reviews

Today we're happy to share a taster from the upcoming album from Northern Portrait. "The Swiss Army" won't be out on Matinée Recordings until August 5, but we've got "Once Upon a Bombshell" for you today. An elegantly languorous number, "Once Upon a Bombshell" conjures up a mood pitched somewhere between "Starstruck" by The Auteurs, and any number of tracks from The Kinks and The Clientele. This Danish group have continued to refine their sound, and this is pristine pop, of the very best sort. —A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed

If you’re into the pop scene, you’re surely aware of Danish outfit Northern Portrait. Well, today brings us good news that a brand new record is on the horizon; it’s titled The Swiss Army, and has an August 5th release date penciled on the books. This new single has that slow-burning ballad down, offering up a calmed croon that rides on the casual rhythm section while the arrangements lift the melody to the surface. I can see this getting a lot of Smiths comparisons in the way the vocals work, but be sure you give the focus to the musical element; there are some slightly noisier elements buried in the mix that I think show the band working to elevate their sound. If you’re into it, be sure to order Swiss Army from Matinée Recordings. —Austin Town Hall

Danish indiepoppers Northern Portrait have just released the second single to be taken from their forthcoming album The Swiss Army. Titled Once Upon A Bombshell, it’s pretty laidback when compared to its predecessor At Attention having more than a hint of a ballad running through it. The jangling guitars move at a slower pace whilst the sounds of an organ and mellotron are added to the mix. The voice of Stefan Larsen is as distinctive as ever. Once Upon A Bombshell is out now digitally via Matinée Recordings. Keep an eye on the Matinée website for the albums pre-order which should be coming soon. —Records I Like

Last fall we had a new single titled "At Attention" from Danish band Northern Portrait. After a long wait, we now have "Once Upon A Bomshell", which is the second single from the upcoming album The Swiss Army. Unlike the racing jangle of "At Attention", this new song hits a mid-tempo groove for a somewhat moody tale of the fading glory of a former bombshell. Our conclusion is that Northern Portrait have lost none of the mastery of the art of a pop song. The Swiss Army will be out August 5 in vinyl, CD and digital formats via Matinée Recordings. —When You Motor Away

The long awaited return of Danish of 2000s legends, Northern Portrait, is now taking shape in earnest, with this the second single from a Swiss Army album that is out on 05.08.22. All mid-tempo rhythms, Morrissey inflected vocals and subtle jangled riffs, this Danish act are still all manner of special ! —Janglepophub

Northern Portrait are back, about a year after the first jangling teaser “At Attention”, with the second single taken from the long, long-awaited sophomore LP “The Swiss Army”, more than twelve years since the quartet’s debut full-length “Criminal Art Lovers” in January 2010. “Once Upon A Bombshell” is laced with heady lyrics that observe another lifestyle through a lens of negativity, judgement, and jealousy to make a pungent statement about ego-driven desire. The tune, while keeping the band’s innate Morrissey-sque haunting crooning distinction from singer Stefan Larsen, blends the introspective lyricism of The Go-Betweens’ period “Liberty Belle…” and a more bitter Lloyd Cole & The Commotions with the 60s vibes, a la Kinks or The Zombies, instilled by the hummable mellotron/organ flourishes. A heartfelt and mercurial melancholy ballad, veiled by a melodious melancholic gauze of swaying energetic strums, warm bass pulsations and poignant sparkling guitar melodies, topped by the intense elegiac heartache of flashing and reeling organ riffs swirling wistfully along emotional-filled vocal harmonies shedding doubt and fear with vibrant strangled romanticism. The Danish 4-piece own a natural gift for churning out compelling, irresistible, immaculate pop songs with painstaking attention to composition and arrangements, combined with an unpredictable melodic quality filled with seemingly inexhaustible nuances. “Once Upon A Bombshell” is yet another proof of this. Northern Portrait‘s sophomore LP, “The Swiss Army”, is scheduled to be released, in Vinyl, CD & Digital formats, on August 5th via Matinée Recordings. —White Light/White Heat (Track of the Day)

Il secondo singolo “Once Upon A Bombshell”, tratto dall’imminente nuovo album dei danesi Northern Portrait, è arrivato! Dopo “At Attention”, “Once Upon A Bombshell” è, come ci dicono le note stampa, un’ode sofisticata, un mid-tempo con abbellimenti di organo e mellotron che aggiungono una vibrazione lunatica. L’atteso nuovo album “The Swiss Army” uscirà il 5 agosto su vinile blu o nero, CD e digitale. I dettagli per il preorder dell’album saranno disponibili sul sito web della Matinée la prossima settimana. Da notare che sono arrivate anche le ristmape di “Criminal Art Lovers” e della compilation “Ta!”, e sono ancora disponibili anche il 7″ “Life Returns To Normal” e il 10″ “Pretty Decent Swimmers”, quindi, se vi mancano pezzi per completare la discografia dei Northen Portrait, beh questo è il momento giusto! —Indie for Bunnies

Northern Portrait melden sich – etwa ein Jahr nach dem ersten Teaser „At Attention“ – mit der zweiten Single aus ihrem wirklich sehr lange erwarteten zweiten Album zurück. Mehr als zwölf Jahre seit dem Debütalbum „Criminal Art Lovers“ des Quartetts wird „The Swiss Army“ am 4. August via Matinée Recordings erscheinen. Der Titel „Once Upon A Bombshell“ ist im Vergleich zum Vorgänger „At Attention“ ziemlich entspannt und hat mehr als nur einen Hauch von Ballade an sich. Die Jangle-Gitarren bewegen sich bei „Once Upon A Bombshell“ in einem langsameren Tempo, während die Klänge einer Orgel und eines Mellotrons in den Mix einfließen. Die Stimme von Stefan Larsen ist natürlich so unverwechselbar wie immer. Das dänische Quartett besitzt eine natürliche Gabe, fesselnde, unwiderstehliche, makellose Popsongs mit akribischer Aufmerksamkeit für Komposition und Arrangements zu produzieren, kombiniert mit einer unvorhersehbaren melodischen Qualität voller scheinbar unerschöpflicher Nuancen. „Once Upon A Bombshell“ ist ein weiterer Beweis dafür. Northern Portrait wurde im Sommer 2007 in Kopenhagen, Dänemark, gegründet und ist eine Band, deren Daseinsberechtigung darin besteht, anspruchsvolle Popmusik zu machen. Northern Portrait ist also der Sound von elegant treibenden Gitarren, die Energie von manchmal leicht unverschämten Texten und die Stimmung von späten Herbstnachmittagen in der Stadt. Northern Portrait sind Michael Sørensen, Stefan Larsen, Caspar Bock Sørensen und Jesper Bonde. —Popklub.de

Los daneses Northern Portrait son uno de los grupos más esquivos del panorama. En 2008 con el EP The Fallen Aristocracy les conocí y tuve la suerte de poder verles en directo en un ciclo de Microsonidos en el 12&medio (cómo echo de menos el doce). Pronto sacaron su primer álbum y en los años sucesivos hasta 2013 varios singles 7" y EPs que acabaron compilando en un recopilatorio. El caso es que desde 2013 no habían dado señales. No se les ve en ningún cartel de ningún festival y, aunque se anunció un final, simplemente no sacaban nada nuevo. Eso cambió en 2020 cuando anunciaron su 2º disco con matinee recordings, The Swiss Army, y sacaron el primero adelanto, la maravillosa At Attention que ya entró en un Nebrija Records. El caso es que, con la pandemia de por medio, el disco nunca salió y yo ya me había olvidado de ese anuncio, hasta ayer que me crucé en twitter el anuncio del segundo single del álbum y que, crucemos los dedos, se publicará completo el 5 de agosto de este 2022. Para anunciarlo han sacado la preciosa Once Upon a Bombshell. Un medio tiempo genial y elegante con aire sombrío y donde la banda de Stefan Larssen se colocan de nuevo en la senda de grupos como The Auteurs, The Smiths pero donde también entra un órgano maravilloso que bien recuerda a la psicodelia de Procol Harum. La verdad, Northern Portrait siempre ha sido un grupo que me ha encantado. En casa tengo el mini-LP que sacaron de 10" y todavía me lo pongo de vez en cuando porque es una absoluta maravillas, así que ya estoy deseando poder escuchar su segundo trabajo (aunque haya tardado 13 años en llegar). —Nebrija Records