Raymond & Maria
10 songs
Warner Music Sweden
Since I don't speak Swedish or any other Scandinavian language, it's sometimes difficult to find out information on bands that don't have an English version of their website. With folk/pop quintet Raymond & Maria, the website confirmed that "Maria" is the main vocalist, but I have no idea who "Raymond" is; the other band members are Camilla, Per, Johan and Staffan. Maybe it's some conceptual thing, I dunno. At any rate, this is a pleasant, melodic recording with seven tunes sung in English and three in Swedish. If the Indigo Girls knew when to end a song and had more vocal finesse, they might sound a bit like Raymond & Maria (also if they'd listened to a Blondie record or two). Maria has a sweet, natural voice and it makes the ear-friendly melodies of tunes like "No one notices your brand your new t-shirt" (terrific song), "They love you" and "Dumb again" just soar. With hand-clap percussion and crisply recorded acoustic strumming, these bouncy songs keep you hooked while an underlying sense of familiarity will have you wondering where you've heard the melodies before. You probably haven't, but once the modest charms of this disc take hold, you're liable to get very familiar with Raymond and Maria's ingratiating sound. Nice, sunny day acoustic pop.
[ed: I do believe that this disc is a special int'l promo compiling the group's newer English-language material with a few older Swedish tracks.]
- Kevin Renick