Currently touring across Europe, Swedish new wave group The Sounds are set to play Barcelona’s Apolo on Feburary 9th. Their second album Dying to Say This to You earned them a semi-worldwide breakout in 2006 and since then the buzz around the band has gotten louder and louder, with lead singer Maja Ivarsson collaborating with US groups All Time Low, Cobra Starship and numerous others.

Perhaps as a result, their energetic pop-rock has become more polished in recent years, though Ivarsson’s vocals have retained that rough edge that always made their sound so distinctive. Their fourth album, Something to Die For, was released last year, and while it might lack the raw sounds and infectious hooks of earlier hits like “Tony the Beat” or “Painted By Numbers,” it’s nevertheless a fun, upbeat collection that will more than please their current fans. At any rate, The Sounds are worth catching live; their shows are, in their own words, “energy, pure energy,” and it’s near enough impossible not to get caught up in the fun.

the-sounds.com