Verdensromet: "Nytt"

The art of reverse-pickpocketing is a rare one. It was once used to deliver a CD-R demo to Mike Skinner of the Streets; he was so impressed he immediately signed the band (the Mitchell Brothers—sadly ignored) as soon as he checked his pockets. It’s also how Andreas Høvset and Vik Gundersen got their break, slipping a disc to Matias Tellez after they stood near him at a concert. It goes to show you there are still multiple ways into the industry, and you should never leave home without a flashdrive, steady hands, and soft-soled shoes.

One of two tracks produced by Tellez, “Nytt” is a slice of quirky Norwegian pop that goes through an enjoyable identity crisis. Carried on swooning ‘80s keyboards, it uses Norse-accented crooning to imply A-Ha: The Opera Years before switching to guitar and tambourines, reminiscent of Adam Ant—if he’d been raised in Scandinavia. The ambient, otherworldly final bridge adds another side to the confusion, but Verdensromet make it work, as inventive at subverting the guitar pop formula as they are at invading producers’ personal space.