(New Wave / Pop-Rock / Alternative) The Nits - Malpensa - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

One of Europe’s most enduringly successful bands, the Nits release their 25th album Malpensa on March 9. The Amsterdam-based three-piece of Henk Hofstede (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Robert Jan Stips (keyboards, vocals) and Rob Kloets (drums, percussion) have maintained an unparalleled level of creativity over a career that recently entered its fifth decade, and Malpensa finds them still seeking out new worlds to conquer.Formed in 1974, the band enjoyed their first Netherlands chart success during the 80s with the singles Tutti Ragazzi, Red Tape and Nescio, followed by the pan-European hit In The Dutch Mountains. In the decades that followed they have established themselves as one of Europe’s most hard-working live acts, performing to legions of loyal fans in every major city, from Paris to Moscow, Helsinki to London, while also building a matchless reputation for recording albums that never cover the same musical territory twice.Now, following the relatively stripped-down production of Doing the Dishes (2007) and Strawberry Wood (2009), Malpensa finds the Nits returning to a much more richly-detailed approach. Songs like the opening Five Fingers, the lead single Love-Locks and Big Black Boats are awash with multi-tracked vocals, evocative electronics and exotic rhythms, while – as usual – Henk Hofstede’s lyrics range freely over landscapes both geographical and internal. The most conclusive proof of the band’s restless determination to push ever onward into new realms, however, comes in the form of Bad Government and Its Effects on Town and Country, an exhilarating eight-minute collaboration with the renowned hip-hop/jazz trumpeter Colin Benders of Kyteman. At last, Nits fans get to hear Robert Jan Stips and Rob Kloet –both superb musicians in their own right – stretch out as never before, and the results are spellbindingYet the Nits’ first loyalty has always been to the humble pop song: their greatest challenge to find new ways of exploring the infinite possibilities offered by those few tantalising minutes, without frightening away the casual listener. And in this respect, Malpensa is as successful as any of its 24 predecessors.