Rating: 6/10
It is very peaceful and soothing, very Joanna Newsom-like, this debut album by the Swedish duo AK-Momo. It has everything it takes to be subjected to mad reviews, praising the gentle voice coming from the far-north part of Europe. Return to N.Y. is charming enough to please the chronically-ill young heart, grabbing a certain pop generational branch with ululating dynamics and slightly-electronic undertones - but with all that, it lacks courage to move forward, to travel from one station to another.
When I first audio-spotted “Greasy Spoon” and the title track – even prior to the record being delivered in my mailbox – I recall thinking this would be a demanding (meaning pleasant) listen. The comparisons with Goldfrapp circa Felt Mountain and Newsom’s vocals are almost inevitable, but I truly dismiss the presumption of this duo being matched up to Portishead as the press release suggests. Apart from the fact that the voice is wrapped in domestic electronics in both cases, and that they are two beautiful women, I see no association coming between Anna Karin von Malmborg and Beth Gibbons.
Recorded at Mattias Olsson (the other half of the duo)’s Roth Handle studio in Stockholm, Return to N.Y. encrusts soft singing pitches into a very devotional and evocative electronic tapestry. It has what most records starve for: an aura of convolution delivered in tiny little air gulfs, augmented by the mellotron and the optigan – which are both part of the vintage legacy of homemade, or otherwise, electronics – consistently dotting the tuneful path.
“Human Clones” is admittedly the most rhythm-infused number here - a calculated mishmash cutting through unyielding and almost glitchy criteria. For a project that cuts their teeth on pop electronics this is really audacious. Maybe they should craft from that mould in a future release. Elsewhere, except for a handful of songs, which in fact makes half the album, the overall grooveless ambience belies the density they are trying to convey.
The 6 out of 10 ranking is up there because I know for a fact that this record will go hand in glove with most critics’ oracles and I do not want to scare people away… but especially because I have a fascination for Scandinavian countries. Besides, “World Traveller” is such a nice track with its name-dropping of geographical mind spots. Again, Return to N.Y. may please the good souls navigating over the planet, but it makes the chronically inpatient’s blood boil of tiredness after the third track. While it is not my preferred cup of tea, others may find its taste quite satisfying.
http://www.lostatsea.net/review.phtml?id=15661608254249df9bc5572
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