It's Friday. Let's slow down and ease into the weekend. Here are five of my favorite Swedish softies that I'm guessing few CBers have heard before. (No ABBA or Ace of Base, I promise!)

1. Amanda Mair: Skinnarviksberget
Mair's recent stuff is more pop, but I like her early singer-songwriter sensibilities. She was 17 when this album came out.


2. Acid House Kings: Would You Say Stop
I adore Acid House Kings. They make me smile. They make me want to play table tennis in an IKEA showroom. Johan Angergård splits his time between Acid House Kings and Club 8, which is number 4 on this list.


3. Eskobar: By Your Side
Who knew you could be so mellow when urging a friend to get out of an abusive relationship?


4. Club 8: Jesus Walk With Me
Club 8 started out experimenting with dance sounds, but here's one of their later, more chill songs. It may be a song about death, but it's still nice to see a regular music group sing about faith and not get torched for it. Perhaps Europe isn't entirely godless after all.


5. Sambassadeur: I Can Try
Man, I sure do seem to like Labrador Records. Somebody give the kid in this video a home!


I'm ready for a nap now. If I do this next Friday, I'll have to pick a theme with more edge to it.