I have been doggedly following Korallreven since singles “The Truest Faith”, “Loved-Up” and “As Young as Yesterday” made Internet splashes this year, and to say that An Album by Korallreven was one of my most anticipated releases this year is not an overstatement (and Rihanna!!!).
Korallreven, out of–where else–Sweden, is doing something very special with An Album by Korallreven, and I can honestly say that it is like nothing else out there. Marcus Joons and Daniel Tjäder (the latter of The Radio Dept) manage to swirl together a mélange of disparate elements from across continents into a vibrantly messy masterpiece. It’s modern but it’s organic. It’s hazey shoegaze but it’s textured with drum machine beats. There are lush, haunting vocals (Victoria Bergsman is featured on “As Young as Yesterday” and “Honey Mine”), sometimes choral, but no lyrical zingers for you to remember. Countless instruments are employed to supplement the electronic production. They really threw me for a loop with the tribal island chorus in “Sa Sa Samoa”, the Italian rambling that opens “Keep Your Eyes Shut”, the Chinese instruments and pentatonic melodies mixed with overarching space notes and howling wolves in “Comin’ Down” – what is this brand of global pop?? And then you want to fall in love with songs like “Honey Mine” or “Loved-Up”, play them over and over, hug them tightly and never let go.
I listen to this album and am transported somewhere else. Sometimes I imagine a forest in Sweden, some place where the shadows of trees stretch across bright snow. But sometimes I’m transported out of this world to some sort of sublime place of melody and texture that only exists in my dreams.
Bravo, Korallreven.
Keep ’em comin, Sweden!
Stream it here.
Jam Jansen 