Above the City

Album review

After having spent most of their long career making records that hovered between peacefully relaxed and melancholically chilly, with the occasional detour into Northern soul or trip-hop, Club 8 broke out of that mode on 2010's The People's Record, where they successfully incorporated a great deal of late-'60s/early-'70s West African pop into their indie pop sound. It was a game-changing move by the band's musical half, Johan Angergård, and it worked wonderfully, showing that the band's trademarks (Karolina Komstedt's richly expressive vocals, Angergård's deft productions kills, and his knack for writing hook-filled melodies) came through just as brightly even when the surroundings shifted. On 2013's Above the City, the duo stretch the boundaries of their sound some more, still without losing the innate Club 8-ness that makes their records so enchanting. Using the old Cubase VST 5.0 program to produce the album, Angergård turns to some lo-fi tricks, like using Russian field recordings, ghostly samples of children's choirs, whatever was on hand as percussion, and a wide range of cheesy old synths, to help add texture and depth to the album. Indeed it is probably the most varied and interesting Club 8 record to date, with wide-ranging sounds, moods, and song styles that cover everything from thumping indie rock complete with chanting and metal guitars ("Straight as an Arrow"), gently percolating synth pop ("You Could Be Anybody"), warm-as-the-sun dub-inspired jams ("Hot Sun"), and a couple club bangers that almost give fellow Swede Robyn a run for her glittery money ("Stop Taking My Time" and the super-discofied "I'm Not Gonna Grow Old"). Just to show how far the album travels on the sonic and emotional spectrum, they reference Julee Cruise on the breathtakingly frozen ballad "Kill Kill Kill," and on "A Small Piece of Heaven" they sound so sunny that you almost need sunscreen to safely listen to the song. Through it all, Komstedt's voice is a constant, making even the most angry lyrics (and there are a few this time around) sound coated in honey. Many bands start to run out of gas after being together only a few years, but Club 8 have been making records semi-steadily for nearly 20 years and have managed to stay fresh, first by perfecting their sound, then by blowing it up and heading in exciting new directions. It used to be that you bought one of their albums because you knew exactly what you would get, and that was comforting. Now you'll need to keep buying the records to see where they will take the Club 8 template next. As for Above the City, this stop on the journey is pretty magical.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo