Label: Love Will Pay The Bills
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8
After last year's uneven "Where the ocean meets my hand", Billie and his band of twee warriors have returned with what is easily their most consistent album, and also their best. Most notably, the band has added a proper drumkit this time around, and the time was ripe for such a maneuver, as bongos can only take you so far (even Guster realized this one). The drums, therefore allow their songs to groove like they haven't done before, thus "Lily From the Middleway Street" and "Swedish sin" are great, driving songs. And with "I miss you" and "Relay race", the band has given us their most affecting work since "Ghost". After a bit of a lull, it's great to see Billie the Vision and the Dancers back on their game.
- Matt Giordano
6
This third album by Billie the Vision & The Dancers is quite interesting. Whilst the music is easily the strongest in their catalog to date (thus leaving the record with no moments that drag on), lyrically, the album is very inaccessible, which is somewhat strange considering their last two efforts. It feels as though they've recorded the album for their friends, with the numerous inside-jokes and descriptions of specific events ("Absolutely, salutely" and "A beautiful night in Oslo") and perhaps the most pop-culture references ever put to tape ("Overdosing with you" and "I've been having some strange dreams"). On top of that, the amount of characters has tripled, adding to the detachment of the listener. It's a tad discerning because I do consider this to be their most solid album, but I can't help but feel left on the outide of their very (very) bizarre world, looking on as Billie the Vision dances with tranvestites, Argentines and The Pipettes in the dimly lit parking lots of Oslo.
- Matt Giordano
When getting to know Billie the Vision and the Dancers music for the first time it's easy to dismiss it as happy-go-lucky pop, similar to Håkan Hellström and the euphoria it brings. But underneath that facade lies a gloomy feeling that never leaves and that is what I really enjoy about this band. The seven piece band mixes head-turning singalong tunes with lyrics about insufficiency, family-issues, friends, unanswered love and, most of all, Pablo gets to you. According to the band, Pablo could be anyone out there, personifying those feelings we carry within each day. Billie the Vision and the Dancers let those feelings out with smart songwriting and some shoegaze influences. And in a really great way too! This is their second album (cunningly established on the song "One more full length record") and though I find the first one, "I was so unpopular in school and now they're giving me this beautiful bicycle", a bit more coherent and in your face, this one proves that Billie the Vision is here to stay.
- Jonas Appelqvist
Billie the Vision & the Dancers