The lanky fashion plates in this likable Swedish combo like to play up their punk pedigree in publicity photos. But the Sounds are pure pop — as pure as the high-gloss kiddie fluff written and produced by their fellow Swede Max Martin. There’s nothing on Dying To Say This To You , the follow-up to 2003’s Living in America , that reaches the ecstatic heights of “Since U Been Gone,” Martin’s Kelly Clarkson smash. But there are hard, groovy gems such as “Song with a Mission” and “Queen of Apology,” in which sex-bomb frontwoman Maja Ivarsson tunefully sasses some loser while her band mates surround her tough-chick vocals with fuzzy guitars and fuzzier keyboards. Since they can’t afford Martin’s services, hiring producer Jeff Saltzman — the guy who did the Killers’ Hot Fuss — was a good move, too: he gives the Sounds’ sounds the same twinge of unexpected melancholy, which helps the tunes outlast their initial sugar buzz.
The Sounds + Morningwood + Action Action | April 14 | Avalon, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston | 617.228.6000
