes based on beautiful losers and eccentric cranks. “Good Morning, Herr Horst” delves into the dead-end existence of a homeless tambourine player in Stockholm by transforming his plight into a Threepenny Opera-esque song as sung by Scott Walker. “Josephine” chronicles the misadventures of a Swedish slut, and “Killer Kaczynski” is about a delusional wannabe terrorist. The typical Mando Diao joie de vivre and Libertines-like high-octane hooks abound here, but the anti-war folk ballad “Ochrasy”about entering realms of the imagination to escape violence and waroffers the richest insight into the band’s potential.