We still have so much new stuff to cover from last Friday, because after the new year 'lull' we seem to be hitting peak release season, and this includes Swedish chamber pop musician Adam Evald, whom we wrote about last year, and who has now released his album 'White Night Blackout', and alongside it a single entitled 'The White Ocean'. The whole album is definitely worth listening to, because there's a lovely elegance about Evald's songwriting and arrangements.
Previously I made comparisons to Brighton outfit 'The Miserable Rich', and that still stands even if the arrangements here are lush and sometimes more delicate, but similarly I think fans of bands such as The Divine Comedy and Duke Special would feel at home with the musical style of 'White Night Blackout'.
Single 'The White Ocean' contemplates that fragile moment of a human 'hovering between life or death', with the listener able to consider the position of the person themselves or the loved one watching them. It's a tough subject to handle, and Adam Evald balances the sadness of the situation, with a feeling of release and hope of going to that 'white ocean'. The tone of the piano is lovely in itself, with gentle swells in the musical expression, and I can't help remembering and contemplating personal situations from the last 12 months whilst listening to the songs and words.
This is 'The White Ocean':
Highlights of the album also include the gorgeous opening track 'The Day I Give You Up', the previously featured 'Godspeed Blue Lion', whilst I love the intensity of the string arrangements in 'Drop of Delusions', and in 'My Amaranthine Dream' a slightly 'gritty' cello opens, before the track blossoms with another lovely vocal melody. The whole album is just so listenable, the instrumental arrangements just delightful, and it's all so immediately 'easy on the ear'.