When Saints Go Machine are one of the breakthrough artists of the past year. 'Konkylie' is the second album from the Danish electronic wizards and features the previously reviewed Church and Law - an epic stunner of dark musical magic.
Amongst the numerous gigs the band have played over the past few months, they've still found time to write new material and Mannequin is their latest effort. In typical fashion it's ethereally atmospheric, the simmering synths of the verses making way for an expansive chorus, though it's looser than the tight choruses of Church and Law or Kelly and lacks a defining pop hook. The final third expands the sound further, the production evolving from synthetic electronics to organic brass-dominated orchestra. Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild's vocal follows the opposite trajectory, his fluttering falsetto later swapped for disembodied robotics. It's his ghostly voice that haunts the listener long after the music fades.
Kudos too for the darkly surreal animated video that matches the band's dramatic, moody music and their frightening choice of cover art.
4/5
Listen: Mannequin is available now.
