Every now and again an album comes around that just hits you right…there; an album that doesn’t so much tug at the heartstrings but flourishes and blooms inside your chest until you’re fit to bursting with longing.
‘Skyer’, the debut
album from Swedish trio Postiljonen, is the latest such album.
Part Beach House,
but heavily influenced by M83, Postiljonen (trans. Postman) have
delivered (sorry) an album of sweeping, magnificent beauty. Just hearing the opening chords of Help is enough to stop you in your
tracks and just stare, wide-eyed, mouth gaping, helpless. Throughout the album, synth pads bleed into
one another like a watercolour painting, punctuated by the brushstrokes of heavily
reverbed drums, whilst saxophones croon with melancholic romance and vocalist Mia Bøe’s sultry whispers disappear in the haze.
Some tracks of ‘Skyer’ do run the risk of simply drifting by, but there’s
just enough variety for each track to sound distinct: the synth-poppy Skying High; the wonderfully relaxed Plastic Panorama with its mesmeric harp arpeggios; and the upbeat and rhythmically urgent Supreme, that ends with a soaring guitar solo. As a whole, though, the
album is dangerously reminiscent of M83, the worst offenders being Skying High (that not only features a melodic hook to give Midnight City a run for its money, but also a child’s voice clearly inspired by the
French group’s Raconte-moi Une Histoire), and Atlantis with its emphasis on the saxophone.
Most distinct of all is All That We Had Is Lost: a unique take on Whitney’s How Will I Know, turning it from bubblegum to bittersweet dream-pop that certainly takes us to the clouds above.
Most distinct of all is All That We Had Is Lost: a unique take on Whitney’s How Will I Know, turning it from bubblegum to bittersweet dream-pop that certainly takes us to the clouds above.
Get over the comparisons
and similarities, however, and ‘Skyer’ still works on an emotional level. The trio have a talent for mood, atmosphere
and melody – Bøe could be singing in Swedish (N.B she doesn’t) and the
album would still hit the same peaks and troughs, with yearning melodies and
chord progressions soaked in bittersweet melancholy – Help especially. The
saxophone solos are just the icing on the cake.
‘Skyer’ might be ten
tracks of Midnight City mimicry, but
for anyone who’s worn out M83’s opus, this is the next best thing that still
manages to heartily strike at your emotional core.
4/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
* Help
* Supreme
* All That We Had Is Lost
Listen: ‘Skyer’ is available now.
