Club 8
Strangely Beautiful

It takes just a handful of seconds to immerse oneself in the magical atmosphere of "Strangely Beautiful". Light pop, of course, but refined, at times ethereal, made intriguing by skillful yet minimal electronic inserts, which Karolina's velvety voice never ceases to warm up.

Thus, the first tracks develop precisely in these directions, and it would already be enough to unconditionally love the Swedish duo. Listening to "Stay By My Side" is almost poignant, and while "Cold Heart" slips away, you think it must be a collection of singles... and then "This Is The Morning" comes along. It's 75 seconds of disarming beauty: simple piano chords and a golden guitar arpeggio, with her voice inventing the sweetest counterpoints over his. You think of the best works of Azure Ray in "November", the perfection of "You And Your Sister" sung by Tanya Donnelly and Kim Deal in the "This Mortal Coil" lineup (the best piece of the two decades?), then you stop thinking because those two start giving pop lessons again... "The Beauty Of The Way We're Leaving" manages to convince you, for a moment, that this world isn't so bad after all; it must really be a dream. And indeed, "Saturday Night Engine" arrives to wake you up with its dance groove, which you just don't expect, and yet it rocks. But the finale is still honeyed...