Growing up while punk and eventually grunge were king, four young Swedish girls decided to form a band in an effort to combat boredom and express themselves in similar fashion to The Clash and The Ramones. Sisters Jennie and Johanna Asplund joined up with friends Maria Andersson and Josephine Forsman to form Sahara Hotnights in 1996. They harnessed their punk-driven sound and released a four-track EP, Suits Anyone Fine, the following year. The disc was well received by European critics and set the wheels in motion for the band to take off. The female foursome would land a deal with Speech and cut several popular singles before releasing their debut full-length, C'Mon Let's Pretend, in 1999.The album was brimming with the quartet's rebellious nature and a raw quality that landed the girls serious critical acclaim, including two Swedish Grammy nominations. Andersson's raging vocals and the aggressive guitar work are two things that stand out immediately on the record. The album showed the group as simply unwilling to cater to the mainstream's idea of rock & roll, a band that pursued their own form of expression as opposed to one that would sell more units.After a switch to BMG, Sahara Hotnights cut another EP, Drive Dead Slow, to wet fans' appetites while working on their follow-up release. Jennie Bomb appeared in 2001 and show significant growth within the band. It became apparent that this was not just a group of rebellious young women, but four students of the likes of Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde. The record made its way to the U.S. in 2002, just in time to capitalize on the wave of the likes of the White Stripes and The Vines. Kiss & Tell followed in 2004 and 2007 brought What If Leaving Is a Loving Thing.
