By Madeline Kerins

It is very hard not to instantaneously fall in love with Millencolin the first time listening to them. They are just that loveable. Not to make them sound soft, or anything, because they’re definitely not. Just loveable.

Started officially as a band in 1992, these four skate punks from Örebro, Sweden are absolutely the best thing to come from world’s most peaceful country since IKEA, and that means a lot.

And even within the relatively short list of famous Swedish bands, only a handful are halfway decent. In Flames, ABBA, hell even Ace of Base was alright for the time being. But The Hives? Crap! The (International) Noise Conspiracy? Crap! A Teens? Crap! The Cardigans? You guessed it, crap!

Therefore based on commodity alone, Millencolin should be appetizing to music lovers of all genres. It is almost impossible not to love them, and with their sixth release Kingwood, the guys have proved themselves once again.

Following up their early 2003 release Home From Home, Kingwood picks up exactly where they left off. Musically, the band seems to have advanced somewhat, but Millencolin thrives on continuity and quality rather than constant reinvention.

The only distinction between this disc and Home from Home is lead vocalist Mathais’ vocal evolution; while earlier discs featured a somewhat more upbeat and cheery Mathais, Kingwood displays a pleasantly surprising aggressive tone as well.

Though the entire disc is fantastic, there are several gems that are absolutely infectious. The opener, “Farewell my Hell,” musically resembles the Millencolin of the past, but it also encompasses the somewhat emo theme of this entire disc. Their main focus is still about having fun, enjoying everything life has to offer, and of course, being Swedish, but age and experience finds Millencolin and particularly songwriter Mathais longing for lost loves, closer relationships with females and family alike, and emo song theme staple, heartache.

“Biftek Supernova” serves as a homage to silly worded tracks on previous discs, while the first single “Ray” is a nod to tracks like “Material Boy” off 2000’s Pennybridge Pioneers. “Ray” has been seeing heavy rotation on Fuse’s program “Steve’s Untitled Rock Show,” proving that the masses are finally beginning to embrace these Swedes.

So in the contest for best Swedish export, Millencolin obviously takes the meatballs…with extra gravy.