  cover art  Kristoffer Ragnstam  Sweet Bills  (Bluhammock; US:
6 Mar 2007; UK: Available as import)  Kristoffer Ragnstam’s a
drummer, so you might be surprised to hear that he’s crafted an
extremely slick and full-sounding pop-rock album. But he’s also
a Swede, and those guys pop out sweet new pop acts like there’s
no tomorrow. Bands like Chester French should probably look up
to Kristoffer Ragnstam—I’ll explain. The first, a young band of
a couple of college kids tinkering around in the studio, has
assembled a fresh-sounding synth pop sensibility and caught the
interest of some high-profile producers. But they’re lacking
that one hit song that could propel the band onto the airwaves
and into the hearts of prepubescent girls across America.
Writing the hit song is the eternal frustration for so many
young bands, and especially so for those who have already worked
out a “voice”, for whom the technology of the studio is a firm
friend, and who can taste their own potential so keenly it must
drive them mad. Of c