The jingle bell intro to opening song ‘Hummingbird Bed’ almost gives it away: This is going to be pleasant. And Danish indiepop trio No And The Maybes are indeed a pleasant encounter on their eponymous debut, leaving us with a little leftover summer to dwell in.

Troels Tarp, Anders Wiedemann and Mikkel Bagge Lange began playing together in avant-garde noise-rock act Ude Nu (“out now”), but gave that up last year and went an entirely new direction with No And The Maybes, putting melody before just about anything else in their catchy, semi-psychedelic songwriting.

Without having heard Ude Nu it seems a good decision. Just take a listen to first single ‘Petra Petrified’ which elegantly sums up their musical universe consisting of 1960s pop complete with uh-la-la-la choir, 1980s synths, a great melody and – in this particular case – a theme revisiting French duo AIR’s smash-hit ‘Sexy Boy’ from their 1998 debut full length ‘Moon Safari’.

In an interview with Danish magazine Musikeren (“the Musician”) Mikkel Bagge Lange revealed that the trio work with a concept they call “the sparrow” – that little something in the songs which will catch your attention, e.g. hand claps, finger snaps, a choir arrangement and/or surprising instrumentation.

Whatever it may be, I strongly suggest you pay some attention to No And The Maybes. They will cater both the inner pop-child looking for a quick fix and the curious looking to be challenged.

Genre: Pop
Who: No And The Maybes
Title: No And The Maybes
Label: A:larm Music
Year: 2008
Country: Denmark
Language: English
DOWNLOAD VIA
(Single ‘Petra Pertrified’ – full album N/A)

Recommended tracks:
Hummingbird Bed – Petra Petrified – Mouth – Monday – I Know A Girl