Øl
Corello Motello

I think Øl approached this kind of music already with their last album and it was the tracks leaning towards this that I found most amusing back then. The kind of music we're talking about is noticeably softer than what they used to play a while ago and to some extent also taking a step away from the "punky" rock music of the past.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I see or hear Øl is how their cover art normally are very bad looking but both this and the last cover has been pretty good looking and together with the music they seem to mark an ongoing change in Øl beginning with how some members changed a couple of years ago. They still have pretty frugal covers but still much better looking than in the past. The man in the canon and the guy behind it doesn't, however, represent the music on this album very well despite it looks pretty interesting because there's not much on this album that comes with a bang. Instead 'Corello Motello' is more of a clean, calm, sanitized album and sadly a bit anonymous and low-budget too.

Towards the end we get a few of those rockers we're used to get from this band but that's when you realize that you really don't miss those songs because they're far from best on this album. I think the moody, almost Coldplay-ish hymns in the beginning are clearly best on 'Corello Motello' and when I hear these it's a bit like hearing Coldplay without the millions of euro they get to record an album and without Chris Martin who's been replaced by a somewhat less brilliant vocalist. The upside with this is that "Coldplay" has been forced to write better songs than ever and hence 'Corello Motello' is noticeably better than anything I've heard by the Brits and at least Øl fans will recognize good old Sebastian on vocals even in softer tracks even if it's Hold Your Hand, Girlfriend and Touchdown that probably feels most familiar. A somewhat unfamiliar territory for Øl is to use the keyboards as much as they do on this album. It's not only more or less everywhere in the foreground with piano or electronic sound but also in the background doing long moody tones.

If you're wondering what I meant by saying Øl are a bit low budget I want to make it clear that I don't think Øl are bad in any way it's just that it sounds a bit cheap in the mixing and production, which is something Øl always done. And by cheap I mean it's not over produced but quite natural in the sound and it's the way Øl sounds. But 'Corello Motello' is still less clattering and more neat than they've sounded before and the first half of the album is almost a bit epic and well produced even though details whisper the truth. But that's the charm of this band - you can't take that away from them. It's not about being perfect and perfect again (like Coldplay) - it's about being fun and enough, which they are!

So what's negative then? I think the most negative about the album is that it's a bit dull when it comes to surprises and creative ideas. Many songs on this album are good but it lacks the fireworks, the jaw-droppers, the canon shots. The last album had one of those and I still remember that one, I'm not sure I will remember any of these songs, even if I'll remember the overall high quality of the album. There is a few catchy songs in the beginning though, like the Euro 2012 song Heartbeat (which helped the Germans get a shared bronze with Portugal) and also FeelingJust Liek You Just Like Me and Sun In My Hand. They are all quite beautiful and catchy.

I think 'Corello Motello' is one of the better albums this far in to 2013 and if you like softer, calmer rock music it's definitely an album for you!

HHHHHHH