The Malmö, Sweden pop collective Pixie Carnation formed in late 2007 when Tobias Hellkvist and Ola Pålsson began collaborating on songs in Tobias' home studio. Over the course of a year, the pair wrote songs and added bassist/vocalist Jacob Lind, percussionist Andreas Sjögestam, cellist Elin Normann Bjarsell, pianist/cellist Lena Ostendorf, and guitarist Ludwig Böss (who has also played with Band of Horses) to the fold. The group's debut EP, Fresh Poems, arrived in May 2009 and showed off the band's anthemic style, which drew comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Arcade Fire. Pixie Carnation's first full-length, The New World Record, was due to be released by Tapete Records in 2011, but just before it hit the stores (and after advance copies were sent out), the band and label reached an impasse. Thanks to this snag, the album was shelved and the band left the label. After a couple years spent remixing and adding new parts to the songs, the newly completed album was finally issued by the band's new label ACP Recordings in mid-2013. By this time Hellkvist and Pålsson had reshuffled the group's lineup, which now included bassist Lars Kjellden, keyboardist Niklas Larsson, and drummer Kristoffer Rudberg. ~ Heather Phares