Friska Viljor - Tour De Hearts

Hot on the heels of Ida Maria and Lykke Li come Friska Viljor with another masterclass in Swedish pop excellence. The duo’s second album draws elements of everything from bubblegum pop to country via Euro-trance, but far from being a hellish concoction, the result is something quite wonderful. Imagine Of Montreal without the pretension and you’re close. Opener On And On starts with a gentle strum and builds to a chorus of such heights that it’s difficult to believe only three minutes have passed. Then there’s the shambolic euphoria of Old Man, sporting a chorus oddly reminiscent of Girls Aloud’s Call The Shots, which melts into the waltz of Oh No, a tale of a depressing Christmas featuring a flamenco-style guitar. Standards only slip on bouncy hoedown In The Nude, but after such a rich musical collage, it almost feels like a joke we’re not supposed to get. Impressive stuff indeed. [Heather Crumley]