Stronger Than Jesus

Nina Persson, a founding member and lead vocalist of rock band the Cardigans, formed a solo project under the name A Camp with Niclas Frisk in 1998. In September 2001, the project released its minimalist and acoustic debut album A Camp, which spawned the commercially successful single "I Can Buy You" (2001). The album topped the Swedish albums chart and received a gold certification in Sweden. In the years that followed, Persson released two studio albums with the Cardigans, Long Gone Before Daylight (2003) and Super Extra Gravity (2005), before revisiting the A Camp project in 2007. By then Persson's husband Nathan Larson had become part of the project That year, the three started working on a second studio effort under the name A Camp, to be titled Colonia (2009), when their schedules allowed for the project to be completed. Persson elaborated that the intention was to avoid replicating the first record and instead explore new musical territories. Once he deemed the chord progression and melody finished, Frisk handed over the song to Persson and Larson to compose lyrics. Persson initially came up with the lyric "I don't wanna live longer than Jesus", but it was ultimately discarded as she found it nonsensical. The band then settled on the hook "Don't you know love is stronger than Jesus?" The initial vocals for the track were recorded at Stratosphere Sound in New York City, with Geoff Sannoff as the recording engineer. The band is credited as producer of the track, and Larson also served as engineer. Frisk, Larson, and Persson all provided backing vocals. Although it was one of the first songs recorded, all three A Camp members felt "Stronger Than Jesus" was not quite finished at that point. Larson explained their uncertainties about the lyrics and stressed vocals, as well as feeling that the song was too slow. During the mixing process with Al Weatherhead at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut, Larson recorded Persson's final vocals for the song using his own laptop and equipment. According to Larson, Persson recorded half of the vocals used in the finished song during mixing. In total, Persson recorded four takes. It was only after the completion of the final vocals and horn sections that the band became confident that the song could be a potential single. The horns were recorded at the Magic Shop in New York City. The final product was mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering, also in New York City. No record label was involved during production of Colonia and all expenses were paid by Persson herself. ==Composition and lyrics==

"Stronger Than Jesus" is a three-minute and four-second pop song with elements of Americana, folk, and gospel. The song revolves around a melancholic guitar accompaniment; while Kenneth Partridge of the Hartford Courant likened its songwriting to works by Aimee Mann. PopMatters critic Thomas Britt wrote that the song "borrows liberally" from Mann's "How Am I Different" (2000). The lyrics of "Stronger Than Jesus" use historical colonialism as a metaphor for love and submission. According to the Los Angeles Times writer August Brown, the song draws parallels to colonialism by delving into power dynamics reminiscent of adventuring nations within the context of love. A direct reference to colonialism is present in the line "We're the Belgians burning in the Congo sun", while the chorus thematically indicates heartbreak. Speaking of the song's subject matter, Persson stated, "When it comes to lust, you have the same drive as a colonizer. And on the other end, you let people do all kinds of things to hurt you." Larson added, "Human beings have two drives, the libido and a death wish. Both are present in how America treated Iraq and Afghanistan. It's insane, but the concept is very much with us." She expressed her respect for religion while also admitting to enjoying lightheartedly teasing or joking about it. The Line of Best Fit Andy Johnson asserted that the lyrics deconstruct the concept of love through a "filter of a disaffection and disappointment", and Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine characterized it as an "anti-love anthem". Shannon Zimmerman, reviewing for Spin, wrote that it portrays "love as a murder weapon", referring to the lyric "You know that love can do you like a shotgun". ==Release==

"Stronger Than Jesus", the lead single of Colonia, was first released on 17 November 2008 in Scandinavia via digital download. "Stronger Than Jesus" was selected as Colonia first single because the band considered it the ideal introduction to the album. Persson also felt that the song bore a musical resemblance to A Camp's first album. The song additionally appears on the 2008 compilation album Absolute Music 59, released by EVA Records as part of the Absolute album series. In December 2008, "Stronger Than Jesus" was made available outside of Scandinavia through streaming on record label Reveal's website. The label then released the single for purchase on digital retailers across continental Europe and the United Kingdom on 19 January 2009. In February 2009, an acoustic live recording of "Stronger Than Jesus" was offered for free download to those who signed up for the band's mailing list. The track was recorded in Persson and Larson's home in Harlem, New York City. ==Reception==

"Stronger Than Jesus" divided music critics. At the time of its release, Olov Hjärtström Baudin from Västerbottens Folkblad selected it as one of the top songs released that week. Some reviewers, including Karin Fredriksson of Helsingborgs Dagblad and Torbjörn Carlsson of Piteå-Tidningen, named it one of the best tracks on Colonia, while AllMusic writer John Bush selected the song as a Track Pick. Similarly, Contactmusic.com's Andy Peterson viewed it as a standout on the album, describing it as a moment of "startling quality", and Göteborgs-Posten critic Jan Andersson chose it as their favourite track on the record and deemed it as strong as "I Can Buy You". Don Leibold, writing for The A.V. Club, also praised the song, calling it a "near-perfect life lesson". In their review of Colonia, BBC Music's Jaime Gill compared the single favourably to album tracks "The Crowning" and "Bear on the Beach," expressing that "Stronger Than Jesus" is equally impressive in quality. Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music, who referred to the song as an "obvious single", described it as a "beautifully cynical take on the power of love, complete with twisted metaphors and swelling gospel for the chorus." festival, where "Stronger Than Jesus" was performed Some reviewers expressed various concerns with the song. In a critical assessment, Britt, writing for PopMatters, opined that many tracks on Colonia are "overly adorned", commenting that "Stronger Than Jesus" includes an "unnecessarily insistent vocal delivery". Alex Young of Consequence wrote that the album's method of "elegant and rich orchestrations" may not necessarily add excitement to the music, which they felt was evident with "Stronger Than Jesus". Johanna Åberg of Upsala Nya Tidning felt that it was somewhat dull as well in comparison to the rest of the album. Iain Moffat of The Quietus remarked that the music of Colonia does not consistently embody the "awkwardness of ambition" of the lyricism. Arbetarbladet Erik Süss named "Stronger Than Jesus" the best song of 2008, and Karin Hellström of Borlänge Tidning declared it among eight of the best songs of 2009. Commercially, the song is A Camp's highest-charting entry on the Sverigetopplistan singles chart and second entry overall after "I Can Buy You". "Stronger Than Jesus" initially made its debut at number 22 on 27 November 2008 and fell off two weeks later. It re-entered the chart on 9 January 2009 and peaked at number eight on 6 February. In total, "Stronger Than Jesus" spent eleven non-consecutive weeks on the chart. ==Music video==

. Amir Chamdin directed the music video for "Stronger Than Jesus". Chamdin previously collaborated with Persson and Larson on his feature film God Willing (2006), for which Chamdin and Persson starred in the leading roles and Larson composed the music. The video for "Stronger Than Jesus" was released on 3 December 2008 via Universal Sweden's YouTube channel. Visually inspired by the works of Bowie, the video's "classic 70s look" was the result of an "extremely low budget". In the video for "Stronger Than Jesus", A Camp performs the song in a dark room. Persson, wearing a white dress and gloves, is multiplied over the screen in kaleidoscope effects. A staff writer from Pitchfork observed that the video includes "glitzy 1970s TV effects", and The Washington Post Catherine Lewis commented that "Persson moves on a stage like she's giving a recital, surrounded by stage lights and dolled up in a retro-looking costume". Writing for Stereogum, Brandon Stosuy concluded, "[E]ach member gets a moment to multiply kaleidoscopically, but it's [Persson's] appropriately (a) campy hand gestures and belted vocalizations that fill-up the frame. It looks like she's been taking choreography and glove-wearing classes from Becky Stark." ==Live performances==

A Camp premiered "Stronger Than Jesus" live along with three other Colonia tracks during a concert at a Stockholm bar on 18 November 2008. The band presented a televised performance of the song at the Grammis awards ceremony on 7 January 2009, and performed it in a session for Svenska Dagbladet later the same month. The band then performed the song as part of a set on radio programme Morning Becomes Eclectic on 19 June 2009, followed by a rendition on SVT1's Allsång på Skansen on 30 June. The band also included the song in its live set on the inauguration of Pride Park at Stockholm Pride on 29 July 2009. During its tours in Sweden and the United States in the spring and summer of 2009, A Camp included "Stronger Than Jesus" in the set lists. The tour visited venues and festivals such as the Hultsfred Festival and Peave & Love. The song served as the closing number before the encore. Critics gave positive reviews of the band's live performances of the song; Thomas Björling of Sundsvalls Tidning regarded it as one of the concert's highlights, while Johan Persson of Kristianstadsbladet described it as "paradoxically an almost religious experience", singling it out as a standout moment of the show. ==Track listing==

• Digital download • "Stronger Than Jesus"3:04 • Digital download • "Stronger Than Jesus" (Harlem Session)3:18 ==Credits and personnel==

Credits are adapted from the Colonia liner notes and Tidal. ;Studios • Recorded at Stratosphere Sound (New York City), the Magic Shop (New York City), and Firehouse 12 (New Haven) • Mixed at Firehouse 12 (New Haven) • Mastered at Kevorkian Mastering (New York City) ;Personnel • A Campproduction • Niclas Frisksongwriting • Nina Perssonsongwriting • Nathan Larsonsongwriting, engineering • Al Weatherheadmixing • Geoff Sanoffrecording • Fred Kevorkianmastering ==Charts==