NITS - Strawberry Wood

The clear preference shown by English critics for any band operating before or after the Britpop era has been contradicted on only a few occasions: this has happened with those bands that have nonetheless courted the English audience through tours and initiatives carried out on British soil.

From Sigur Rós to Teitur, the influence of the British music press on the rise to success of musicians from across the Channel remains evident; this, however, invites a reflection on certain artists of considerable depth who have been denied the fame they deserved, like Nits.

Proud and deeply attached to their cultural identity, the Dutch have rarely altered their course in search of English audience approval.

Like Mathilde Santing, Nits have embraced an artistic vision that breaks free from the clichés of European pop-rock enamoured with its English homeland – sure, the Beatles are an “X factor” that's hard to ignore for any band that embraces the theory of song-as-harmony, but the music of Nits holds remarkable elements of originality.

"Strawberry Wood" is the 22nd album by the band formed in 1974, and there's no sign of flagging among the fourteen excellent tracks here: the style remains as sumptuous and elaborate as ever, with progressive inflections underpinning the songs' refined harmonies, while the arrangements are built on essential, minimal elements that take into account the insights of German electronic music (Kraftwerk above all) as well as the developments of indie-pop.

Recognisable yet never repetitive sounds, in arrangements that sweep aside the usual coordinates of both mainstream and alternative pop.

Nits' pop is an intimate one: the melancholy vocal and instrumental moods are rarely disturbed by emphatic tones, and the riffs and harmonic sequences become familiar without ever being intrusive. Nits' songs seem, on the surface, unmemorable, yet with every new listen to "Strawberry Wood" a strange sense of déjà vu takes hold of the listener, and everything suddenly feels more dynamic and remarkable.

"Hawelka" opens the album with pop-jazz moods and vocal inflections reminiscent of John Lennon; the lively, subtly melancholy track moves along on martial rhythms and rich instrumental touches, setting the sonic coordinates for the whole album.

The album is made up of a series of refined moods steeped in creative touches. "Distance" settles into out-of-tune guitar sounds that introduce restless atmospheres, while piano and harmonica wrap around the sound. "La Petite Robe Noire", on the other hand, is an exotic calypso-rock number carried by exotic rhythms, little organs and twangin' guitars.

Like Crowded House, Nits possess that pop alchemy that gives personality to simple, persuasive songs, and what convinces here isn't only the predictable class of tracks like "Departure", but also the quirky solutions of the theatrical "Nick In The House Of John", which unfolds amid fusions of brass-band sonorities and a lively American- and Irish-rooted folk-rock.

Every pop album hints at the artists' best ideas in its opening tracks; on "Strawberry Wood" the tracks "Now" and "Index Of First Lines", placed at the centre of the sequence, keep a lower-key profile before the final explosion.

"Tannenbaum" opens the closing quartet with moods full of tension and pathos, which the following "Jisp" softens with textbook west-coast touches.

"Bad Dream" and "Return" are destined to become classics of their live performances, thanks to the former's incisive, faintly ironic rhythmic drive and the latter's hushed yet intense lyrical force, which never slips into saccharine territory even as it caresses a classic, gentle romanticism.

"Strawberry Wood" is one of the band's most accomplished albums, bringing Nits back to the grandeur of records like "Wool" and "Ting" after the less compelling detour of the previous "Doing The Dishes": a solid collection of songs whose honesty comes paired with a refined, irresistible grace.

P.S.: Two bonus tracks available only on iTunes

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20/08/2010