The Swiss Army

Has it been twelve years?!  Northern Portrait’s debut album, along with their initial EP’s, were a breath of fresh air.  And now this four-piece from Denmark have returned over a decade later with their second LP, The Swiss Army.  Maybe they waited so long, because they knew that another rush of air was needed.

I think I wrote about all of their early releases, and I went overboard comparing them to The Smiths.  Yes, there is and was similarities in sound and style.  Vocalist Stefan Larsen has a wonderfully infectious vocal style that begs to be sung along to with great zeal!  Their music is timeless and sounds effortless and endlessly catchy.  And they have fantastic song titles, and lyrics like: “I have come to disappoint you!”   I think the similarities are strong in sound, but they also give me the same kind of rush and excitement that I first felt when I discovered The Smiths. 

Now, after all of these years, the new LP, is less Smithsy.  They’ve boosted the low end with this recording and have added a layer of organ to most of these tracks.  They still have all of their attributes fully intact, except now they are more in league with what Gene was doing from albums two through four.   Northern Portrait have not lost their knack for creating beautifully executed intelligent pop music tinged with longing, melancholy, feeling and fantastic melodies.

Each LP side opens with two singles.  “At attention” to open side one is one of those whoosh songs that always fills me with energy.  Side two’s “Once Upon a Bombshell” is one of those mid-tempo cautionary sad tales of faded glamor and attention that Morrissey used to capture so beautifully, while in The Smiths (“Paint a Vulgar Picture”).  In fact, much of the flawless second side feels like a strong caution of focusing one’s priorities on fleeting attractions of youth and commercialism.  The rousing “business Class Hero” is my favorite here with its life-giving guitar strums to its hammering and abrupt close and its tale of greed unhinged.  Sadly, there’s no karmic end awaiting this questionable character as they go on to “join the superhuman race.”  “World History part I and II” continues to focus on our penchant for fame and glory at all costs.  So damn good.  The Elsewhere, the jaunty “Long Live Tonight” grab a classic groove from pop bands going back to the 50s, but that still entice one to jump around, and likewise, the slow ballad, “The Soft Revolution,” could be a slow dancer from that time.

If you were or are a fan of 90s Britpop and Seattle’s National Honor Society, then you will likely really like this.  There are songs that can remind of the guitar attack of Suede, Sleeper, Blur, and even the classic melodies of the Stone Roses’ first album.  It’s also one of those records that gets better with each listen and it begs for repeated listens.  Can we wait for them to revive us in another twelve years?  I sure hope not.

(https://shop.matineerecordings.com/collections/new/products/northern-portrait-the-swiss-army)

 

Northern Portrait "Business Class Hero"