Mando Diao

Ode To Ochrasy

[3.5/5] News that the latest wave of Scandinavian fair-skins are taking over Western shores carries with it all the expected apprehensions: Is Yngwie Malmsteen bald yet? Are blue and yellow really complimentary colors? Fortunately, Mando Diao’s strident rock renders that stuff less consequential than last season’s IKEA catalogue. Sure, songs like “Amsterdam” still sound like the Strokes, but Ode To Ochrasy is more an homage to all things bratty (“Killer Kaczynski”) and British (“The Wildfire (If It Was True)”) than some third try at a first impression. The only misstep lies in the overused man-strut of “Long Before Rock ’N’ Roll,” which nonetheless shakes the piss out of Jet’s fake-take on Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life.” Otherwise, Mando Diao’s balance of updated pop smarts, slick production and stylish vitriol is a winning one. We get it, guys: Resistance really is futile. (MUTE) Tristan Staddon