Stockholm, the fourth long-player from Swedish indie pop combo Red Sleeping Beauty, mirrors in form and tone the sleek but winsome synth-driven approach of its predecessor, 2016's Kristina. That album marked a welcome return for a group which had first endeared itself to the international indie pop community in the 1990s with a series of jangly, warm-hearted releases for boutique labels like Motorway, Siesta, and Marshmarigold. After a 15-year disappearance, original members Niklas Angergård, Kristina Borg, and Mikael Matsson reunited as a trio -- without founding bassist Carl Johan Näsström -- and launched their second phase as a largely guitar-less synth pop act. That Red Sleeping Beauty were able to re-form at all is in itself a feat, given Borg's battle with cancer, which coincided with her participation in the album that bears her name in tribute. Having recovered successfully, Stockholm serves to cement her own comeback as well as the band's and feels ultimately more cohesive and collaborative. Echoes of melodic synth pop forebears like Yazoo, O.M.D., and Pet Shop Boys are clearly heard throughout Stockholm's ten cuts with lead vocals split pretty evenly between Borg and Angergård, including some nice boy-girl interplay that harkens back to their classic sound. Combining the cool electro-pulse of latter-day Scandipop with the inherent earnestness of indie pop, the trio come up with a handful of standouts here including opener "We Are Magic" and their own theme song "Red Sleeping Beauty." Overall, it's a solid effort with an amiable tone and some veteran pop craft. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi

1		We Are Magic
2		Always on Your Side
3		Tonight
4		New York City Girls
5		A Perfect Facade
6		Top Love
7		Tell Me Lies
8		Red Sleeping Beauty
9		The Swedish Winter
10		Don't Cry for Me, California

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