Aural Fixations

NANOOK OF THE NORTH
The Täby Tapes
(Hidden Agenda)
Sweden has become so well known for its volume-heavy hard rock, aggressive garage punk and raging metal that it's easy to forget that the Nordic hoardes are just as good at softer sounds. (After all, the lounge pop of the Cardigans helped kick off Western interest in Scandinavian rock.) The Täby Tapes, the debut from Nanook of the North, is a perfect example. Sounding in spots not unlike 80s icon the Dream Academy, the delicately arranged swirl of acoustic guitars and analogue synthesizers that make up the bulk of the music rarely raises above a conversational volume level, letting the hooks gently shake hands and pat you lightly on the shoulder instead of slapping you in the face. But, as with the work of the deceptively quiet Prefab Sprout, another touchstone, that doesn't mean the intensity level is as sedate as the sonics. Supposedly a travelogue from Nanook, the Inuit star of the famous 1922 documentary, The Täby Tapes is actually a concept album about living in small town Sweden (Täby being a Stockholm suburb). Multi-instrumentalists Mattias Olsson and Olle Söderström, joined by various Swedish sirens on duet vocals, paint a picture of life in the Nordic climes that seems alternately lifeless ("Where Will You Go?"), depressing ("Näsby Park," with its refrain "We don't need a Berlin wall/To make you stay in this sad, sad, sad, sad, sad place") and downright terrifying "(Hey Fragile," whose lilting melody belies the lyrics' ugly portrait of emotional abuse). At first Nanook is staunch is his quest for peace and love, quoting the Beatles in "Nanook's Ark" and negotiating the complex pathways of affection in "St George and the Dragon" and "Israel and Palestine - A Solution." But ultimately it comes down to lines like "Well, sex might be OK but love - get real/Face it, it's not meant for you and me Jenny" in "Forget It Jenny, Love is Just a Privilege For the Rich," as our narrator gives in to despair despite the best efforts of his partner to lighten his mood. "Well, I'll erase the filth of this barren place with something beautiful," she croons, to no avail. That the downcast sentiments are couched in such sweet, lovely melodies makes the album an even more remarkable achievement. Brilliant, sobering and beautiful. Michael Toland [buy it]