This brilliant synth-pop band hailed from Sweden. They released one fantastic album in 1989, that hit the States the next year, then disappeared until 1994 when they re-surfaced–though just barely–with a Swedish-language album, that didn’t make much of an impact outside of their homeland.
Their debut, the nearly-eponymous W.O.W., was beautiful, but sadly never got the attention it deserved. Recorded primarily in the synth-pop style, it also had hints of Europop and new wave. In short, it was too alternative to be mainstream pop or CCM, and too poppy to appeal to fans of alternative rock. While mainstream artists like INXS, A-Ha, Depeche Mode, and Tears for Fears were killing the mainstream charts with the style, it just hadn’t caught on enough in CCM.
It’s a perennial favorite of mine, and I still pull it out and listen multiple times yearly, despite the album being more than 30 years old (wow, did I just type that?). While the whole album is incredibly solid, check out “Time,” a pop gem about spending time with the Lord in prayer.
Collectors’ note: there were two versions of the album. The original 1989 issue was released in Europe on CD and vinyl, and worldwide through Alarma World Music (a division of Frontline) with different artwork in 1990.
The second album was actually very local and didn’t make a bigger impact in the rest of Sweden either apart from the title song “Så länge jag lever”, that also was recorded by a much more wellknown artist here in Sweden named Carola. This song is also used pretty widely in churches in Sweden, or at least it was. The style on this second album was also completely different from the first as it is more of a pop/worship-album.