by Matt Kelchner

There is a seemingly constant flow of catchy, infectious pop music coming from the Scandinavian section of Europe. Such as been a fact for quite some time now. Whether it’s Denmark, Sweden or Norway, there is a long list of artists who have, and continue, to release songs that get people moving. Case in point: Danish singer/producer Nanna Øland Fabricius, aka Oh Land. Four albums into her career and she is still churning out dancefloor hits. Wednesday night she returned to Underground Arts for a long overdue return to Philadelphia and proved that there’s no slowing her down. Along for the ride was budding west coast based pop star, I Am Strikes.

Oh Land’s latest, Earth Crisis, was a crowdfunded release recorded in her Brooklyn apartment. With that stand though, it was by no means bedroom pop. Proven by the lead single, “Head Up High”, the new songs were just as energetic and moving as some of her biggest hits. Wednesday night these tracks blended right in when put alongside fan favorites like “Sun Of A Gun” and “Renaissance Girl”.

In between songs the bubbly, adorable Oh Land chatted with the crowd about everything from visiting art museums around the city to whether or not dinosaurs were covered in feathers. And when technical difficulties shut down one of her songs midway through, she showed to the crowd how her beatboxing skills greatly outweigh her whistling. “I guess that’s what you get when you try to bring a whole space station to a club” she jokingly added.

Much of Wednesday night was devoted to Earth Crisis. From watching the crowd sing along though, you would’ve guessed that these songs were years old. The album’s title track as well as the previously mentioned “Head Up High” served as a few of the standout new tunes. Oh Land ended her set with one of the album’s final cuts “No Particular” before coming back out for a short encore filled with a little old and a little new, “White Nights” and Trailblazer”.

Sacramento’s own I Am Strikes kicked off the night. The emerging artist switched between keyboard and guitar as she ran through a handful of solo songs before bringing on her drummer and best friend Logan to help the remainder of her set. I Am Strikes treated the crowd to a short but sweet night with songs ranging from soft, subtle acoustic and slow piano tunes to driving, hook filled pop hits. The most ear-wormy song that we’re still humming along to? “Bitches”. Trust us, go check it out!

We’ve got our fingers crossed we won’t have to wait as long to see Oh Land come around again. It’s only a short trip down from Brooklyn and we could always use more Danish synth pop hits!