Albums

Petter & The Pix - Good As Gold

Richard Wink 24/03/2010

Rating: 3.5/5

Perhaps I should be happier, since this morning the sun is out, and officially we are now two feet into the glorious season of spring. Then again, despite fairer weather I despair at current affairs, the hysteria surrounding a drug known as 'meow meow' that is apparently ruining minds, English footballers living lawless existences, running over security guards after losing a game in the Champions League, and not to mention the upcoming election which pits hopeless against pathetic. There is also an awful lot to be pessimistic about.

Petter & The Pix provide an optimistic bag of allsorts to fit the changing moods. Why can't we be like the Swedes, living in a Scandinavian idyllic paradise putting out calming albums like Good As Gold? The six-piece chalk up an impressive amount of chill out moments which are laconic in melody but open to thoughtful expressions of melancholy; this is music to relax to as you sit on a blanket in the middle of a green park, licking the ice cream that dribbles down your chin as you contemplate mortgage repayments and messy drawn out breakups.

'Never Never' is a hustling song, with manic “la la la la's” intertwined with borderline narcoleptic vocals. The woodpecker percussion further disorientates. 'In the End of the Day' sounds like the Arcade Fire on depressants, 'Sit Down With Me' is possessed by the wistful soul of Paul Simon, where as 'Four Walls' and 'Good As Gold' are drowsy and detached.

'Before I Do' is the grand centrepiece of the album, a haunting eruption of Parisian balladry, the spectre of Paul Simon returns on 'Stuck in Between' but then things go a tad mild, the feelings flatline into a blur of empty hearted cadence. 'On the Line' follows the pattern but becomes unstitched, as Petter Winnberg's vocals irritate rather then entice.

The Swedes are masters of daydream pop and Good As Gold is composed in such a way that the layers unravel, revealing a myriad of interesting sonic textures, and ocean blue vitality.