Based in Oslo, Perfect Pop Records are fast becoming Norway’s premier Indie label and in the short two years of their existence they’ve put out a handful of great releases. The first, in 1991, was a single by The Time Lodgers, a five piece group formed in 1988 out of the ashes of two long-time gigging bands, Forest Mechanics & The Copper Tones. After various name changes they settled on The Time Lodgers and recorded a promising debut three-track EP for the label (POP2). Aggressively tuneful, they sat on the cusp where Mod becomes Psych. What they lacked in musical maturity they more than made up for with impressive songs like «Heiress At The Top Of The Stairs» and «Suburban Spiritual».

This year sees the label moving up a gear with two important CD releases. First, there’s «Slanted», an eight track mini-CD by The Time Lodgers (POP8). This fulfils all the promises of their debut EP. Gone is the brash sub-Weller aggression, to be replaced by a more melodic approach. The most striking development is in the texture and richness of production, lovely songs subtly decorated with pop-sike detail. Like the sublime Cerebral Corps before them, the Time Lodgers pay tribute to the songwriting genius of Peter Daltrey and Eddie Pumer by covering a Kaleidoscope tune, «Dear Nellie Goodrich». There’s a lot of good stuff on this CD but the highlight is the title track. «Slanted» opens with quasi-mellotronics and a real string quartet – Beatle-esque flourishes abound, particularly notable on the backing vocals, and it features a production that would sit happily on any Rubble classic. It’s a little masterpiece. The Time Lodgers are set to record a full length album this coming summer and it could well put them into my division one of Paisley (alongside genre greats like The Sneetches, Green Pajamas, Nick Haeffner and similar rare and wonderful beasts).

-Mick Dillingham

(From Bucketfull of Brains, 1993, England)