Mikhael Paskalev - I Spy

Bulgarian-born, Norwegian-raised, Liverpudlian-educated - the convoluted past of Mikhael Paskalev serves only to deepen the complexity of his music, affording his latest EP – and UK debut – an unusual diversity.

Title-track ‘I Spy’ hits with that instant familiarity of a song destined to worm its way into the most stubborn skull. Already a viral sensation, the delightfully playful video has amassed over a million views – evidently a lot of people want to see Paskalev dance around in his pants. Get acquainted now, as the vivacious, harmonica-infused head-nodder is bound to end up on a Christmas advert in the coming weeks.

Second track ‘Susie’ is a somewhat different affair. Stripping the instrumentation down to a single acoustic guitar while retaining the bubblegum bounciness of track one, the result is not unlike Keaton Henson on fast-forward. As the EP continues, it soon becomes clear that Paskalev’s willingness to experiment is the cornerstone of his sound. Creating a diversity that is so often missing in the myriad of singer-songwriters with lovely hair, ‘I Spy’ nevertheless remains coherent in the face of countless inspirations – consistently held together by Paskalev’s effortlessly charming Norwegian twang.

Closer ‘Dust’ is a swaggering, John Wayne epic of a track, more at home on the dusty plains of Texas than the Norwegian fjords or Liverpudlian streets. Stabs of orchestral strings emphasise the grandeur that Paskalev injects into his unashamedly poppy ditties – creating an end result that sways successfully from dancefloor-filler to tear-jerker, often multiple times in the space of a single track.