This Year´s Model: ¡menuda sorpresa!

This Year's Model is the solo project that never came to be. It started when I -Niklas Gustaffson (The Higher Elevations)- was offered a solo deal with legendary independent label Marsh Marigold. I quickly recorded and released an EP late 2005. But at the time of recording my solo plans had been shelved and replaced by a full band. I have surrounded myself with the best of people I know: long time friend and musical partner Henric Strömberg (Tomas Denver Jonsson and The September Surprise), the best and most talented girl in the world Ylva Lindberg (Friday Bridge), and the man that used to be in the Morons, the highly accomplished Mattias Svensson.

Now, This Year's Model present you with our first album, The Clock Strikes Ten. A quite crime novel-esque, don't you think. So we invited three of our sources of inspiration to write something in that vein to the booklet; Dickon Edwards, Vic Godard and Jessica Griffin. Amazingly, they all agreed. So, the booklet to this album (beautifully packaged in a digipak sleeve with a 20-page booklet by clever design agency Une Esthétique Nouvelle) is really a terrific cultural artefact in its own right.

But musically then, is it any good? Well, This Year's Model are smugly pleased with this record, anyway. Bid from Scarlet's Well is on it—reciting, singing and playing wonderful guitars on O, Heaven Help My Foolish Heart. And Louise from Don't be a Stranger, sharing writing credits and playing lead guitar on Picture This Ended. The fifteen tracks span from jangly guitars to sweet pianos; via one or two slightly weird harpsichords. We think it's splendid. Hope you will like it too.