Album Review Nelson Can - So Long Desire

There’s a sense that this second release from Danish trio Nelson Can is their first real statement of intent, representing a clean break from the synth-inflected indie rock of 2014’s ‘Now Is Your Time to Deliver’. There are hints of the smoky pop of compatriots The Raveonettes on the groove-driven ‘I Wanna Be with You’, while they approximate the murky, electronic claustrophobia of ‘Shulamith’-era Poliça with ‘No Longer Afraid’ and ‘So Long Desire (I’m Getting Over You’). Occasionally, they make a play for genuinely fresh stylistic ground, particularly on ‘Madness’, a minimalist, synth-driven shapeshifter. Such a mixed stylistic bag, though, begs the question of whether they might have spread themselves a little too thin. The icy detachment that closer ‘Yeah, I Didn’t Think So’ shoots for has been done to death over the past decade, and at points - particularly on ‘Limelight’ - frontwoman Selina Gin’s vocal affectations can begin to grate. Still, Nelson Can have demonstrated a hitherto unseen ambition with ‘So Long Desire’ - there’s a platform, now, for them to build on in earnest.