Pitchfork

Rare indeed is the band that will submit happily to media pigeonholing, but the Tough Alliance seem even more defiant about that unpleasant inevitability than most. Directed by longtime collaborator Marcus Söderlund (also of Jens Lekman fame), the video for newest A New Chance single "Neo Violence" is the latest act of neon-lit insurrection from the Swedish duo who spurn MySpace, play "live" shows aimed at breaking free of the traditionally passive live-show format, and make shimmering, club-ready electronic pop that hits the brain's instant-pleasure centers as effortlessly as sugar or MDMA. This time TTA's Eric Berglund and Henning Fürst find themselves inside the biblical Tower of Babel, straight out of a Renaissance-era painting by Flemish artists Joos de Momper and Frans Francken the Younger. Dressed all in white-- one in shorts and a hoodie, the other more formal in a buttoned shirt and long pants-- the two stand in statuesque classical poses, framed in some shots by Greek-style columns, in others by flashing lights suited to some futuristic dance floor. The not-quite lip-syncing looks more like prayers, confessions, or baseball all-time steals leader Rickey Henderson talking to himself in the batter's circle than your usual music-video miming.

The song, however, remains the same: "No need for a baseball bat," TTA sing, celebrating their new violence even as a bat remains in hand. The final image is that of the smiley face from the single's cover art-- ready to be stamped on a pill, emblazoned on a T-shirt, or committed to memory like a favorite melody. One question: If they're in the Tower of Babel, who do you suppose is trying to divide the earth and pull them down?

[from A New Chance and the "Neo Violence" single; both out now on Sincerely Yours in Sweden; A New Chance is due 07/26/08 in Australia, 07/28/08 in the UK, and 09/07/08 in the U.S. from Modular]