Speaker Bite Me

Danish experimental pop outfit Speaker Bite Me were active in their country's alternative/indie rock scene through the late '90s and early 2000s, releasing a series of well-received albums in both Danish and English on several different labels and earning the tag "the Danish Sonic Youth." They took an extensive hiatus after their fourth full-length, 2001's 4 Days in September, during which time several members busied themselves with solo projects: Signe Høirup Wille-Jørgenson, an artist, curator, and political columnist as well as a musician, but best known to English audiences as a vocalist with Luke Sutherland's Bows, released several albums as Jomi Massage, while singer, guitarist, and pianist Martin Ryum released Uden Garanti under his own name in 2004. Speaker Bite Me returned to national attention with 2007's acclaimed Action Painting, an amalgam of off-kilter pop, dance, and avant-garde rock incorporating lyrical hooks snatched from Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, and Prince (a disparate yet telling collection of touchstones) — as well as a highly unorthodox rendition of Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." A host of artists including Junior Senior and Oh No Ono contributed to an MP3-only mini-album of Action Painting remixes later that year. ~ K. Ross Hoffman, Rovi