Pleasure
Labrador, 2015
8/10
The long running duo of Johan Angergard and Karolina Komstedt, Club 8 celebrated their 2 decade anniversary with this album where themes about sex, love and jealousy unfold alongside their innovative brand of indie-pop that sounds as vibrant as it did in 1995.
“Love Dies” starts the listen with warm, bare keys as pretty, breathy vocals enter the restrained pop approach, and “Skin” follows and immediately dives into buzzing synth amid a firm beat as a dance friendly climate flows with a mysterious quality.
Further on, “Kinky Love” offers a dreamy landscape of ‘80s friendly melodies, while “Jealousy Remains” heads into darker territory where ambience and bright flashes of New Wave nods are present and appreciated.
As we near the end, “Movement” flirts with post-punk while still being very firmly planted in modern electro-pop, and “Promises We Never Meant To Keep” exits the listen light and airy, where gentle singing glides with bare but effective musicianship.
Sublimely intimate and textured carefully, these 8 songs were trimmed down from 30 that Angergard penned. Club 8 have covered many genres in their lengthy existence, and they’re currently making some of their best music to date, that, thankfully, isn’t drowning in over production so as to allow us to fully enjoy the immense talent.