Everyone remember Sally Shapiro, the icy Swedish disco duo? They had a couple albums that were blogged to death, including one that was released this year. Well, if you read the small print on their records, you’ll see the name Roger Gunnarson as the composer of many songs, including “Anorak Christmas.” Turns out he’s also responsible for a whole bunch of very good pop music during the past decade. Gunnarson’s own group, Nixon, made a few really good electro pop albums in the early 2000’s; he was a member of the noisy indie pop groups Free Loan Investments and The Garland; and best of all, he has his own Shapiro-esque set up with a duo called Cloetta Paris. Roger writes the sweet and gentle Italo disco-inspired tunes, wraps them in cheerfully frigid synth pop arrangements, and a female friend of his (not named Cloetta) sings them in a simple but very effective manner. If you like Sally Shapiro at all, you need to check out Cloetta Paris because, confidentially, they are way better! It’s like Roger snatched back the formula and perfected it while nobody was watching. He’s my indie pop hero!

Here are the links you need to follow:

Cloetta Paris

Nixon (the site includes his own version of “Anorak Christmas”)

Free Loan Investments

The Garlands

Intellivision (This is Roger’s “secret” band.)