First Band on the Moon (1996)

First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by Swedish rock band the Cardigans. It features the international single "Lovefool". It was first released on 6 September 1996.

The album marked a major breakthrough for the band, both in Sweden and internationally. It is their best-selling album in the United States, with approximately 664,000 copies sold there as of September 2010.

Critical reception

AllMusic critic John Bush viewed First Band on the Moon as a return to the "mood and feel" of the Cardigans' 1994 debut album Emmerdale, with a new lyrical focus on "unfaithful lovers" and, in the case of "Lovefool", "unrequited affection". He noted that while its stylistic shift from its 1995 predecessor Life may confuse listeners, the album is buoyed by Nina Persson's vocals and Peter Svensson's arrangements, "the Cardigans' core strengths".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of First Band On The Moon.

Singles

"Lovefool" (9 September 1996, #21 UK)

"Been It" (25 November 1996, #56 UK)

"Lovefool" (re-release 24 February 1997, #2 UK)

"Your New Cuckoo" (25 August 1997, #35 UK)

Release dates refer to UK single releases. In Europe and Japan, "Your New Cuckoo" was released much earlier than in the UK, where the release was delayed due to the continued success of "Lovefool" and also to commission new remixes for the single release.

"Been It" and "Your New Cuckoo" were both slightly shortened for single release; the former also had the word "whore" obscured by a guitar lick to make it more palatable for radio play.