Title: Kino International
Artist: Lowe
Genre: Electro Pop
Release Date: 13th June 2008
Label: Megahype
Album Review
Jörgen ‘Leo’ Joseffson formed LOWE in 2002 together with Mehdi and Rickard. The debut album ‘Tennant’, initially only available in Scandinavia, brought them a huge fan base, before the album was finally made available in Europe through the Polish label Vision music. In 2005, the band won the award for ‘Best Newcomer of the Year’ at the Scandinavian Alternative Music Award…
‘Kino International’ is the name of LOWE’s fresh new album, which comes with a bit abstract yet elegant cover, but I guess you’re more interested in what’s in the CD right, so I won’t keep you in suspense for longer and we literally start our journey with the ‘Berlin Night Express’ that directly presses ahead with organic live drums, after an experimental intro with overlapping vocal fragments, wave-esque bass lines soon will be drowned by melancholic keys and synth walls, only to step back behind Leo’s mellow voice. ‘A 1000 Miles’, the preceding single then is clearly recognizable as electronic pop at its best and through it’s funky beat, animates to dance the night away. With ‘Thick as Thieves’ the pace drops and we’re approaching the first balladry track, powerful and brittle at the same time, it descends upon the souls and fills it with feelings between hope and utmost melancholy. ‘Now that I’ve Tasted You’ represents a proper nod into another genre. This song has the blues and a groove that is out of this world, the vocals come off a bit more dirty than before and right in the middle, a break comes with an awesome live drum sequence.
Further on with a full load of emotionally-charged ballads with the two tracks ‘Dice Roller’ and ‘So Close, So Far’, which transport Leo’ s emotive vocals directly into the listener’s hearts; especially ‘So Close, So Far’ touched me deeply at first listen. There’s a steady flow of yearning emotion running through it that captivates, bound by vast atmospheres and subtly used drums “So close, so far… away”. So after this we need something to get us going again and as if the guys knew that right from the start, they’ve placed some of those more grooving tracks afterwards. ‘Freefall’ is the first one and once again I’m surprised how organic electronic drums can actually sound, even more it’s the whole song that spread that feeling. Much more than its predecessor ‘Shadows Rising’ raises the tempo and comes with clean, straight dance beats, culminating in a strong chorus. The very slow ‘Room with a View’ cuts it down to a much reduced and more acoustic instrumentation; especially pay attention to the chorus with the multi-layered guitar parts. Brilliant work; with ‘Sirens Calling’, sadly the last song on the album, we’ll get the full package for the last time; a dreamy ballad, sending shivers down your spine, where Leo shows the full bandwidth of his voice, perfectly blending with the, at times, almost orchestral sound walls.
This album is another proof of how fresh and unspent electronic pop music can sound. No sounds you have heard before several times and the band thinks outside their own boxes and also processes influences from other genres as you can see with ‘Now that I’ve tasted you’ and ‘A Room with a View’. Last but not least, there’s the charismatic voice of Leo, which makes the sound absolutely distinctive.
Tracklist
01. Berlin Night Express – 5:22
02. A 1000 Miles – 3:50
03. Thick as Thieves – 5:10
04. Now that I’ve tasted you – 4:17
05. Dice Roller – 4:26
06. So Close, So Far – 5:02
07. Free Fall – 3:56
08. Shadows Rising – 3:47
09. A Room with a View – 3:54
10. Sirens Calling – 6:02
Line-up
Jörgen "Leo" Josefsson - Vocals
Mehdi Bagherzadeh - Keyboards
Rickard Gunnarsson - Bass Guitar
Website
http://www.lowe.st/ / http://www.myspace.com/lowemusic
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9
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