7
This latest offering from Sophie Rimheden wades deeper into experimental fields with reasonable success. Her sweet melodic voice is backed up with support from dark and unlikely places, most notably by Swedish hip-hop artist Aaron Phiri on the first track to be released from this album, "Go away". This pairing of soft and sweet with hard-edged hip-hop is surprising and played out to nice effect, without overdoing it. Other stand-out tracks include "Stay the night" and title track "Travel". The whole album reaches a tricky balance of sticking closely to a theme without ever becoming repetitive.
- Rhiannon Elston
One musician taking charge of their personal arsenal of technology can be a mighty impressive thing. Sophie Rimheden, one of Sweden's cutting-edge electronica artists, creates a dizzying mix of sound on her self-titled third album, yet there's a clear sense of purpose and a tight focus that prevent the disc from ever sounding self-indulgent (a problem I had with some tracks on her previous album). Rimheden employs a trademark multi-tracked harmony sound on these 13 tracks which is often deliriously enjoyable, along with peppy rhythms and fairly straightforward synths. But the arrangements are certainly not formulaic. My favorite song is "The real way," a genuine classic on which a rather eccentric lead vocal, a cool chugging rhythm track and a layered harmony chorus combine to spine-tingling effect. The infectious "ba ba's" and simple rhythms that permeate this record show a disciplined craftswoman at work, while there are curious surprises in the arrangements and overall mix. You're loopy in the best way, Sophie, m'dear, and this is a nifty little platter.
- Kevin Renick
Sophie Rimheden