Every now and again, an album arrives here that catches me completely by surprise. This is great Indie Guitar Pop and largely feels like Glasgow from the Mid 80s to the Mid 90s. It is so damn catchy, all gentle riffs and big choruses.
The surprise is that this is the debut solo album from Oslo's Vidar Landa, guitarist in Scandinavia's biggest Heavy Metal Band, Kvelertak. There was no inkling that he had this in him, because this is an album that fits what we cover perfectly.
There are slight inklings when a song breaks out, particularly the splendid Noise Pop of Burn In Hell. Yet the majority of the album is melodically mellow. Hurry Kane, for example, could be Al Stewart and Waiting For A Chance could be Acoustic Canterbury Folk.
There is a similarity to what Per Gessle does now, but that is in his native Swedish language, Landa sings in perfect English. Label Night is so damn catchy and loveable that you want to wrap it up and cuddle it to sleep.
Change Of Heart is very modern day Teenage Fanclub, wonderfully so. It also reinforces the return of whistling as a part of songs. Wish I Had A Dog is built around a cracking lo-fi riff with another killer chorus.
There is a real gentleness to proceedings that is so effective. The songs never drift or meander and you sense that Landa's day job could allow him to blast out, but he doesn't want that and this allows the album to grow and grow on you with its sheer charm.
You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download.
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