Sea Lion
Mercy land
In My Kitchen
This album comes like a pleasant surprise amid winter, and I'm astonished more haven't caught on. Two drop-dead gorgeous Swedish girls (one, pictured on the album) with the kind of child-like singing style that's popular amongst freak-folk hippies these days. Sweet harmonies and a faraway, easy-to-fall-for, down-tempo introversion -- what's not to love? [see: here] Has more of the popular appeal of Joan Baez than left-field Karen Dalton, though the most immediate comparison, at least vocally, is to CocoRosie, minus their quirky instrumentation. I'm quite attached to the stripped-down, acoustical nature of this album; the cowering suggestive, sparse tones. Moments, like "Queen of the Underground" remind me of walking through Loren Connors' Hell's Kitchen Park. The more I listen to it actually, the more I'm drawn to the guitar-sound. Despite deceivingly plain riffs, the production really glistens. First and last songs "Rebel gold" and "Visions of you" ring similar, but are haunting nonetheless. "Golden sea" is one of my favourites, whereas "Hurricane blues", which crosses into generic blues riffing, is probably my least. Anyway, I'd keep an eye on these girls. This album is a great cure for cold bones, endearing, easy on the soul --they're definitely talent in the making.
- Ann Sung-an Lee
