Club 8: Club 8 : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

On this, the self-titled third album by vocalist Karolina Komstedt and instrumentalist Johan Angergard, the Swedish duo eschews the bossa indie-bop of their debut and the synth-pop vibe of their sophomore effort in favor of a delicate veneer of pop noir. While their last album, The Friend I Once Had, sweetly bounced with occasional touches of OMD-like synths and the post-punk stutter of Boys Don't Cry-era Cure, Club 8 shuffles slowly with gauzy, Portishead-brushed arrangements. Komstedt's breathy vocals hold the same sort of sensual allure as do those that anchor St. Etienne, the Sundays and the Cardigans. Club 8's only shortcoming is that their borrowings are not as subtle as the moody glamour of their music. But if a lover's arms were as soft and sultry as the music on Club 8, returning to them again and again would pose little conflict, and the same goes for slipping into Club 8.

TONY WARE
(August 27, 2001)