Having ditched their sweetness, The Cardigans hit pay dirt but lost their effervescent magic in the process. This, their fifth album, is even more blow-dried than 1998’s Gran Turismo. “Communication” and “Feathers And Down”, for instance, are as anodyne as The Corrs. Nina Persson writes exquisitely lovelorn lyrics, and “You’re The Storm” has a yearning majesty, but this is the sound of dashboard-tapping, local radio MOR. It’ll probably be huge.
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