Audiopile Review: Somehow missed this Norwegian duo’s debut on XL four years back, but a new album on Escho, who are now required listening ‘round here, is one way to catch our attention. Indeed, the Copenhagen label has had their finger on the pulse of the underground alterna-pop scene of Norway for some time now, with recent albums from Astrid Sonne, Molina and Fine have gained some serious traction well beyond their isolated Nordic confines. But unlike some of the diaristic and torchlit entries into the dream-pop canon supplied by their counterparts, Smerz are hell-bent on having some fun. With the youthful motif of “Big City Life” as the backdrop, the duo weave between minimalist, near post-punk rhythms, woozy synthetic strings, tinny drum machines, slow-strobed trip-hop, and a junkyard approach to their colourful beat-work. It’s a nostalgia-tickling effort that’s surely the best rendering of offbeat, homespun DIY pop that we’ve heard since the days when Cibo Matto and Grand Royal releases ruled our stereos in the mid ‘90s. And the duo’s half-sung, half spoken-raps are the cherry on top of Smerz’s delightful pop confections.

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Smerz are back to rebirth pop music on Big city life. Following Believer, their music seems to have gotten more lucid, more real world, yet no less labyrinthine in its presentation. “Are you a girl or a lady?” ‘But i do’ asks, as if conscious Smerz are growing into their career on their second full length album with maturity informing their unbridled pop experimentation, while the constant crush of drums rotates alongside a strutting bass synth. With a twisted metropolitan vibe, the duo explore a world that has opened up to them through winding piano riffs, nonchalant lyrics, and big slick chamber pop anthems like ‘You got time and I got money’.