Swedish singlet loves her one-word titles and eliciting every comparison we can muster…
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[5.90]
Jer Fairall: Milquetoast quirk, like Lykke Li trying to be Norah Jones, Bjork trying to score an episode of Dawson’s Creek, or Feist trying even less hard to be Feist.
[4]
Anthony Easton: Apparently she’s Swedish; she sounds Anglo. I don’t know if that’s me being an idiot, or the complete banality of this track, which didn’t give me anything to hold onto or any ideas to investigate further.
[2]
Erick Bieritz: Amanda Mair’s second single “Doubt” was livelier than her stately, austere debut “House,” and “Sense” is a further step in the same direction, positively bouncing along, even if the doo-do-dos are dutifully downbeat. It’s the least interesting of the three singles, but it’s probably a good move to broaden her sound now before writers build up too much momentum with Kate Bush comparisons and The Age Thing (think of the “Losing My Edge” moment countrywoman Robyn is theoretically having!). Post-LDR, it’s never too soon for young female artists to outflank the pigeonholers.
[6]
Brad Shoup: This recalls — again — Lisa Miskovsky’s “Sweet Misery,” but at least this time it’s a Swedish pop singer, not an American pop-country singer. This one’s jazzy without signifying, and the trunk slapping on the two and four is a nice jaunty touch. In theme and swing, it’s actually akin to Naked Eyes’ evergreen “Always Something There to Remind Me”. I look forward to this tailing me in shopping malls.
[7]
Iain Mew: Not as amazing as “House” (what is it with that title?) but it sounds enjoyably like The Smiths without sounding limited by its influences, and it does bits about making tea and about confused concern with a relaxed and wistful charm. It’s a very easy song to like, if not to love.
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: Grump about as I might, I’m not proof against that much charm.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: Shiny-wistful-coquettish chorus, check; piano and strings agitated to pop, check; someone else noticing how Lykke Li’s last album punched up the percussion. Yep: we’ve got a Swedeblog breakout, good like the last dozen!
[7]
Alfred Soto: Infatuation set to a variant on the rhythm of Hall & Oates’ “Maneater,” but as if tapped by horse hoofs, sung in a rather starchy voice that can handle the melody but forgets to remind itself why it’s bothering.
[6]
John Seroff: A more precious, toothless “Maneater”, this sounds solid enough until you reach out to make contact and you come away with little more than tickly cobwebs and 80s presets.
[5]
Michaela Drapes: I have joked in the past that Labrador, Sweden’s vaunted indie pop label, has, to my knowledge, never released anything less than the very, very best crystalline, perfect pop confections. Amanda Mair is no exception; once you get over the shock of her miniature age, you start to wonder if they really do have some sort of mandatory pop history class in Swedish schools. Here’s hoping that her achingly authentic and serious precociousness never fades, but gently evolves into some serious pop muscle as she gets older.
[8]