Ok, Ok, OK …… So I know I said a week, but this album came my way this week by Swedish group Norma, entitled Book Of Norma. It’s more than a stunning debut album, it’s bloody fantastic! It’s like sex on your stereo. Hope you’re getting how much I love this album.

The first two tracks - ‘S.A.M’, and ‘Waste’ the lead single - are the foreplay to just tease you and suck you in. By the time you get to ‘Evelyn’ you are ready for something with more substance!!!! ‘Evelyn’ is that total experience - best listened to full volume in your car late at night whilst driving fast along a motorway as the headlights cut a path. As you zoom past the traffic, the track lifts you to a state of euphoria before dumping right back down only to take off again. At 9.02 it could be considered indulgent, but it works to perfection. At the moment it’s my constant driving companion.

The album is full of different styles and little journeys - each track is carefully constructed, and a real individual work of art. Right at the end when you feel your senses have been taken to the extreme, there is a twist in the tail, in the shape of ‘Empty Hands’. This beautiful haunting ballsd is the perfect way to gently lower you back to planet earth. The lyric is beautiful, the backing vocals heavenly. This album is slated for release on November 11th on Novoton Records - don’t miss it! It’s one for the shortlist of albums of the year I feel!!

P.S. - Many thanks to Kip for the original post on these guys!

- Mark