The Stockholm-based pop collective
the Concretes were formed in 1995 by vocalist
Victoria Bergsman, guitarist
Maria Eriksson, and drummer
Lisa Milberg; over the course of three years, they added guitarist Markus, bassist Martin Hansson, organist
Per Nystrom, trumpeter
Ulrik Karlsson, and vocalist/harmonica player
Malte.
Malte and
Nystrom were playing in other bands in the Stockholm scene;
Eriksson and
Bergsman were art school students; and
Milberg worked at one of the city's graphic design firms.
The Concretes released their first EP (helpfully named EP #1) in 1998 and followed it, logically, with EP #2 (aka The Lipstick Edition) the following year. In 2000,
the Concretes combined these EPs into their full-length debut, Boy, You Better Run Now, in mid-2000 on Up Records. However, shortly after the album's release, Up founder
Chris Takino died of leukemia, and
the Concretes found themselves without a label.
The Nationalgeographic EP arrived in 2001, but due to difficulties with the Above Ground label, it was nearly impossible to find. Along the way,
the Concretes also added guitarist
Daniel Varjo and horn player
Ludvig Rylander to their fold. They formed their own Licking Fingers imprint, on which they released the Forces single in 2002. Two more singles, You Can't Hurry Love and
Warm Night, arrived in 2003 and heralded the release of the band's proper debut,
The Concretes. Astralwerks released
The Concretes in the U.S. in 2004. A year later, the B-sides and rarities comp
Layourbattleaxedown -- which gathered most of the band's output between Boy, You Better Run Now and
The Concretes -- arrived.
The band delivered more low-key, sparkling indie pop with 2006's In Colour. The following year,
Bergsman left the group to focus on her folky solo project
Taken by Trees, but the rest of the band regrouped quickly, with
Millberg taking over vocal duties on 2007's
Hey Trouble. However, 2010's dance-influenced
WYWH was the first
Concretes album featuring
Millberg on vocals released in the United States. ~ Heather Phares