Quirky art-rock from Oslo.
Accidents Never Happen's debut full length album features quirky off-kilter rhythms and guitars that jangle with indie-pop fuzziness. Hailing from Oslo, hence the album title "Oslo Beat" but about to make the move to the U.K. to pursue their musical career, Accidents Never Happen have something of a universal appeal in their catchy hooks and danceable jangly tunes that means they should do well wherever they decide to lay their hats.
Their art-rock riffs, and slightly downbeat melancholy feel bring to mind The National, especially on tracks like 'How To Fuck Up A Cup Of Coffee' which is tuneful in an off-key way and has a low-fi old school indie feel in the background fuzz, and on some tracks the stop/start rhythms and little touches are reminiscent of Minus The Bear's tricky sections. Accidents... have good tunes but they aren't obvious or infectious on first listen, rather, they are growers. After you first hear them they slowly come back to haunt you at all hours demanding to be heard again and you can't help but give in to temptation. Granted, the album doesn't break any new ground, but it has a familiar feel that makes it easy to listen to despite all the quirks.
Occasionally "Oslo Beat" breaks in to heavier territory, bringing out the riffs and screaming, but it never lingers on these things, just uses them to emphasise or make a point. More often than not they stick to their indie roots, 'Saturday Night' even reaching the epic lengths of five minutes plus with its crescendo of sweeping instrumental quirk. There is a lot going on here to hold the interest, it's hard to get bored or loose interest; this is probably because they not only pile on the off-kilter touches, but also because they also leave room for moments of quiet reflection: 'The Girl Who Loved To Much' being one such moment; a two minute simple and gentle song with no fuss, just a good little tune and no messing about. They also do more straightforward but heavier tunes like 'White Noise' which again provides an excellent hook laden tune to get your teeth into but really kicks off with some heavy riffs and screaming reminiscent of Black Francis. All in all "Oslo Beat" is an excellent debut; the album has a varied mixture of tracks and slides easily and skillfully between art-rock quirk, heavy, screamy moments and indie-pop.