The only album by the Danish band
the Floor is heavily derivative of 1967 British pop-psychedelia, to the point where most knowledgeable listeners would simply assume the musicians were British if not informed otherwise. (Indeed, a few of the songs were written or co-written by expatriate Englishman John Inglis, although he wasn't a member of the band.) There are observational story-songs; upbeat pop/rockers with a mild vaudevillian/music hall bounce, à la some of the work from the period by the
Beatles and
the Kinks; Baroque/classically influenced strings; some flower power-tinged lyrics, and an eclecticism that runs from relatively straight rock to self-consciously arty compositions. It might not be the most original piece of work, in the literal as well as musical sense, since little of the material was written by the band. But it's nonetheless decent, tuneful material with some attractive vocal harmonies, and it's more varied than many such records from the time. Some of the tracks are forgettable, yet others are a fair way above average, including the delicately folky "Hush," which has a beguiling winding melody, and "Thinking Mr. Jones," whose "I'm Only Sleeping"-like backward guitar features prominently in a tale of domestic infidelity that's very English in its gentility. "A Rainbow Around Us" rocks harder than most of the album, and is one of its highlights, with its mixture of sunny pop harmonies and well-oiled British Invasion/folk-rock-influenced jangling guitar. [The 2012 U.K. reissue on Retro adds historical liner notes and the 1968 non-LP singles "You Ain't Going Nowhere"/"Open the Door Homer," which were among the most obscure early covers of songs from
Bob Dylan's
Basement Tapes, with fairly well done pop/rock arrangements.]