“It’s lush, ruminative, bittersweet pop music, perhaps the best kind.” – PopMatters
Stream: “Summer In The City (Living Is For Somebody Else)” via SPIN or Soundcloud
In 2015 The Legends released the album
It’s Love after a 6-year hiatus.
The band has returned this month with two new singles, “Roses” and “Summer In The City (Living Is For Somebody Else).” Brooklyn Vegan has premiered “Roses,” which is a cover of The Chainsmokers’ Top 10 hit. The Legends, Johan Angergård told Brooklyn Vegan, “This is the first cover I’ve ever recorded. I really like the track, but I wanted to hear what would come out of it if it was presented in a completely different setting. I read in an interview with Chainsmokers that they wanted to make it super authentic. My take is the complete opposite. I love the combination of something that sounds fragile and naked and artificial at the same time. That’s where I took ‘Roses.’”
Earlier this month,
SPIN premiered the melancholic disco explosion “Summer In The City (Living Is For Somebody Else).” Angergård says, “My releases are imprints of the particular time in my life when they were recorded. Angergård adds, “If I ever want to find out what my life felt like during a certain year, I’ll just listen to the songs I put out at that time.”Those who have followed The Legends in the past will not be surprised that the one-man band has moved on sound-wise since last year. New life calls for new sounds.
The Legends from Stockholm have enjoyed a somewhat accidental career. Beginning with Up Against The Legends, their debut album in 2003, the project was comically assumed to be a 9-piece band due to early shows consisting of friends on stage, drunk and generally winging it. In actuality, The Legends has only ever been a personal outlet for one man, Johan Angergård.
Following the first LP were two back-to-back full-lengths – Public Radio in 2005, and Facts and Figures in 2006. Both records were well received, providing The Legends a platform to play festivals and tour internationally. The sound of each album was nothing like the one before it. “That’s the result of me needing to say what I want to say and express evolving emotions,” Johan explained. This approach was creatively satisfying, but divisive to fans that expected a more continuous sound across releases. “I didn’t think I’d record any more after Facts and Figures, but after a particularly chaotic stretch in 2008 and some angst, I needed noise and recorded Over and Over. After that release, I felt my other bands Club 8 and Acid House Kings would be all the creative outlets I needed.” In 2015, the Legends returned with It’s Love, which details a chapter in the life of Johan Angergård that saw him wrestle with issues of loss, love and identity.
Fast forward to 2015 The Legends launched his fifth album. It’s Love detailed a chapter in Johan’s life that saw him wrestle with issues of loss, love and identity. With “Summer In The City (Living Is For Somebody Else)” and “Roses” he’s entered a new chapter in life.
