Abstract Crimewave, the duo of Peter Bjorn and John’s Björn Yttling and Caesars/Teddybears’ Joakim Åhlund who used to perform as Smile (thanks, Thom and Jonny), have teamed up with fellow Swede Lykke Li for a new single called “The Gambler.” The track will be featured on the duo’s forthcoming album The Longest Night, which is out October 3 and which also features Dungen (Swedish) and The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde (not Swedish, though she did call her first solo album—produced by Yttling and Åhlund—Stockholm).
The new synth-pop track is highlighted by shuffling disco-inspired drums and guitar chords that echo beneath Lykke’s mesmerizing voice. “I came up with this moody but pretty riff that kind of played itself with a weird sound I got from my led ’80s Casiotone synth plugged into an old tube amp,” Yttling said regarding the track. “Jocke liked it and added some tape echo guitar. That was all we had for a while, but then I was in LA and played it for Lykke and she came up with that great vocal melody and some of her trademark beautifully sad lyrics, and so she and I finished it together.”
Check out the video for the track below, and pre-order The Longest Night here.
