That the Perishers are coming to town again, after their April opening spot with Sarah McLachlan at Kemper Arena, is wonderful. But that they're playing the Grand Emporium — where we could, if we were not just insane but also dangerous, reach up and wrap our arms around the legs of singer and guitarist Ola Klüft and sob through the entire set (until he gives us a good kick) — just totally rules. But you're probably like, "What? Klüft? Is that French?" So let's start over. The Perishers are Swedish. Stockholm daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has said of the group, "Melodierna träffar rätt i hjärtat." We have no idea what that means, but it really doesn't matter — the Perishers write brilliantly in English. The band's new album, Let There Be Morning, is an index of beautifully depressed, memorable one-liners for the fragmented modern heart: I'm having trouble sleeping/You're jumping in my bed ("Trouble Sleeping"); If in the evening, all you do is watch TV/'Cause you're too tired for anything else/You're just like me ("Weekends"). The sublimely melodic music (which you've probably heard if you watch The OC) further sets the Perishers apart from their Britpop counterparts with its sheer honesty and complete lack of pretense. They don't want to be the biggest band in the world; they just want to get through the night.
