The Cardigans - First Band on the Moon

The Cardigans perfected sugar-coated melancholy on First Band on the Moon, the 1996 album presented here on 180-gram vinyl.

By their third record, the Swedish band had refined their retro lounge-pop into something sleeker and sharper, working again with producer Tore Johansson. Nina Persson's sweet, deadpan delivery masked lyrics about heartbreak, cruelty and bad decisions, a contrast that became the group's signature and made the songs sting long after the melody faded.

The album is best known for "Lovefool," the bubbly single that seemed to be everywhere after it appeared on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, but the deeper cuts are just as rewarding. "Been It" struts with a cool, confident groove, and "Your New Cuckoo" opens the record on a wry, bittersweet note about love gone sideways.

Then there's their delightfully deadpan take on Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," slowed into a dreamy shuffle that is both funny and genuinely lovely. The arrangements stay light and playful throughout, full of vintage flair, while Peter Svensson's guitar and Magnus Sveningsson's bass keep the hooks tight.

It's the record that carried the Cardigans around the world, and it still sounds sweet with a sting in its tail. The 180-gram pressing suits an album this carefully crafted.