Team Me

Team Me might just be the happiest band we’ve ever come across. Actually, happy isn’t the right word. This Scandinavian six-piece is joyous, jubilant, and flamboyant.

This can be a dangerous route to take with your music; overdo it and you’re Mika, belting out Grace Kelly to a roomful of bankers from UBS. But get it right and – well, get it right and you get something like To The Treetops! The exclamation mark is more than justified.

Drawing from artists like Jonsi, Efterklang and Broken Social Scene, frontman Marius Hagen gives the music a spin all of its own. Tracks like Riding My Bicycle (From Ragnsvaldsbekken To Sørkedalen) might be all but unpronounceable, but the shimmering production and filtered vocals make them more than worth the trip.

The album could have done with a bit of editing: hearing Hagen warble like a suicidal skylark for just over eight minutes on Favourite Ghost is painful, and even the aforementioned mangled bike ride will have you glancing at your watch. Still, this is a real gem. For more details visit www.teamme.no.

Rob Boffard