Combining ethereal vocals reminiscent of the Cardigans, a speed rock sound hearkening Quiet Riot, occasional fits of rave-ready pseudo-techno-house and a hip hop mentality similar to US3, the Swedish quintet called Whale is definitely putting out some interesting stuff for your head. Instead of mashing the results of such mixing of styles into a pastiche gumbo, they wield the disparate influences (they consider the best bands in the world to be, "Sly & The Family Stone, ABBA, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, EPMD and Stevie Wonder") with gentle brush strokes, evoking numerous moods and vibes on the 11 song CD.

Surprises like "Crying at Airports" (with a rap interlude of alarming quality by Swedish punk-rock-rapper Cream from Bus75 will keep you hitting the rewind button and "repeat" on the CD player. You'll keep banging your head with cuts like "2 Cord Song" (sounding almost like the Pretenders), house-intended "Four Big Speakers," the Cranberries guitar riffs of "Losing CTRL". Then you'll put your body in park, marinating in soupy cuts like bass-heavy "Roadkill" or the resonant "Go Where You're Feeling Free." None of it seems forced or problematic, with every note and thematic change a welcome switch with an album suitable for playing all the way through. Considering that this group has had numerous personal misadventures (getting thrown out of a video game room by R. Kelly in Chicago, recording in a sweaty tool shed in Spain, teaching Tricky to swim, opening for Blur on tour, and becoming heavily tattooed), this album is a remarkable statement and a sure sign of a group to watch out for in the future.