8
Far from Tellus' self-titled album is a swirling, cohesive, and, most importantly, damned entertaining effort, combining elements of folk and blues, 70s rock and 80s pop, all on their own terms. Like some strange marriage between The Kinks and fellow Norwegians Superfamily, Far from Tellus ramble through decades of inspiration, tying these echoes together into seamless, layered, and often anthemic compositions. Also, like the aforementioned Kinks, Far from Tellus have a fine relationship with the poignant and the playful, never allowing the latter to overpower or besmirch the former: "Norwegian fairytale mix" blossoms to life with such swagger upon layers of guitar, piano, and banjo, only to transition into a gloriously simple and memorable chorus; "Mogens" opens with a strummed banjo and closes with enough rock organ to make any Zeppelin fan happy, its middle section reminiscent of the clever, driving compositions of Herr Nilsson, yet another Norwegian outfit (I'm sensing a theme here); and seven-minute closer "Bless our souls" builds beautifully to its wonderfully raucous ending, reminding me of Britpop acts like James throughout. "Far from Tellus" is an impressive display of talent and songwriting. I wouldn't be surprised to find it on my Best of 2010 list, even with almost half a year left to go.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Norwegian indiepop act Herr Nilsson will release a new 4-track EP called "Tuesday is my birthday" on April 28 via Karisma Records. Said EP includes three new tracks recorded with Yngve Sætre at Duper Studio plus a remix of "Downhill thrill" as done by Kaptein Kaliber.
8
Any record that starts off asking, "Would you trade a dysfunctional kidney for a broken heart?" has my immediate attention. As far as opening tracks go, Herr Nilsson put an inspiring foot forwards with "Camera for an eye", a tune whose competence and peculiar drive brings "Downhill thrill" completely alive and kick-starts its strange exploration. While comparable in many ways to Shout Out Louds and Figurines, and quite prone to the unusual bursts of energy that endear Laakso to their fans, Herr Nilsson are almost a distillation of everything that makes quirky Scandinavian pop so damned appealing. Title track "Downhill thrill" dances a little into Of Montreal's territory in its midsection before sealing the deal with thin guitar chords, building strings, and anthemic lyrics. It was "Huskies", though, that completely won me over, four tracks into a record I was already stirred by. "Downhill thrill" does meander into more bizarre terrain as it reaches its conclusion, quite markedly during the Beatles-esque, Consciousness Expansion-era duo "On the road again" and "Killerbee", but overall it is yet more proof that the Scandinavian music gods have smiled fondly upon 2007.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Karisma Records has announced the signing of Bergen-based act Herr Nilsson and will be releasing their second album "Downhill thrill" in late February. Listen to samples: http://www.myspace.com/herrnilsson
Galant Records has confirmed Herr Nilsson's debut album for release on May 23.
Far From Tellus
Herr Nilsson
