Olof Broström
Giant owl
Monument [2]

I'm pretty fearless in my willingness to review weird records; I guess I like the challenge of seeking a perspective on strange and offbeat sounds. So I didn't flinch after listening to Swedish electronica songwriter Olof Broström's curious sophomore full-length disc, although I wasn't sure what I would say. But let's start with the often surreal lyrics (which were handily printed out on an insert sheet), Olof's alternatingly deadpan, disembodied or just plain sad vocals, and the determinedly offbeat synth and rhythm track combo employed throughout the 15 songs. Interesting tracks include "The creation," where the vocal seems to convey a sort of pain generated for dramatic effect rather than personal catharsis, "We travel north," notable for its gurgling percussion and more balanced vocal track, "The mighty teardrops," whose minimal synth--possibly even played on a cheap Casio--does nothing to dampen the very eccentric arrangement and effects, which features an appearance by Penny Century, and on "You look like gold," the quaver in Broström's vocal adds drama to the already strange lyrics ("Of course I hear you/You're outside my window"). The instrumental "Mexico 86" sounds like traveling through a forbidding landscape at dusk, and the two "Big waters" tracks that close the album are densely textured ambient music, with the latter making a genuinely eerie, hypnotic and unsettling impression. So...Olof is eccentric and a bit outside of categories. This isn't an easy listen, but I dig artists like Mr. Broström who come from a place far away, and capture that feel in their music quite well.
- Kevin Renick