steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Saralunden & Andrey Kiritchenko

"There Was No End" CDEP

Nexsound PQP

Genre: abstract pop

July 11 2008

From Ukranian label Nexsound's more pop-minded imprint, PQP, comes this EP collaboration between knob-twiddling sound sculptor Kiritchenko and singer Saralunden. The result is an abstract pop experience somewhat akin to Carla Bozulich's Evangelista album, but less morose. Beginning with "Come With Me," the duo proves that viable melodies can be constructed out of droning synths, handclaps, and manipulated vocals. Beautifully unsettling "Oh So Blue" follows, floating by in a bizarre flush of lush singing, eerie field recordings, and distant, echoing guitar; album closer "Tonight" occupies a similar domain. Folky and melodic "Take Your Chance When You Have It" could be the album's most conventional song (although I use that term lightly), but "Erotic Dreams" is the most memorable - its keyboard-laden melody fits perfectly into Kiritchenko's manner of digital manipulation, resulting in a bare-boned but infectious piece of ambient pop that sounds like a futuristic Henry Cow lullaby. With so many people relying on tired rock/pop traditions these days, sometimes you need to look in unlikely places to find people producing melodies in original ways. Here's a tip: head to Ukraine.

saralunden's myspace ... andrey kiritchenko's myspace

85%

youuuuuuuutube!: saralunden and andrey live performing music from this ep

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 6 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2008]