For many decades, Scandinavia has given birth to some groundbreaking modern and vintage garage punk, power pop and neo-psychedelic sounds.
From the early to mid '80s, jangly guitar sounds of The Sinners, to the infectious grooves of Union Carbide Productions and the thunderous rock 'n' roll of The Hellacopters, this kingdom has a style and sound uniquely its own.
Among this great Scandinavian tradition is The Dahlmanns, the husband-and-wife duo of Andre and Line Dahlmann, hailing from Oslo, Norway.
The Dahlmanns just completed a new EP, "Dumb Me Down," released on the Audubon, N.J., label Pop Detective Records. The band networked with Francis McDonald, drummer of the acclaimed powerpop act Teenage Fanclub, who wrote the title track.
Andre Dahlmann said that he and his wife have been longtime fans of Teenage Fanclub.
''We teamed up with Francis McDonald through our mutual friend, Lindsay Hutton of the legendary music blog and fanzine, The Next Big Thing,'' he said. ''I guess we all thought it would be a great idea to combine McDonald's pop finesse with the Dahlmanns sound, so he wrote 'Dumb Me Down' for us.''
Fact Box
When You?Go
WHO:?The Dahlmanns, The Jellybricks, Deadbeat Poets and Sexy Heroes
WHEN:?10 p.m. Friday
WHERE:?Cedars Lounge, 23 N. Hazel St., Youngstown
HOW?MUCH: $5
Dahlmann lists The Ramones as the band's No. 1 influence. And like that band, all the members have the same last name - Andre, vocals and guitar; Line, vocals; Otto, drums; Pal, piano and keyboard; Magnus Dalhmann, guitar; and Jan, bass. Other influences include Teenage Fanclub, The Nomads and Fountains of Wayne.
''We do listen to a lot of country rock such as Gram Parsons, and Lucinda Williams,'' he said. "She also takes her inspiration from various '60s girl groups when writing lyrics.''
The EP contains four catchy power-pop gems, and Andre said the title track is his favorite. ''The song worked out great, and if you listen, you will hear McDonald singing the backing vocals."
The second track, "Go Getter," is a classic Dahlmanns tune, which is "straightforward, no-frills rock 'n' roll," said Andre. "There are also demo recordings on the 'Dumb Me Down' EP that were too good to not be released and it seems like it was a smart move.''
Before the Dahlmanns, Andre played in such bands as The Trashcan Darlings, The Twisteroos, The Graves, The Yum Yums and Teenage Bratz. He also toured with R&B singer Andre Williams and made an EP with Marky Ramone and The Speed Kings, ''Rawk Over Scandinavia''
The Dalhmanns originally began as a fun project for Andre and his wife. "I more or less forced my wife into the recording studio where I had four songs ready to record. Line had never been in a band before, but I had obviously heard her singing in the shower, so I knew she could sing. She has the most perfect pop voice I know. I knew there and then that this was the beginning of something big.''
The group's 2010 EP received airplay on radio stations worldwide and on Sirius XM Radio. It also caught the attention of Steven Van Zandt, host of the nationally syndicated Little Steven's Underground Garage, which airs locally at 10 p.m. Sundays on WNCD-FM (93.3 FM)
''Our song, 'Holiday Road' was voted 'The Coolest Song of The Year,' on Little Steven's Underground Garage in 2010,'' he said. ''The Dahlmanns song, 'I Want You Around' was voted to be NASCAR's theme song in late 2010. These events made us want to go all the way and focus on getting a band together.''
''Line, our producer, Chris Frehley, and I had very specific ideas for the kind of sound we wanted for our first full-length album. We wanted to make sure that our references and influences would be easily detected. We wanted a modern sound and to make it 'radio friendly,' like an ABBA song played very loud to a packed crowd at CBGB's.''
Mark W. Hershberger, president of Pop Detective Records, agrees that the Dahlmanns embody a good musical energy.
''The Dahlmanns are a very exciting and engaging live act,'' Hershberger said. ''You have five musicians who are experienced, but you also have a super-talented Norwegian woman fronting the band. For me, the Dahlmanns just did better with every release and there are even better things coming down the road for the Dahlmanns. Once you hear the Dahlmanns, you are hooked.''