5
A Perfect Friend is a collaboration between singer/songwriter Thomas "Denver" Jonsson and C-J Larsgarden (of Pacta Sunt Servada and various other projects). Their debut album moves within the disarming, harmless confines of what most music critics like to call 'folktronica'. There are scratches, beeps, static and gentle rhythms, accompanied by organ and glockenspiel, reminiscent of a less ethereal Tape or Library Tapes. The duo set themselves apart a bit from the average electroacoustic/folktronica/ambient constellation with the use of Thomas' vocals on some tracks, but in the end there just isn't much about this album which makes it stand out from the pack. Still, it is a fine soundtrack to a hazy afternoon by the water, with the summer sun in your eyes.
- Viktor Ålander
8
I was slated to review this CD a while back, but couldn't quite get a handle on it. It's really good, but it seemed shrouded in fog upon first listen - one of those platters that wouldn't reveal its aesthetic very easily until I recently I played it again on a bleak, overcast day following yet another midwest ice storm. The Stockhom-based Holiday for Strings sculpt a unique brand of rock that blends fractured guitar tracks, insistent percussion and coolly evocative electronics. The album is mostly instrumental, but the short vocal passages that are present are delivered in a sort of laconic, hazy style that de-emphasizes any sort of tangible theme. It's a fresh, sometimes sparkling, sometimes abrasive soundscape, not easily compared to anything else. The music seems very much adrift and doesn't head towards any obvious destination, but it sure holds your attention, though, and the concluding track "Jump on foot" is particularly captivating.
- Kevin Renick