A Little Mess

アルバムレビュー

A sweetly sunny Swedish indie pop outfit in the tradition of I'm from Barcelona, Billie the Vision & the Dancers, the Acid House Kings, and hordes more, with a disarmingly direct, plain-spoken, and personal lyrical approach reminiscent of Pelle Carlberg, Jonathan Richman, and Herman Düne, Elias and the Wizzkids burst out of Stockholm with a mustachioed grin and a slew of bopping tunes. It may all seem rather blithely, even blissfully normal, in a pleasantly bland sort of way, but Elias Åkesson's got his problems just like anybody: he's anxious about turning 24 and becoming an adult; he's troubled by a vague sense that something's missing; he doesn't have enough money for all the flashy stuff (and girls) that he wants; his job sucks, and sometimes he can't get in touch with his friends and is stuck having a mildly disappointing night out on the town by himself, like the time recounted in the banally diaristic "Friday Night." And, of course, he'd sort of like it if people listened to his music, as per the typically straightforward opener/statement-of-purpose "Acknowledge Me," wherein he declares: "I'm gonna play now... from the deepest part of my soul." And so he does. And while this may not be your idea of deep soul music, you'd do well to acknowledge it, as long as you don't mind a bit of sap, because he's charming, likable, frequently funny (he's actually more affably reflective, and a good deal less self-deprecating than it may seem from the above), and most importantly, he and his Wizzkids have got some downright snappy songs. They're not too far removed from your typically strummy/bouncy/folky indie pop fare, with the occasional chamber pop infusion (a flute here, some strings there), a bit of a '50s rock edge at times (the rockabilly-tinged "I Wish" and "I Can't Afford You"), and a mild surprise in the form of mostly-solo-acoustic fingerpicked blues "Fourth of July." Another solid bunch of lovable Swedes, and a highly enjoyable debut. ~ K. Ross Hoffman, Rovi