Maybe it was just a warmup gig for the Sounds.

A week before launching a new tour opening for No Doubt and a month before releasing their new album, the Swedish quintet returned to the Varsity Friday night for a quick 70-minute set. It took singer Maja Ivarsson a few songs to get her voice in shape. But her we-love-the-80s band was in fine form, especially the cheese-loving, new-wave-styled keyboardist Jesper Anderberg with his hair flopping in his face like an ’80s New Romantic..

Maja, who looks like a young Debbie Harry, finally clicked on the passionate, urgent “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake,” the Sounds’ new single. And nothing was better than “Hope You’re Happy Now,” as her snarl and unstoppable attitude perfectly complemented the band’s propulsive dance beat. The Sounds had the full house dancing.

Maja promised that the Sounds would be back in the fall. They are not appearing at Xcel with No Doubt on July 5.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Concerts, Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.