Jazz Hands! A Camp, 'Colonia'

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A CAMP SEEMS like a good idea on paper: a collaboration between the sweet voice of The Cardigans' Nina Persson and the crunchy guitars of Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson, with help from many of their other famous friends.

A Camp includes Swedish guitarist Niclas Frisk alongside married couple Persson and Larson, and the three are joined on their second album, "Colonia" (Nettwerk), by such notables as guitarist James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), guitarist Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), percussionist Kevin March (Guided By Voices), and violinist Joan Wasser (Joan as Policewoman).

Like so many other supergroups, though, the reality falls far short of expectations. "Colonia" has a dramatic Broadway quality to it (perhaps influenced by Larson's frequent film work), and the partnership captures neither the airy pop of The Cardigans nor the edgy rock of Shudder to Think.

Album opener "The Crowning" is one of the album's most egregious; it starts off with a tinkling piano and then grows into something that sounds so much like a showtune you can almost feel the jazz hands reaching up out of your speakers. The bouncing chorus with its optimistic lyrics ("Bells are gonna ring / Birds are gonna sing / Let the people begin") swells to a theatrical climax that feels formulaic and insincere. The cheerful sound is a stark contrast to the song's content (the disparity in classes) — but the incongruity isn't ironic, it's just ineffective.

It's likely no coincidence that in the video for single "Stronger Than Jesus," Persson moves on a stage like she's giving a recital, surrounded by stage lights and dolled up in a retro-looking costume. Her duet with fellow Swede Nicolai Dunger on "Golden Teeth and Silver Medals" feels like the climactic moment in a drama (oddly, the two refer to each other by name in the song's lyrics), while the booming pop of "My America" never budges from a tone so constantly forceful it sounds monotonous and emotionless.

When A Camp turns down the theatrics, there's very little left that's memorable: the brooding "The Weed Had Got There First" closes with Persson's humming over a repetitive instrumental, whose dullness is exacerbated by the afterthought of a hidden track that feels like a film score outtake.

It feels odd to criticize an album for being too emotional, but A Camp presents those emotions in a style that evokes the glitzy drama of a theatrical production. The result certainly feels showy — but has very little substance beneath.

» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Thu., May 28, 7:00 p.m.; 202-393-0930 (U-Street/Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Catherine Lewis
Photo courtesy Nettwerk