Division of Laura Lee

Division of Laura Lee is a band of Swedish musicians/skateboarders originally from Vänersborg, Sweden heavily influenced by post-punk bands, britpop and the DC music scene (Dischord Records). The name comes from Laura Lee, a soul singer, and the phrase "Division Of" which was spotted on a cardboard box at their practice space.

Division of Laura Lee
Per Stålberg, singer and guitarist with Division of Laura Lee, at the Siesta festival in June 2011
Background information
OriginVänersborg, Sweden
GenresPunk rock, indie rock, garage rock, garage punk, alternative rock, post-punk revival
Years active1997 (1997)–present
LabelsEpitaph, Burning Heart
Websitedivisionoflauralee.com
MembersHåkan Johansson
Per Stålberg
Jonas Gustafsson
Viktor Lager
Past membersHenrik Röstberg
David Fransson

Biography

Division of Laura Lee was formed in Vänersborg in the late 1990s with band members Per Stålberg, Jonas Gustafsson, Henrik Röstberg and Håkan Johansson.[1] The name comes from Laura Lee, a soul singer, and the phrase "Division Of" which was spotted on a cardboard box at their practice space.[2]

A debut single was released in December 1997 and the band started touring in December 1998, first in Sweden and then Europe.[1] David Fransson replaced Röstberg in 2000 and the group released a debut album Black City in 2002.[3][4] Gustafsson said of the band in 2002, "We’re working-class kids. [Vänersborg is] a town where you either do drugs or work at the Saab factory, and we were outsiders. You have to believe in something."[5]

Their second album Das Not Compute was released in 2004.[6] They were described in a gig review published in Aftonbladet in 2004 as having emerged as "one of [Sweden's] most intense rock bands” who were best seen live.[7] The following year, in 2005, they were to tour the United States but this was cancelled at three days notice owing to financial problems at the record company, Burning Heart.[8] They performed at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas in March 2006.[8]

Two further albums followed: Violence Is Timeless, released in 2008, reached no. 34 in the Swedish charts, and Tree, released in 2013, reached no. 41.[9] Viktor Lager joined the band for the Tree album and Fransson left in 2017.[4] The band marked 20 years since their formation with an anniversary gig in December 2017; Stålberg ascribed the band’s longevity to staying true to themselves and creating something unique and real, and asserted that they would continue to play together for as long as it was fun.[1] The album Apartment was released in 2020.[10]

Discography

Albums
Year Album Record label Peak positions
SWE
[9]
1999 At the Royal Club[11] Arabesque  –
2002 Black City[3] Burning Heart / Epitaph  –
2003 97-99[12][13] Lovitt Records  –
2004 Das Not Compute[6][14] Burning Heart / Epitaph  –
2008 Violence Is Timeless[15] I Made This 34
2013 Tree[16] Oh Really!? 41
2020 Apartment[10] Welfare Sounds

References
  1. Andersson, Jan (1 December 2017). "Två decennier med Division of Laura Lee" [Two decades with the Division of Laura Lee]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  2. "What's in a name". Division of Laura Lee. Archived from the original on 22 April 2004. At first, the name seems arbitrary, but that's how fate works: in twists. Laura Lee is a soul singer. A day in Sweden around September 1997, a cardboard box was looked at. The ink on the side of the box read, simply, "Division of:" A band was given a name.
  3. Winter, Greg (16 September 2002). "Division of Laura Lee : Black City". CMJ New Music Report. p. 7. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  4. Hammond, Shawn (4 February 2019). "Tuning Up: The Soul of Laura". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. Kuipers, Dean (18 August 2002). "The Swedes Are Coming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  6. Loftus, Johnny. Das Not Compute at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  7. Kling, Mattias (31 May 2004). "Gediget hårt mangel". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  8. Andersson, Jan (19 September 2009). "Division of Laura Lee är tillbaka" [Division of Laura Lee is back]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  9. "Division of Laura Lee discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  10. Hammond, Shawn (20 August 2020). "Maybe I'd Seen Too Much of The Walking Dead". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  11. At the Royal Club at Discogs. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  12. Miller, Louis (23 June 2003). "Division of Laura Lee | 97-99". CMJ New Music Report. p. 6. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  13. Daniels, Craig (1 September 2003). "Division of Laura Lee | 97-99". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  14. Steenberg, Andrew (1 May 2004). "Division of Laura Lee | Das Not Compute". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  15. Carman, Keith (6 August 2009). "Division of Laura Lee | Violence Is Timeless". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  16. Andersson, Jan (3 April 2013). "Division of Laura Lee | Tree". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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