Rhinos

The Rhinos are from Sweden, which you can sort of tell by the way vocalist and Huey Lewis look-alike Leif Svennson over-pronounces all the English here. Of course, my Swedish is pretty shit, so I probably shouldn’t judge. According to all the Hollies elements and Byrds-like jangle pop references, the Year of the Rhinos may have transpired a few decades back. But unlike some of their Rainbow Quartz contemporaries, this quintet doesn’t sound so much bent on recreating the ’60s as merely celebrating some of the decade’s sonic elements in an almost contemporary mellow, indie rock kind of way. This is clean, classic pop without any of the typical garage inclination. Anchored by sweet harmonies (except, perhaps, for the track "No Win Situation,” which would have benefited from another vocal take), the disc boasts surprisingly original arrangements given the less-than-novel pallet the band chooses to work with. Think Television Personalities on one of their better studio days, but without the killer, art school sense of humour.