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The Cardigans
Biography
One of the most pleasing pop groups of the '90s, the Cardigans specialize in sugary confections that would grow annoying very quickly if they weren't backed by great musicianship and clever arrangements. The band's 1995 breakout album, Life, reflected the Cardigans at their most saccharine -- the sunny disposition of vocalist Nina Persson being the major argument in favor -- and critics inserted the group into the space age pop revivalist camp. The Cardigans later proved that they were more difficult to pigeonhole, however.

Even the band's origins show that their later appearance was quite misleading; two heavy metal fanatics formed the group in October 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden. Guitarist Peter Svensson met bassist Magnus Sveningsson in a hardcore group, though he had previously trained in music theory and jazz arranging. The two later grew tired of metal and decided to form a pop band with Nina Persson -- an art-school friend who had never sung professionally -- plus keyboard player Lars-Olof Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.

All five Cardigans moved into a small apartment in 1993 and began recording a demo tape that entered the hands of producer Tore Johansson later that year.