Hailing from the land of pop, Sweden, The Cardigans are a five piece group whose sounds range from beautiful melancholy to lovely, cheery pop. Life, The Cardigans second album, breaks away from their first albums tiresome saddening and introvert sounds and trades them for something uplifting and cheerful. All their songs are reminders of those perfect summer days( Daddy’s Car) , staring at sunsets( Beautiful One), being with those who we love( Celia Inside), and laying on the ground, looking at the stars. Life was released in 1995, and became a international success. It barley saw any accomplishment in the U.S., due to the fact they had no recognition , until their third album came and produce their only one hit in the U.S., Lovefool, which was used in the movie Romeo and Juliet. Their sound for Life is just pure, simple pop. It doesn’t try to be complex, or impress anybody. It just brings smiles and memories of good times, something that isn’t seen anymore in mainstream music. Most mainstream songs prefer a more metallic sound produced by electronics such as, synthesizers, computers, drum machines, and auto-tune. It is nice just to hear a band that plays instruments. The sound is much more organic. Technically, the album is well produced and the range of used instruments is incredible ( they used over forty instruments). For some the sound will seem too cutesy and turn them off, but gave it a few listens and this may be one of those albums that truly stands out. Life is a jewel in pop music, which is a genre most tend to avoid. The albums cheeriness and optimism help us forget about the problems, horrors and madness seen in our world and opens our eyes and lets us see the better things in life