Nikola Sarcevic

As the frontman for Sweden’s beloved punks Millencolin, Nikola Sarcevic has guided that band through lauded discs like Pennybridge Pioneers and Battery Check, while amassing worldwide sales in excess of 1.5 million over the past decade. But with the advent of Lock-Sport-Krock, his debut solo album for Burning Heart/Epitaph, Nikola reveals an evocative, introspective side of himself that’s an alluring, visceral departure from his primary group.

Lock-Sport-Krock shifts from stark, devotional moments to countrified nuggets while retaining a cohesion missing from most singer/songwriter efforts. From the tender strums of “Lovetrap” – which sets the pace for a disc that focuses on themes of intimacy, adoration and heartbreak – Sarcevic emotively chronicles a bad break-up with to the help of a lilting piano and an inspirational harmonica. Be it that number, the first single and video from the record, or the somber vibe of “Viola,” a glistening, xylophone-touched look at a relationship’s uncertain path, Lock-Sport-Krock asserts there’s been more up Sarcevic’s sleeve all along than his 100 proof punk anthems have made evident.

Yet the presence of Lock-Sport-Krock is in no way a signal that Millencolin’s days are numbered. The band is in fact alive and well, fleshing out its next studio disc (expected in 2005) in between ongoing European festival dates. But in the meantime, through these thirteen tracks, Sarcevic – who has always written personal lyrics – gives fans a glimpse at his song craft sans fancy arrangements and, as he puts it, “extra decorations.”

For the stripped down affair, which was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion by Mieszko Talarczyk, Nikola is aided and abetted by high-profile colleagues like Bombshell Rocks’ Tomas Falk, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ Fredrik Sandsten and the Peepshows’ Henke Wind. Sarcevic and Wind also served as co-producers for Lock-Sport-Krock.

Bringing forth magical material like the lovelorn “Nobody,” replete with a slide guitar shuffle or the Hollies-like, piano-plucked title cut, Sarcevic shows remarkable courage as he leaves his emotional baggage on display. The latter – which is as close as Nikola and famous collaborators come to a flat-out rocker in the classic sense of the term – finds the vocalist briefly stepping away from his hurt heart to mine warm memories of the fantasy soccer-team he and his older brothers “played for” in their youth.

Carefree numbers like “Mirror Man” and “Glue Girl” are nearly as exuberant, but its the desperately emotional ballad “You Make My World” that proves how hooks can come to life in the strangest of places. When Sarcevic proclaims, “I am a loser/I am so lost without you” he turns a self-deprecating chorus into the irresistible, shout-along confessional of the year.

Late album keepers like the lilting “Go Around” and the whiskey-doused country creeper “New Fool” also support the notion that Lock-Sport-Krock is no mere side excursion. It’s the sound of one of today’s finest songwriters branching out. Nikola Sarcevic has done what so few manage to do well – carve his pain and life experiences into extraordinarily beautiful songs. This is a bold, bare pop record that music lovers inside and out of punk’s circle can clutch onto with pride. Your ears will thank you.

Scandinavian vocalist Nikola Sarcevic is best known for his work as the lead singer of Millencolin, a Swedish punk/alternative rock band that commanded a loyal following in Europe and the United States in the '90s and 2000s. Sarcevic's many years with Millencolin have earned the Swede a reputation for being a loud, forceful, brash, and very extroverted type of artist; however, a much more introspective and sensitive side of Sarcevic emerged after he launched a solo career in the early 2000s. As Millencolin's frontman, Sarcevic has been influenced by the amplified, in-your-face aggression of bands ranging from the Clash to NOFX and the Descendants, but as a solo artist, Sarcevic has favored more of a singer/songwriter aesthetic. Concentrating on folk-rock and adult alternative, Sarcevic the solo artist has invited comparisons to John Mayer, Ben Folds Five, Counting Crows, and the Gin Blossoms rather than Cock Sparrer, the Circle Jerks, or Sham 69.

Sarcevic (who has played electric bass with Millencolin and guitar on some of his solo recordings) started to make a name for himself in Nordic rock circles in the late '80s, when he co-founded Millencolin's original three-man lineup with guitarists Erik Ohlsson and Mathias Färm in Örebro, Sweden; Millencolin officially became a quartet when Fredrik Larzon was hired as the band's full-time drummer in 1993. At first, Millencolin was a Swedish-language group, but after a few years, Sarcevic and his colleagues began writing in English. In Sweden, some artists write in Swedish exclusively and concentrate on the Scandinavian market; many others, however, opt to broaden their appeal by performing mostly or entirely in English -- and by making the transition to English lyrics, Millencolin was following the lead of countless Swedish performers who had ranged from satanic death metal, black metal, and grindcore bands to ABBA-obsessed bubblegum Europopsters to Ella Fitzgerald-influenced jazz vocalists. By the time Millencolin's first album, Life on a Plate, was released in Sweden on Burning Heart Records in 1995, they had acquired an enthusiastic following in the Nordic countries -- and after they signed with the Los Angeles-based Epitaph label, the Swedes became increasingly popular in the United States. By the spring of 2001, Epitaph had distributed five Millencolin albums in North America.

Around 2003, Sarcevic made a decision: he would launch a solo career on the side while continuing to serve as Millencolin's lead singer/frontman -- a game plan that Epitaph was obviously comfortable with. The world-weary Lock-Sport-Krock, Sarcevic's first solo effort, was released on Burning Heart/Epitaph in July 2004 -- and much to the surprise of his longtime fans, the album was a total departure from anything he had done with Millencolin. No one expected Sarcevic, of all people, to branch out into folk-rock and adult alternative territory and come up with such an introspective, reflective CD. Nonetheless, Sarcevic continued to perform live with Millencolin, and a sixth album with that band, Kingwood, was released on Burning Heart/Epitaph in April 2005. His sophomore solo effort, Roll Roll and Flee, was issued the following year in Europe via Burning Heart; a North American release was delayed when Epitaph chose not to pick the record up. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide