Herr Nilsson
Downhill thrill
Karisma Records
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
