Long Gone Before Daylight

Long Gone Before Daylight
Studio album by
The Cardigans
Released19 March 2003
Genre
Length49:16
LabelStockholm
ProducerPer Sunding and The Cardigans (Originally co-produced by Tore Johansson)
The Cardigans chronology
Gran Turismo
(1998) 		Long Gone Before Daylight
(2003) 		Super Extra Gravity
(2005)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Blender[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[7]
The Guardian[8]
Mojo[9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork6.5/10[3]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Uncut[13]

Long Gone Before Daylight is the fifth studio album by Swedish rock band the Cardigans. Released in Japan on 19 March 2003 and in Europe from 24 March by Stockholm Records, it was their first studio album since the release of Gran Turismo in 1998, during which time band members released numerous solo works under assumed aliases: Peter Svensson issued Paus' sole, self-titled album in 1998. This was followed by the release of the self-titled record from Nina Persson's A Camp in 2001, and bassist Magnus Sveningsson's I Sing Because of You (under the Righteous Boy moniker) in 2002.

The album differs from much of the band's earlier work, eschewing the pop and electronic rock sound of previous material in favour of a sparser, alternative rock and country-influenced production. Its lyrical themes are also more mature, with subject matter inspired by domestic abuse, depression, love and fatalism.[12] It received generally positive reviews from music critics upon release, with several reviewers commending it as the band's best album, while praising their compositional work and the change in musical direction.

The band won three awards at the 2003 Grammis—the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards. Long Gone Before Daylight won the "Album of the Year" award while the Cardigans won "Rock Group of the Year". Three singles were released from the album: "For What It's Worth" was released on 17 February 2003. The second single, "You're the Storm", was released on 2 June 2003 and went on to win the award for "Video of the Year" at the Grammis. The third and final single, "Live and Learn", was released on 3 December 2003.

  1. ^ Simpson, Ernest (June 28, 2004). "The Cardigans : Long Gone Before Daylight". treblezine. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Lambeth, Sam (October 7, 2018). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo turns twenty". Louder Than War. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Lett, Dan (15 June 2004). "The Cardigans: Long Gone Before Daylight". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Reviews for Long Gone Before Daylight by The Cardigans". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. ^ Bush, John. "Long Gone Before Daylight – The Cardigans". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  6. ^ Duerden, Nick. "The Cardigans: Long Gone Before Daylight". Blender. Archived from the original on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ^ Fonseca, Nicholas (28 May 2004). "Long Gone Before Daylight". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (21 March 2003). "The Cardigans: Long Gone Before Daylight". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  9. ^ "The Cardigans: Long Gone Before Daylight". Mojo (125): 99. April 2004.
  10. ^ Robinson, Peter (2 April 2003). "Cardigans : Long Gone Before Daylight". NME. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  11. ^ "The Cardigans: Long Gone Before Daylight". Q (201): 103. April 2003.
  12. ^ a b McDonell-Parry, Amelia (24 June 2004). "Long Gone Before Daylight: The Cardigans". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  13. ^ "The Cardigans – Long Gone Before Daylight". Uncut (83): 108. April 2004. Archived from the original on 28 April 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2013.