Nanne Grönwall releases a new album in Sweden tomorrow. ‘En Rastlös Själ’ arrives just as Nanne is celebrating 25 years as an artist. And fittingly, the new album pays tribute to everything that’s been so enjoyable about Nanne’s music for the last 25 years – it’s pop music that’s completely mental, and shouting about it proudly! It’s SO much fun. It gives you a huge smile on your face and an unrelenting tap in your foot. And some of it is jaw dropping inducing in its craziness. But of course, most importantly of all, the songs are good too. It’s all very catchy and very schlager. And as you’ll know by now – absolutely NOTHING makes us happier with an album!
The most pop moments on here (and thus, the most ‘mainstream’) are two of the album’s singles, ‘Otacksamhet’ and ‘I Natt Är Jag Din’. If you haven’t heard them already, they represent perfectly a style of music that Nanne obviously loves so much. At the height of it, it’s a T-Rex style electro rock sound – but tailored towards what her fans want from her. And if you’ve ever seen her perform live, you’ll know that this sound lends itself to her very well, and enables her to rock out in her own inimitable way! ‘Hej Snygging’ is also quite pop, but given a 60’s Motown style makeover. We guess that it would make another great single for her. Her cover of ‘Himlem Är Oskyldigt Blå’ might also be another good choice though, particularly in winter, as it’s an old fashioned ballad and it also showcases her voice in a way that no other track on here does.
Right, so those were the album’s pop moments – now let’s get to the FUCKING NUTS stuff, our favourites! And if we’re regarding ‘Otacksamhet’ as one of the more ‘’normal’’ tracks on here, you just know that you’re in for a treat with the rest of it!
The opening three tracks on the album are perfect examples of the absolute delight that Nanne’s music is, and of the total fun that it sounds like she’s having whilst recording it. ‘En Rastlös Själ’ has her trademark whistles and storytelling like vocals. ‘Oops’ is more of the same, but with high pitched gasps thrown into the mix, and actual laughter that she clearly can’t contain herself from having. And ‘Jag Ger Aldrig Upp’ is heavy on shrieks, key changes, and the electro rock guitar that we mentioned earlier. All three are delivered with an infectiously tongue-in-cheek sensibility from Nanne of course. And musically, they’re schlager soft rock.
The album gets even more brilliantly ballistic than that though! ‘Explosivt’ sees Nanne sing a literal, syllabified interpretation of actual explosions, and the song ends with the sound of huge fireworks and applause. The album’s closing track ‘Lagom’ is a light-hearted and affectionate piss-take of the Swedish ideal that everything in life should be well balanced. And it ends with a super loud blast of old fashioned circus music. Amazing. And ‘Kom Igen’ sounds like a classic dansband song – but very fast paced and uptempo. It’s one of our favourites on here. But it’s ‘Lätt Imponerad’ that sums up what can be interpreted as the most ridiculous and most amazing elements of Nanne’s unique style of pop. It sounds like a cross between a barn dance and a television show for pre-school children! It even has a techno breakdown in the middle that sounds like it was lifted from old Danish band, Cartoons’ debut album! Spectacular!
Special mention must also go to the beautiful track ‘Tankar’, which is a dreamy, fairytale like ballad with regimented strings and a choir. It sounds like it could have been composed for the Moulin Rouge film.
All in all, it’s an excellent album – one that we get the feeling we’re going to be returning to a lot. Please do check it out.
