Gran Turismo by The Cardigans

Gran Turismo, the fourth album from Sweden's Cardigans, came out internationally on 19 October 1998, and it's the sound of the band behind the featherlight "Lovefool" deciding to turn the lights down. Producer Tore Johansson cut it at Tambourine Studios but traded that room's usual warm, loose feel for something cold and exact, with no natural reverb and nothing left on tape by accident.

Nina Persson's voice floats icy and detached over darker, moodier songs and a thicker layer of electronics, while Peter Svensson, Magnus Sveningsson, Bengt Lagerberg and Lars-Olof Johansson play with tight, clipped precision. "My Favourite Game" and "Erase/Rewind" were the singles, and the gamble paid off: the album sold more than three million copies and picked up seven Grammis nominations back home.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.