The Loch Ness Mouse

The Norwegian indie pop group the Loch Ness Mouse spent the bulk of their existence crafting breezy, guitar-driven tunes steeped in Beach Boys harmonies, an approach that echoed the styles of California Snow Story, Sambassadeur, and Nobody & the Mystic Chords of Memory. Formed in 1992 by siblings Jörn and Ole Johannes Åleskjaer, the ensemble expanded over the subsequent decade to incorporate drummer Emil Nikolaisen, his younger sister Hilma Nikolaisen on drums as well (herself part of Umbrella), bassist Morten Holmqvist, and keyboardist Helga Trömborg, who shared the Åleskjaer brothers’ hometown. Seven years after the band’s inception, Perfect Pop Records in Norway issued their first long-player, Flair for Darjeeling. A second album, Key West, arrived in 2002 and secured American distribution through the Athens, GA imprint Happy Happy Birthday to Me, earning favorable notices from indie reviewers and earning a nomination for Norway’s Alarm Prize in the Album of the Year category. In 2003 Henriette Akerholdt, another Umbrella alum, joined on drums while Emil Nikolaisen moved to bass, and the group cut the EP Friends & Fenders with assistance from the Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson.

A full-length follow-up did not surface until 2009, when Forward Records released New Graffiti. By then the Loch Ness Mouse had overhauled their earlier jangly, C-86-rooted aesthetic, drawing instead from Erykah Badu and the Roots to craft a lively, horn-accented fusion of indie pop and R&B. The record included several guest contributions, among them a vocal appearance by Stella Mwangi on the title track.