(Smalltown Supersound/Stomp)

Lindstrøm’s new groove

Norwegian nü-disco maestro Hans-Peter Lindstrøm has certainly been a busy man of late: 2008 saw the release of his début proper, Where You Go I Go Too, which was swiftly followed in 2009 by his second album with frequent collaborator Prins Thomas and this, his first full-length with another frequent collaborator, vocalist Isabelle Haarseth Sandoo (AKA Christabelle). But there were some concerns that Lindstrøm’s early success had given way to self-indulgence: Where You Go does feature, after all, a 28-minute-long title track, and his recent work with Prins Thomas, as lovely as it sounds, often has the listener searching for the music’s pulse. Fortunately, now that Real Life Is No Cool has secured a belated local release, we can safely say that Lindstrøm is back in the saddle. In place of epic slow jams are tight, well-constructed pop songs such as lead single Baby Can’t Stop, with its infectious vocodered hook and dazzlingly fun brass accompaniment. Indeed, aside from opener Looking For What’s disorienting intro, in which Christabelle’s voice is looped and reversed to weird effect, Real Life Is No Cool barely lets up from start to finish (with the exception of closer High & Low, a cruisy synth-pop number that could feature over the closing credits of a 1980s Michael Douglas film). Throughout, Christabelle’s vocals provide the perfect foil for Lindstrøm’s productions: like Glass Candy’s Ida No or Chromatics’ Ruth Radelet, her icy sing-speak plays nicely with self-consciously retro production, with the added advantage that Christabelle has a much more versatile range. Real Life Is No Cool represents a new chapter in Hans-Peter Lindstrøm’s discography, and if the thought of 28-minute-long disco jams doesn’t appeal, it’s also a great place for the uninitiated to encounter this masterful producer.

****½

CHAD PARKHILL

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