Published on Sep 16, 2003
Life is full of surprises. The most pleasant ones generally
reach out and grab you when you are least expecting it. In the case
of Mensen’s latest release,
Oslo City, I was expecting little after enduring the
forceful experience of trying to make myself like their much-hyped
debut album from 2001,
Delusions of Grandeur.
The referenced hype stems largely from the liaison of Mensen’s
vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Mary Currie, to the grand pooh-bah
of the whole Scandi-rawk movement in Nicke Andersson of
Hellacopters/Stockholm, Sweden fame. Tie this in with the fact that
Mensen are from the current dirty rawk n’ roll hotbed of Oslo,
Norway, and it’s easy to see where their pedigree should be viewed
as honorable.
Oslo City is an album that pays as much of a visual homage
to the band’s roots as Currie’s stage name salutes Cherrie Curie of
Runaways fame and lead guitarist’s Christine Sixteen’s handle pays
tribute to KISS. It’s also an album that features tighter guitar
hooks and frankly, better songs than their first effort. What
remains though is a swift charge of punk-inspired brilliance with
definite Runaways and KISS influences.
“Keep Up” is the perfect opener for
Oslo City. The guitar loops on the track inspire images of
sound being amped through turbo-charged dragster engines. Mixed
into this combustion chamber is the input of Currie’s anthemic
vocals. If inputs are expected to derive outputs, the results are
abundantly clear. “Keep Up” is a wild and pulsating ride.
Creating such an energetic mold early on bodes well for
Oslo City. As I said earlier, it’s as much the hooks as
anything that make this album worthwhile. As the album progresses
through the tracks “One Minute Away,” “Move Over” and “Start Over
Again” I find myself drawn to the lo-fi recording of Currie’s
vocals. It’s almost as if she’s singing in the room next door,
which allows for her to hide the underlying pop tendencies the
songs would surely suggest otherwise. Furthermore, when you mix in
the cagey fretwork of Christine Sixteen and bassist Rambling Roy,
the tracks culminate with an undeniable “garage” rock edge to
them.
Oslo City takes an interesting turn when “Bosnia” is
performed, as bells and tambourines replace the guitar amplifier
stacks. Currie’s seductive vocals mesmerize, the song portraying a
poignant lullaby when matched up to the energetic sing-alongs she
and her bandmates have hit us with by this point. “Bosnia” is an
added dynamic to this album that shows Mensen have begun maturing
as a unit in the studio.
Speaking of the dynamics found on Oslo City, the liner notes
interestingly list Andersson and Danny Young of Gluecifer as
contributing percussion work to the recordings. Not that the band’s
drummer, Power Plingis, disappoints from what I gather to be her
participation on all the tracks; it just has me wondering what
creative input may have been shared by such noteworthy guests. And,
interestingly, the introductory guitar licks on “Sandy Starlight”
and “The Hard Way” inspire recent memory of the sound from any of
the tracks found on the recent Hellacopters
By the Grace of God release. Things that make you go
hmmm….
Whatever the case may be, Mensen is definitely on to something
with
Oslo City. Whether it’s with their solicitation of outside
collaborative efforts or merely with the basic evolution of the
group as a unit, the band has put out a release where every track
is catchy in its own way.
My surprise occurred a month ago during the dog days of summer
and nearly a year after
Oslo City was released. While always grateful for exposure
to such good fortune, I can assure myself that I will anticipate
the band’s future works with greater zest.