Sweden’s thriving indie-pop scene has been getting a lot of press for some time now (and for good reason), but bands like Wildbirds & Peacedrums are proof that the country has other amazing sounds to offer. The duo describes itself as “Other/Blues/Pop” on their MySpace page, and they’re not kidding — especially about the “other” part. Singer Mariam Wallentin and her drummer husband Andreas Werliin make music that is purposefully, wonderfully hard to pin down, and a pretty far cry from the delicate indie-folk that their band name suggests.

On “There is No Light” from their upcoming second album Snake, the duo is downright feral, all tribal rhythms and guttural vocals a la Diamanda Galas or PJ Harvey; “I Can’t Tell in His Eyes,” from their debut album Heartcore, is gentle and sparkling — but the power in Wallentin’s voice remains, even if it’s relatively subtle. At its rawest and most striking, Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ music has an almost field recording-like quality to it, especially in their live performances (click here to watch them play their record release party last summer). In addition to Snake, the band is also re-releasing Heartcore via Leaf Records, will soon tour with the also very crush-worthy Lykke Li, and will be 2008’s Jazz in Sweden band.

Raven Sings the Blues has a couple of Wildbirds & Peacebirds MP3s — and is worth your time in general if you like underground and unusual music from the past to the present.