Glam's Not Dead!: The Ark sails into Prague

Euro Connections 2006: The Ark (SWE) & Sunflower Caravan (CZE) @ Palác Akropolis 9.4.2006

With their third album, State Of The Ark, one of Sweden's most eccentric rock bands takes a surprising step in a new direction. The result is an album jam-packed with the kind of irresistible riffs, melody hooks and energetic grooves most band only dream of – in short, it's the difficult third album made easy.

With hit singles like it “Takes A Fool To Remain Sane”, “Let Your Body Decide”, “Calleth You Cometh I”, and “Father Of A Son”, The Ark's operatic glam rock sound has created a huge fan base since they broke out in the autumn of 2000. Fronted by flamboyant lead singer Ola Salo, The Ark burst on the scene in the aftermath of the “brit pop/shoe gazing” pop era. They arrived in a firework of flashy own-designed outfits, declaring open war to every written of unwritten law in the current Book of Rock. “We were sick and tired of the everything that was supposed to be hip, cool and ironic. It just felt like a big mask people were hiding behind. And we never bought into that authenticity bullshit either – that you somehow were more credible if you were going on stage in an anorak, looking completely emotionless. And that's why we built The Ark as this big un-cool, un-hip thing, because for us it was always about expressing something bigger – we were looking for something larger than life.” Ola Salo says.

The Ark floats into Prague just as the floods are receding but unfortunately Prague will not be their Mt Sinai so catch the glam while you can this Sunday at Palác Akropolis. Sunflower Caravan, an organ grinding rock band that mixes Ray Manzarek with early REM nuances, will open this eclectic night.