Anna Leong
Terrorarium
White Weekend
Sometimes, going into a record-review without knowing anything about the band can be rewarding - like watching a movie without having seen the usual Don LaFontaine-narrated trailer madness before and then being caught off guard by its strength. My encounter with Umeå-based indiepop-rockers Anna Leong's new album "Terrorarium" was something like that: You'll have to excuse me, but given the bandname, I'd half expected a female singer-songwriter, so Anna Leong's slightly psychedelic indiepop-rock came at some surprise to me. One could surely dig out countless reference points and influences to their seemingly classic sound, their choruses rich with vocal harmonies, and the very "Swedish-indie" voice of singer Jonas Bergsten that gives everything a more modern edge. But what makes the record stand out amidst other retro-ish acts of the moment is its extremely solid songwriting and the sheer amount of catchy melodies and hooks. Somehow though, the album's riches are also its biggest downside. Despite all the accessibility and pop-ness, the eleven songs feel a bit too disparate and make it hard for the listener to get a coherent feel for the album. The band seems to have quite a turbulent record with the music-industry in the past (and now run their own label), and I hope that their situation will allow them to release further albums that focus more on their obvious songwriting-strengths and less on post-psychedelia and sound-variability. Still, a recommendable album with a couple of highly virulent popsongs.
- Arnulf Köhncke
