Nouveau Riche
Pink Trash

THE REVIEW

Alexander Bard is pathologically addictive, there's no getting around it; I've been hooked for years now and have no intention of getting out (why should I, I'm feeling great!), initially, you start with the Army Of Lovers, his undisputed and unparalleled peak, then comes the obsessive-compulsive need to get your hands on any more or less quirky project he's come up with: Vacuum, BWO, Gravitonas; I haven’t reached Alcazar yet (I imagine that's the terminal phase of the condition), but in the meantime, I've gotten to know the Nouveau Riche. The Great, whom I consider to be the only true heir of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, is not directly involved in this ephemeral project, but Ulrich Bermsjo, the mind behind NR, is clearly his Sith apprentice; not as talented as the Master, so much so that after this 2007 debut, he completely vanished but he's eager and I'd say even quite good. Just to reaffirm the belonging to the Bard galaxy, this project also involves former Vacuum Anders Wollbeck as a co-author and producer of some songs and none other than Dominika Peczynski, a staple of the Army Of Lovers since 1993, or at least in theory, since after a couple of singles the charming Polish showgirl mysteriously backed out and was replaced by the equally effective Camilla Brink (who has nothing to do with Camilla Henemark better known as LaCamilla, the first and historic vocalist of the Army Of Lovers, oh, what a mess!)

Camilla more or less Camilla, Dominika or no Dominika in the end doesn't fundamentally change a fig, “Pink Trash” is an overflowing eurodance stew of no less than 16 songs that just thinking about it would make 90% of the regular visitors of the site shiver, but obviously not my August person. Feel free to call it acquired taste, it’s a definition I like very much and which I find absolutely fitting, but every now and then (quite frequently let's admit it) I really feel the need to indulge in junk like this, and Nouveau Riche is a valid and valuable alternative in these particular moments. A little less prolixity would have greatly benefited, the rose-water-like-electroclash of pieces like “Music Forever” and “Calling All Boys” is something generally indigestible even for myself, imagine that, but overall the album flows smoothly and achieves its goal (a bit like Sindona's coffee, I believe). Among the most notable episodes is definitely the initial “Wounds Of Love”, a nice pastiche between the “mature” synth-pop of Gravitonas and the kitsch energy not to mention the killer chorus in perfect AOL style; the alternation between male and female vocals is very effective, representing the most evident stylistic feature of the album. However, the best lies in the ballads and midtempos, filled with a decadent and almost melancholic atmosphere, in the case of “Angels” I would say even refined, almost in line with the sounds of some Sam Sparro pieces for example.

Not bad either is the hilarious and very dirty “Psycho Sexuality”, the spiritual heir of the legendary “Heterosexuality” (Army Of Lovers, album “The Gods Of Earth And Heaven”, year 1993) with that clever pseudo-Moroder rhythm and a "singing" let's say "pointed", for the rest there’s great balance and a cyclical and pleasant alternation, now a seductive midtempo, “Alone Again”, then a pinch of healthy disco ignorance with “Hardcore Life” and then a big, pleasantly melodramatic ballad, “Another Day” (no, it's not a Dream Theater cover if you must know). Repeat ad libitum, maybe adding every now and then a sprinkle of gothic effect (“It's My Party”) or a thin noir patina (“Oh Lord”) and there you have it, here’s your “Pink Trash”!

Any respectable person concerned about their image would keep as far away as possible from stuff like this, at most they would listen to it in secret, locked up tight in a closet, let alone talk about it openly and admit unabashedly that they even like it. Luckily for me, I’m immune to these whims et voilà, here’s also a nice link in case someone curious or daring wanted to delve into the matter. After all, how did that song go... oh right: "Kitsch it’s a beautiful word, it’s a beautiful world, it’s a beautiful lul-la-by..." and it's not just me saying it, eh!