Sambassadeur's endearingly winsome debut album is textbook indie pop, of the gentle, bookish variety purveyed by
the Lucksmiths,
the Clientele,
the Go-Betweens, and any number of other oft-cited luminaries, not to mention several of their Labrador labelmates including
Acid House Kings and
Starlet. So what sets this Swedish foursome apart in a sea of softly strummy soundalikes? Nothing much that one can easily point to, although there is something special in their ability to make even perfectly clean and crisp productions sound utterly dreamy and wistful. That's particularly true on the songs featuring
Anna Persson's hazy, breathy alto; she's the most prominent vocal presence here even though
Daniel Permbo's slightly off-kilter warble takes the lead on fully half of the tracks. While the album never strays far from the basic template of soft indie pop (best exemplified by the standout "Between the Lines"), there is plenty of subtle variety here, with synths, beat boxes, and melodica adding instrumental color, and loving stylistic nods to shoegaze (the fuzzed-out "Still Life Ahead"), post-punk/new wave (the relatively driving "Whatever Season") and classic French pop (the
Serge Gainsbourg cover "Chanson de Prévert" -- the band is named after another
Gainsbourg song.) As well executed as all of it is, the record does undeniably trend toward the generic -- but in another light that just makes
Sambassadeur all the more comforting, and a sure bet for fans of the genre. ~ K. Ross Hoffman