Big Anonymous

Album review

There is a sort of dark strangeness about nordic singers. A rather appealing strangeness, in fact. From its wild album cover to the violins that screech over faraway vocals from the first track "Underworld" through almost the entire album, one never quite feels at ease with Big Anonymous. Perhaps because it often talks about death. Yet we can't get enough. Somewhat like watching a horror movie, we're held on by the unknown, strapped in by the suspense. Far from sounding like the genre would dictate, this sixth record from Swede Sarah Assbring alias El Perro del Mar, currently signed with City Slang features many layers of gothic synths and a constant slowness that spreads itself over the tracks that extend over more than four minutes. Ghostlike, sharp ("In Silence"), or mixed like on "Cold Dark Pond," which is evocative of a darker version of Beach House, her voice seems almost unreal.

From these sallow moonlight landscapes emerge a few faded colors. There is a cover of "Please Stay," written by Burt Bacharach, that seems dipped in an acid bath, as it crackles like a scratched record, drones, and samples The Drifters' doo-wop version from 1962. But there's also "Kiss Of Death," whose more straightforward pop can't help but remind us of Lykke Li. From the outset, these electronic textures show the multi-instrumentalist's incredible long-term evolution since the organic and folkloric KoKoro, released eight years ago, in 2016. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz