Lodger is an indie rock band hailing from Finland that started in 2002. They are probably most known for their animated music videos featuring the exploits of their distinguishable stick men characters.

I found out about them through one of these music videos, specifically the one for “Doorsteps”, featuring a hapless stick man going through the motions of living in mediocrity and having nothing to show for his efforts (according to my interpretation- you watch and decide), and coping with life in general.

They mostly sing about topics often considered taboo, and their lyrics have a generally dark tone, counteracted by their happy melodies and their spiffy guitar riffs.  Even though the band is Finnish, they sing in perfect English, so understanding them will not be a problem.  If you like indie rock with… interesting lyrics and a simple yet enjoyable sound, then you should have a lesson.

My favorite song by them is “I Love Death”; a song I assume is about drudging through an almost mechanical, boring existence. The music video once again features their iconic stick figures, doing all sorts of…questionable activities.

Another one of my favorites is “God Has Rejected the Western World” which pretty much says that the western world has spun into hopelessness due to all the less-than-reputable things that we like to do.  This song features a whole list of verbs essentially denouncing the way that we all live.  In spite of this it’s still a great song, and probably ties with “I Love Death” as a favorite. It was featured in an ad for Sabotaz spray paints.

Perhaps their songs don’t have a deeper meaning and are meant to be taken at face value.  If that’s the case, then I’ve been looking too hard into this.  Even so, I do enjoy their music, regardless of theme or moral, or lack thereof.

Lodger has produced three albums, (four if you count a remastered version of their first one), and seven music videos, the most recent of which (“Go”- which features skeletons instead of stick men), can be seen on their website at lodger.tv. Their music is available through imeem at http://www.imeem.com/artists/lodger/.