Conny Nimmersjö
Tänk, nyss var här så trevligt
Novoton

Conny Nimmersjö is one of the creative, driving minds of the Swedish bob hund (a.k.a. Bergman Rock) band collective, which has been going on as a forceful, wild and wonderful indie rock act since 1991 (they're preparing for their new (?), their eleventh album these days). bob hund is a hard act to follow, and they're even harder to file music-wise. Inspired by the Swedish 70s prog/comedy cult band Philemon Arthur and the Dung (hey, were/are they real...!?), Iggy and the Stooges, Pere Ubu, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, Joy Division, Pixies, Pavement, and more, they're a truly punk-spirited gang, DIY style. Maybe even DWYWD style: do whatever you wanna do!

Guitarist/singer Conny Nimmersjö put out his solo debut some seven years ago, entitled Skörheten och oljudet (on Dust Music). The title is a wordplay on 'beauty and the beast' which is "bent/twisted" into something like 'fragile and the moise' (or maybe 'noise' should be replaced with 'suspicious sound' - as, uhh.. well it's hard to translate...). However, Tänk, nyss var här så trevligt (in Engslish, something like: 'Now that everything was so nice...') is his second solo record. And it sounds good. It's not that far away from what bob hund's music sounds like: The guitar sound; the song structure; the overall sound and attitude of bob hund (imagine bob hund with Thomas' voice replaced by Conny's). Jangly, carefree indie-rock with a blend of witty and 'serious' lyrics (with undercurrents, or undertones). "Frankenstein" is a good example of a song dealing with both the humouristic and the serious side. You'll find deadpan humour shoulder to shoulder with the somewhat 'dead serious' stuff (not literally speaking).

Tänk, nyss var här så trevligt is a precise and efficient collection of songs. The record holds 11 songs and clocks in at 38 minutes. Some of the stand out tracks (or, rather: my favourites) are "Snälla, snälla svin" (Sweet, sweet pig), "Frankenstein", "Köttdockorna" (Meat puppets(?)), "Ingen Sympati" (No sympathy), "Det kommer en dag" (One day will come), plus the short, Wire-esque instrumental "Porta på vinden" (Porta in the attic) and the closing "Detkatten släpat inn" (What the cat dragged in). The songs, as well as the lyrics are raw and naked, with heart and soul, with tension and a nerve to it.

This is frantic new wave pop of good quality. Conny be good!

Copyright © 2015 Håvard Oppøyen