General Ratings:
Music: 7
Lyrics: 5
Scope: 4
Consistency: 7
RIYL: The Go Betweens, The Lightning Seeds, The Magnetic Fields
Further Listening: The Labrador Records stable, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Fireflies
Place of Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Instrument/Sounds List: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keyboards/Synthesizers, Bass, Drums, Drum Machine, Female/Male Vocals, Piano, Violin, Saxophone, Trumpet, Autoharp, Tambourine, Foot Stomps, Droning Backing Vocals.
Mood Tones:
Season: Summer
Weather: Sunny
Time of Day: Afternoon
Song Highlights: The Park, Something to Keep, Migration
Favorite Lyrics:
"There's no time for disagreeing/
When the scene is so deceiving." (from "Final Say")
"The falling of stars/
Will come back in fashion again/
On nights when/
You were happening." (from "Subtle Changes")
"Now that I've turned/
Every conceivable cheek/
Do I have to admit/
It makes me sore and weak?" (from "Someday We're Through")
Other Thoughts:
Pelle Almqvist (of all people) once made a comment about Swedes having to re-invent all of the types of music that they heard on TV growing up, because the albums were never locally available to them. This idea gains traction when one considers the breadth of sounds coming out of Sweden in recent years against it's population size (about 9.2 million people, roughly the same as the state of North Carolina) and homogeneity of demographic (84% of the country identify as ethnic Swedes). I mention this because to my ear, Sambassadeur sounds unmistakably Swedish, fitting easily into a constellation including ABBA, The Cardigans and Jens Lekman. If one were to tug on the roots a little harder, I think they could be traced back in equal parts to the New Romantic acts coming out of Britain in the 1980s and the American AM radio hits of the 1970s. So I suppose you could argue that a band like Sambassadeur is one generation removed from the sonic integration that Almqvist was talking about, now swinging the pendulum back in the direction of unification of sound and aesthetic.
But this parsing itself misses one of the most unifying aspects of modern Swedish music, namely its penchant for pairing sunny melodies with utterly depressing lyrics, of which Sambassadeur are guilty as charged. One imagines this as a response to the epidemic of Seasonal Affective Disorder that descends upon Sweden from September to May, with the music being written as a bulwark and the lyrics as an exorcism. As one might guess from glancing at that section of the review, Migration isn't exactly lyrically robust. The lyrics are, however, quite intimate and romantic, easily read as slightly embellished journal entries. Taken separately they may seem trifling, but in aggregate they display equal amounts of a longing for human contact and a sense of hopelessness regarding the prospects that any meaningful interaction might occur.
As mentioned before, this depressing sentiment is counterbalanced by the music, which is continuously cheerful and up tempo. By my count, there are at least 4 different types of synthesizer employed, which establishes the primary sonic commonality between Migration and it's New Wave forebearers (even some of the acoustic instruments sound digitally stretched and processed). All of this is laid over a bed of intensely melodic, interweaving acoustic and electric guitars that are the album's bedrock. We hear more of Anna Persson and less of Daniel Permbo than on the eponymous debut, which is probably preferable, as Permbo's voice is rather thin and frequently pushed beyond the boundaries it was intended to remain within.
Finally, to those who seek out and enjoy this record, I can't suggest strongly enough that you spend some time plumbing the depths of the Labrador Records catalogue. From the sampler box alone, I've found 5 artists that I love (The Radio Dept., Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, Club 8 and Pelle Carlberg, along with Sambassadeur), and a good number of others that I enjoy in smaller doses. I can't think of any other label currently operating whose batting average is higher.
The Downside:
As mentioned before, the lyrics can be rather simple, and to an indisposed ear, a bit over-wrought. The melodies are syrupy and could come to be too much for those lacking the appropriate dentum. The strong, mechanical beats may feel a bit dated, and/or cause one to flash back to a more awkward and hormonal time in one's life. If listened to with headphones, this record may incite spontaneous bottom shaking, which depending on location and company could be a very good or very bad thing. Handle with caution and optimism, preferably in appropriate levels of daylight.
Music: 7
Lyrics: 5
Scope: 4
Consistency: 7
RIYL: The Go Betweens, The Lightning Seeds, The Magnetic Fields
Further Listening: The Labrador Records stable, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Fireflies
Place of Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Instrument/Sounds List: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keyboards/Synthesizers, Bass, Drums, Drum Machine, Female/Male Vocals, Piano, Violin, Saxophone, Trumpet, Autoharp, Tambourine, Foot Stomps, Droning Backing Vocals.
Mood Tones:
Season: Summer
Weather: Sunny
Time of Day: Afternoon
Song Highlights: The Park, Something to Keep, Migration
Favorite Lyrics:
"There's no time for disagreeing/
When the scene is so deceiving." (from "Final Say")
"The falling of stars/
Will come back in fashion again/
On nights when/
You were happening." (from "Subtle Changes")
"Now that I've turned/
Every conceivable cheek/
Do I have to admit/
It makes me sore and weak?" (from "Someday We're Through")
Other Thoughts:
Pelle Almqvist (of all people) once made a comment about Swedes having to re-invent all of the types of music that they heard on TV growing up, because the albums were never locally available to them. This idea gains traction when one considers the breadth of sounds coming out of Sweden in recent years against it's population size (about 9.2 million people, roughly the same as the state of North Carolina) and homogeneity of demographic (84% of the country identify as ethnic Swedes). I mention this because to my ear, Sambassadeur sounds unmistakably Swedish, fitting easily into a constellation including ABBA, The Cardigans and Jens Lekman. If one were to tug on the roots a little harder, I think they could be traced back in equal parts to the New Romantic acts coming out of Britain in the 1980s and the American AM radio hits of the 1970s. So I suppose you could argue that a band like Sambassadeur is one generation removed from the sonic integration that Almqvist was talking about, now swinging the pendulum back in the direction of unification of sound and aesthetic.
But this parsing itself misses one of the most unifying aspects of modern Swedish music, namely its penchant for pairing sunny melodies with utterly depressing lyrics, of which Sambassadeur are guilty as charged. One imagines this as a response to the epidemic of Seasonal Affective Disorder that descends upon Sweden from September to May, with the music being written as a bulwark and the lyrics as an exorcism. As one might guess from glancing at that section of the review, Migration isn't exactly lyrically robust. The lyrics are, however, quite intimate and romantic, easily read as slightly embellished journal entries. Taken separately they may seem trifling, but in aggregate they display equal amounts of a longing for human contact and a sense of hopelessness regarding the prospects that any meaningful interaction might occur.
As mentioned before, this depressing sentiment is counterbalanced by the music, which is continuously cheerful and up tempo. By my count, there are at least 4 different types of synthesizer employed, which establishes the primary sonic commonality between Migration and it's New Wave forebearers (even some of the acoustic instruments sound digitally stretched and processed). All of this is laid over a bed of intensely melodic, interweaving acoustic and electric guitars that are the album's bedrock. We hear more of Anna Persson and less of Daniel Permbo than on the eponymous debut, which is probably preferable, as Permbo's voice is rather thin and frequently pushed beyond the boundaries it was intended to remain within.
Finally, to those who seek out and enjoy this record, I can't suggest strongly enough that you spend some time plumbing the depths of the Labrador Records catalogue. From the sampler box alone, I've found 5 artists that I love (The Radio Dept., Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, Club 8 and Pelle Carlberg, along with Sambassadeur), and a good number of others that I enjoy in smaller doses. I can't think of any other label currently operating whose batting average is higher.
The Downside:
As mentioned before, the lyrics can be rather simple, and to an indisposed ear, a bit over-wrought. The melodies are syrupy and could come to be too much for those lacking the appropriate dentum. The strong, mechanical beats may feel a bit dated, and/or cause one to flash back to a more awkward and hormonal time in one's life. If listened to with headphones, this record may incite spontaneous bottom shaking, which depending on location and company could be a very good or very bad thing. Handle with caution and optimism, preferably in appropriate levels of daylight.
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