So, Nina Persson has slipped out of her Cardigan, packed the tent and gone off to A Camp (pronounced "uh Camp" officially). For a limited time only, her knitwear-based collective are on hold and we're now confronted with 'the artist' not the sultry and glamorous pop star.
The songs on this collection originate from 1998 after Nina spent time in the depths of a Swedish forest in midwinter with a man called Niclas Frisk (from a band called Atomic Swing apparently) and some other like-minded musicians. Due to the rustic settings and picturesque surroundings the atmosphere was like a camp, hence the name. Well that and the fact that the surname Persson is the Swedish equivalent of Smith.
The songs recorded during this time remained in Nina's private collection until she decided to go it alone and send them to her hero, one Mark Linkous, main-brain of the rather fabulous Sparklehorse. He agreed to take the controls on the project, after the pair collaborated on the last 'Horse record 'It's A Wonderful Life'. The results are now with us.
Unsurprisingly the album is pretty much a marriage of both main players other combos. Persson's instantly recognisable, soft, oh so sweet vocals drift gently over Linkous's mixture of meandering, melancholic country and distorted beats. On 'Walking The Cow' and 'Hard As a Stone' he adds his trademark vocal distortions to her angelic chords. Yet unlike the tortured, often savage results his own voice box spits-out, her silky, honey-soaked delivery tempers down any harshness.
The rest of the album - from gorgeous, swooning opener 'Frequent Flyer' to the tender finale of 'Elephant' - is drenched in heartache and often beautifully bittersweet lyrics. Up there with 'It's Wonderful Life', Linkous has crafted an album that compliments Persson's songs and vision to great effect. If they can make such sweet music together hopefully summer camp is on the cards again in the not too distant future.
