Things We Do for Love (The Sounds album)

Things We Do for Love
Things We Do for Love
Studio album by The Sounds
Released	12 June 2020
Genre	New wave, post-punk revival, indie rock, alternative, pop
Length	42:10
Label	Arnioki Records
The Sounds chronology

Things We Do for Love is the sixth studio album by the Swedish new wave band The Sounds and was released in 2020 by Arnioki Records.

Background

With most of the band members having started families since the release of the previous studio album Weekend in 2013, The Sounds went into a hiatus of seven years. In 2017, they released an EP, The Tales That We Tell, but were focused more on personal matters than on songwriting. Guitarist and keyboardist, Jesper Anderberg took a three-years break to study computer engineering. After the release of the EP, the band continued writing new tracks "and some of the songs that didn’t fit on the EP were saved for this album that we knew eventually was going to come out," said Anderberg.^[1]^[3] He also revealed that the track "Dreaming of You" was inspired by Arcade Fire. Unlike the previous The Sounds albums that had a set timeframe for writing, the creation of Things We Do for Love was stretched out over the years. Originally scheduled to be released with a tour in early 2020, the release of Things We Do for Love had to be postponed due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Borås Tidning	^[4]
Göteborgs-Posten	^[2]
Kulttuuri-Toimitus	^[5]

The album received mostly favourable international reviews. Göteborgs-Posten wrote that the song "Dreaming of You" was "the perfect mix of ABBA, Roxette and Ace of Base" whereas the title track "Things We Do For Love" was new wave that was highly reminiscent of Blondie. The reviewer criticised though that while singer Maja Ivarsson was "cool as ever" on this release, the rest of the band remained somewhat "anonymous".^[2] According to AllMusic, this album was The Sounds' best album since the 2011 release Something to Die For, signalling that "growth is possible nearly two decades into a career". The review cited influences of Ultravox and the Beach Boys as well as Depeche Mode.^[1] The Finnish Kulttuuri-Toimitus found that while Things We Do For Love could not match the bands debut album Living in America and could not live up to the standards of its opening track, it was still versatile in its "electronic darkness". The track "Bonnie and Clyde" was noted to stand out for being calm and not as swirling as the rest of the songs on the album.^[5] The reviewer for Borås Tidning was more reluctant. He called the album a "subtle comeback" and concluded that "Things We Do for Love never reaches the majestic heights that the British inspirers did".^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Things We Do For Love"	4:16
2.	"Safe And Sound"	3:32
3.	"Changes"	3:51
4.	"Bonnie And Clyde"	3:48
5.	"Hollow"	4:40
6.	"Fingertips"	3:20
7.	"Dreaming Of You"	3:47
8.	"Dim The Lights"	3:11
9.	"Stay Free"	2:05
10.	"Home"	3:23
11.	"Miami"	6:13
Total length:		42:10

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Yeung, Neil Z. "Things We Do for Love Review by Neil Z. Yeung". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Andersson, Jan (11 June 2020). "Recension: The Sounds - ′Things we do for love′". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b Benitez-Eves, Tina (2020). "The Sounds Return with 'Things We Do For Love,' After Seven-Year Hiatus". American Songwriter. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b Söderlund, Fredrik (10 June 2020). "En tanig comeback från The Sounds [A subtle comeback by The Sounds]". Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b Valpasvuo, Ilkka (11 June 2020). "Dynamiittia ja kodin kaihoa samassa paketissa – The Sounds palaa Things We Do For Love-albumilla [Dynamite and home sickness in one package – The Sounds return with their album Things We Do For Love]". Kulttuuri-Toimitus (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 September 2022.

[allmusic-1] Yeung, Neil Z. "Things We Do for Love Review by Neil Z. Yeung". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2022.

[GP-2] Andersson, Jan (11 June 2020). "Recension: The Sounds - ′Things we do for love′". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 September 2022.

[AmSongwriter-3] Benitez-Eves, Tina (2020). "The Sounds Return with 'Things We Do For Love,' After Seven-Year Hiatus". American Songwriter. Retrieved 17 September 2022.

[BT-4] Söderlund, Fredrik (10 June 2020). "En tanig comeback från The Sounds [A subtle comeback by The Sounds]". Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 September 2022.

[KT-5] Valpasvuo, Ilkka (11 June 2020). "Dynamiittia ja kodin kaihoa samassa paketissa – The Sounds palaa Things We Do For Love-albumilla [Dynamite and home sickness in one package – The Sounds return with their album Things We Do For Love]". Kulttuuri-Toimitus (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 September 2022.

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