This five-piece Danish band of art-nerds is already notable in their homeland for the impassioned musical presentation they bring to the table as well as their artful persona.
Their name also comes across as a sort of red flag in terms of telegraphing some of those artier tendencies. Immediately, one gets a mildly trippy sensation from the opening track, “Eleanor Speaks,” as if they ingested some DMT shortly before recording began, and its effects turn out to be contagious. Controlled squalls of guitar bounce off of double-bumpin’ rhythms and it all coalesces quite nicely in the end.
“Internet Warrior” (great title) brings in the quirky synth-pop, complete with quasi-helium vocals, but, surprisingly, it’s tolerable. They actually get in and get out without too much difficulty. After that things get a tad shaky. “Icicles” is just too artsy-fartsy as it bounds along rather clumsily, and never produces any real, edible fruit. “Hopelessly Young” is, basically, nothing more than a silly dance-pop exercise.
They are in much better stead when they eschew the dance elements and play from a more exploratory mindset. The more they let it go, they more they get back in return. The epic closer, “Beelitz,” which clocks in at 9:45, fully demonstrates the dialectic in action with its moments of pretension and bombast, some of which works fine, and some of which does not. Keep at it, fellas, you’re definitely onto something.
