KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * * *
Label: Universal
Verdict: Infectious, two-tone punk that's dressed to impress
You gotta hand it to Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, he's made a damn fine job of turning unabashed self-worship into an endearing quirk. He could look rock 'n' roll in wet socks. It's an irrepressible aura which has allowed his fellow Fagerstarians from the sticks of Sweden to recycle a fine line in well-turned out garage punk for nigh on 10 years without caring what anyone thinks.
They've succeeded to the point where they are as much a look as a sound while keeping their tongue firmly in cheek. Check the album title. Now if you're already a fan of their tightly-focused riffaramas, then you'll be shaking it throughout the opening stanza from single Tick Tick Boom to You Got It All ... Wrong. Then you'll hit a few curlers.
Not content with dabbling with sequencers and processed sounds, the guys have hired producers Pharrell Williams (Neptunes, NERD and countless hip-hop and R'n'B singles) and Jacknife Lee (U2, Editors, Kasabian) to add new shades to the usual monochrome. Williams' efforts are mixed, including an odd punk funk number in T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S - still not sure about that one - while Lee's Hey Little World is full-on indie. Elsewhere, it's fairly normal transmission and a rollicking ride through to stadium-sized closer, Bigger Hole to Fill.
