Pacific!
Image: link
Reveries - Pacific! Album Review
Album Review
Californian electro-pop....from Sweden! Yes, really.
Two guys from Gothenburg, life-long chums Daniel Hogberg and Bjorn Synneby, have created the type of slick electro-pop of years gone by with a 21st century twist.
The pair harmonise like the Beach Boys on top form, so that gives it immediate credibility. Ok, so their remit is clearly directed towards MOR (and the feet / floor), nevertheless this is still an excellent, and it never borders on 'cheesy'. Reveries is the perfect summer album actually, and might one day make one of those never ending Best Summer Albums of All Time lists. Somewhere along the line they more than match the likes of French popsters Air and Daft Punk, ELO, Human League and tiny tiny shades of... dare I say it.. Pink Floyd. Others might say they're the Swedish equivalent of The Scissor Sisters, which is probably true.
The summer fun starts with a real punch - Villanova Sunset, a throbbing but sophisticated dance classic that would grace any club in Europe. The swooning golden harmonies kick-in on the chunky poppy Break Your Social System. The immediate effect is that your left (or right foot) is already tapping without you realising. The Beach Boys appreciation is massively evident from the high pitch harmonies of the out-and-out pop template of Sunset Blvd. This song is so darn gorgeous it's almost too good to be true, but it is. Hot Lips is unashamed pop at its best, one the 'Sisters' would be proud of, though the vocal has dropped to the tone of Phil Oakey. There's a similar frame around the pulsating Number One yet another targeted for the floor, whereas Runaway To Elsewhere retains pop beats, with the pair wandering into bouts of Floyd ambience, and its the only instrumental. Taking a breather from the disco heat, Love Isn't Always On Time, is pure and dreamy ear candy. They hit snippets of Pink Floyd again especially on the David Gilmour guitar breaks. More clever pop emerges on the radio friendly (they're all radio friendly in truth) Disappear and Silent Running, though on the later, there's some stylish country-Stones guitar licks. Not wishing to forget Brian Wilson, Live Before Seven is the kind of Beach Boys magic of the Pet Sounds era...even a deep backup mentions 'surfs up'. ELO gets a massive nod on closer A Tree, which ends on a sunny note - how else?
File under: Super duper troupers!
