I first discovered Elias Åkesson and his Wizzkids last summer when their video for excellent Paul “Graceland” Simon happy-pop track ‘Mr. Right Guy’ hit the www. Carving a big smile on my face it signaled a change in sound and expression from the alt-country tinged (so I’ve read) debut ‘A Little Mess’ (2007) to the ten tracks of lush pop from a stylistic melting-pot on ‘Just Do It’.

It all kicks off in the 80s with ‘Waste Of Time’, disco rears its head on ‘Oh These Nights’, while The Beatles have their say in ‘Crooked Road’. Elsewhere ‘Three Years Later’ and ‘Hit & Run’ offer rocking, grandiose indiepop, ‘What Would Kill Us’ takes their old country road, and then there’s of course the feel-good monster ‘Mr. Right Guy’. Which still makes me smile.

Lyrically Elias & The Wizzkids deliver solid and often entertaining storytelling on life, love and the people in between courtesy of frontman Elias Åkesson, and along with the significant achievement of bringing the wide range of musical genres and styles together in a working whole, they stand out in their own right, making ‘Just Do It’ a great effort.

Genre: Pop/Rock
Who: Elias & The Wizzkids
Album: Just Do It!
Label: Hybris
Year: 2010
Country: Sweden
Language: English
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Recommended tracks:
Waste Of Time – Mr. Right Guy – Crooked Road – Three Years Later – Hit & Run