Album of the Day

There can't have been many people looking to Iceland for music's “next big thing” before the arrival of The Sugarcubes' debut, LIFE'S TOO GOOD, in 1988. While most members were veterans of the country's post-punk scene, the band was kind of a lark until the collection became a surprise success; the album made year-end best-of lists across Europe and America and lead single “Birthday” topped BBC DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty. Additional singles “Coldsweat” and “Deus” also paired playful lyrics to the appealingly odd vocals of Einar Örn Benediktsson and future solo star Björk Guðmundsdóttir (an approach not unlike the B-52s in their prime). LIFE'S TOO GOOD is gleeful proof that exciting alternative rock knows no international boundaries, and we’ll give it another spin now to wish Benediktsson a happy birthday.