One of the most beautiful pearls of Norwegian indie pop finally shines again! And what better way to celebrate their 7-year anniversary than by naming the album name Long Live Herr Nilsson? Apart from dancing, I can’t think of a thing.
Herr Nilsson sounds like a good mix of fellow indiebands from Bergen, Swedish Håkan Hellström, Dexys Midnight Runners and Johnny Cash. That their sound is somewhat influenced by other bands from Bergen might not be that shocking, considering that the band has members hailing from a number of other bands, Kiss Kiss Kiss Kong, Catostrophes, Casiokids and Soda Fountain Rag at the very least. All of them great bands that I recommend you check out if you haven’t already. Anyways, this mix isn’t plain and simple a mix of influences clashed together into a product, but a thorough and lovable sound that stands firmly planted on its own legs.
As I wrote in an interview with Terje, the frontman of Herr Nilsson, my first encounter with their music was through their album Downhill Thrill, which I bought unheard from a secondhand music store. That gave me a quite special relationship to the band, and especially that album, which perhaps makes it hard for a follow-up to reach quite to the top. Perhaps also because I’ve heard a handful of the songs on Long Live Herr Nilsson on their own several times beforehand, the album just doesn’t feel quite as coherent and tightly sewn together as a whole as its predecessor. That could just be me though.
One thing that’s clear however, is that the band has grown. It all just feels more confident, and the sound seems richer and more varied. The big and cheerful songs seem bigger and more epic, and the slower ones seem so effortlessly beautiful.
There’s really just one thing to say; long live Herr Nilsson!