1993: Ace of Base - “The Sign”

Basically, Ace of Base had a very obvious mission: to recreate ABBA. Picking a nonsensical name starting with an “A” and having two girls (a blonde and a burnette) and two guys (a pudgy one and a skinny one), the AoB team made their Frankenstein monster as close as possible to the massively successful group of the 70s, probably to reclaim Sweden’s supremacy on the pop charts. However, they didn’t go with the matching jumpsuits or the same sound. Also, the material was another matter entirely.

While ABBA could knock out instantly memorable catchy songs that ranged from dancefloor classics to tearjerkers for the masses, Ace of Base were spotty at best. Their singles “It’s a Beautiful Life” and “Happy Nation” are best left unmentioned. But when they managed to make a good song, it was great one. “The Sign” is a perfect example — the whole thing is a massive hook. The verses are set up with little vocal details that make you pay attention and then there’s the chorus, which doesn’t really explain what “the sign” is, but doesn’t stop you from singing along.

The Ace of Base secret weapon was simple: an electronic calypso beat that is relaxed and groovy at the same time. It’s incredibly effective, totally identifiable in their songs, and helped them make their biggest selling singles. It revitalized the Albert Hammond Sr.-penned “Don’t Turn Around” in such a way that the author himself now plays it with the same beat. And, more recently, it informed two Lady Gaga hits (“Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” and “Alejandro”).

Perhaps AoB put an incredible amount of work into a group that didn’t end up inheriting ABBA’s throne, but they can say something most of their contemporaries can’t: they introduced a sound to pop radio that, to this day, remains unique and completely their own. They became an influence in a world of faceless studio ensembles that plot to take over the world with a simple, annoying sound. In a way, they ended up transcending their time.

DeLorean

There’s a lot of good music out there, and it’s not all being released this year. With DeLorean, we aim to rediscover overlooked artists and genres, to listen to music historically and contextually, to underscore the fluidity of music. While we will cover reissues here, our focus will be on music that’s not being pushed by a PR firm.

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