At one point during the movie Dig, an A&R rep refers to the Brian Jonestown Massacre as "so retro, yet so futuristic". It's an ambiguous moniker at best, but after a few tries at Beautifully Smart, I'm almost to the point of dropping the same label. This Norwegian act incorporates equal measures of psychedelia, Brit-pop, prog-rock, and stadium band aesthetics and mixes them with a slightly more modern flair. "Radio 60" blares with organ trills and melodies, thumps with Hofher bass picking, and rumbles with ghost notes on the snare, but when all the elements pull together, they give Weather Report a run for their money. The concise "Beautifully Smart, She's Standing There" applies the same endearing boy/girl harmonies you might hear on a Linda Ronstadt album, supplementing them with an uptempo, overdriven alt-rock rhythm section. By contrast, "Command Smile:able" (sic) mixes staccato new-wave guitar attacks, go-go beats, screaming octave-note solos and Thor Jørgen Holm's eerily Elvis Costello-esque vocals. Torch song "For Yourself" follows perhaps the strangest path, blending Fabian style melodies and passion with Pink Floyd synth textures and atmospheres.

Aq Pop effectively avoid rehashing of the past; they pay homage to their influences without necessarily letting any of them shine through. Pull out the bong and load it with ecstasy? Beautifully Smart suggests that it just might work.