Nice System - Impractical Guide To The Opposite Sex

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

For the past year or so, I have realised that my neighbours in Norway have a lot to offer when it comes to pop music. Sure, everybody heard of A-Ha in the 80's (and I must admit that I think their first two albums are quite brilliant even today), and if you happen to live Sweden maybe you have heard of Fra Lippo Lippi or The Monroes. But other than that, the world of pop has managed quite well without the help from Norway. Or at least that's what I thought. Now though, I am proved wrong. It seems that the Norwegian popscene is indeed very much alive and in a terrific mood. Bands like The Tables and Astroburger have found their way outside the borders of their country, and there's still more to come, believe me. Just take a closer look at the label Perfect Pop, run by the vocalist of The Tables, a man that calls himself Bartleby. They have been in business for more than 10 years, and continue to release great pop music that is influenced by the British psych-pop movement of the 60's and 80's (with bands like The Idle Race and The Zombies representing the former; TV Personalities and other Dan Treacy-projects the latter). And most of the bands they release are Norwegian! Who would have thought that? Not me, I can tell you. And now we have a new movement on the Norwegian pop scene: casio-pop. To describe it simply, it's pop made with an acoustic guitar and an old Casiotone synthesizer (like the ones you could buy cheap in a toy store or maybe at a gas station). Often too the vocalist is a female. The most famous casio-pop group in Norway is Remington Super 60, which is often a trio, but sometimes also a duo and when playing live can have up to five people on stage . The mastermind is Christoffer Schou, who writes most of the songs and also plays the guitar and sings a bit here and there. He also runs the label Cafe 2001 together with Christer Jensen of Micromars (also a casio-pop band), and releases records by bands like Safariari, EPA, Påsan and Töyen, who all play, surprise!, casio-pop, often blended with easy listening á la Burt Bacharach. As Remington Super 60 they have released one album, two CD EPs and a 7" single. In the spring of 2000, Christoffer, Magnus Abelson and Benedicte Sveinsson (who are also members of Remington Super 60) began recording songs for their side-project, or if you prefer alter-ego, Nice System. The main difference between RS60 and Nice System is that in the latter, the drums are "real", acoustic drums, and that they focus more on acoustic instruments. But the Casiotone is still there sometimes. The songs on this debut album are often semi-instrumental, and they are very close relatives to Burt Bacharach indeed. Sometimes they get a bit too laid back for me, but when it is at it's best, you could easily compare it to the softer side of the Beach Boys, which is never a bad thing. The record company likes to call it "unfinished music for imaginary TV game shows", and sometimes they are right. The only thing missing is the cocktail glasses, really. And that could easily be fixed by, the listener, at home. It's a shame it isn't on vinyl, though… I really do think this is meant as background music. Maybe not by the band themselves, but when you do this kind of laid back soft music, you have to live with it. There are some great songs on this album, but there are also some songs that just goes in through one ear and out the other. And when I get to track number five, it suddenly feels like it's half past seven in the morning and I have to go to work. That's not because I have been sitting up all night listening to it, but because the song opens with an alarm clock of the same kind I have! That's horrible! I don't want to hear that sound during daytime! But soon it stops and turns into a nice song instead. That's better… For you who like your music soft and easy listening, I can't do anything else than recommend you buy this one. The closing tune, Elevator Disco Express, is also quite a funny disco song. After hearing this, I am also interested in Benedicte's solo project, Computer Girl. The name is great, and I hope the music will be too.

Track Listing:-

1 System Instrumental 02
2 We Sing Ba Ba Ba
3 Sara 0157
4 In Bed All Day
5 Sleeping By A Building Site
6 Song For Me
7 Did I Do Wrong
8 My Name Is Juolio
9 A Day In Christoffers Bedroom
10 Do You Know The Way To Fredrikstad
11 System Instrumental 01
12 Elevator Disco Express