El Perro Del Mar : El Perro Del Mar : Review : Rolling Stone

Swedish chanteuse Sarah Assbring (a.k.a. El Perro Del Mar) sounds like the saddest Brill Building singer in the world. These eleven tracks ache with longing and loneliness: Assbring sings in a voice that recalls Julee Cruise's spectral quiver, over ghostly girl-group melodies. She sounds like she wants to get over her heartache but just can't muster the motivation, which might get grating if she didn't leaven the mood with be-bop-a-lulas, sha-na-nas, la-la-las and hand claps. The effect is bizarrely soothing, especially on standouts like the faux-cheery "God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)" and the narcotic "Party." Things seem to be looking up on the second half of the record, especially on the relatively upbeat "It's All Good" ("It's all good/Take a new road and never look back"), until Assbring descends into gloom again on the next-to-last track ("Here comes that lonely feeling again"). You can't fault a girl for staying in her comfort zone.