aaamusic | On 06, Nov 2011

With the great reinvention that Swedish pop has brought about in the past few years – I can think of at least two women (Lykke Li, Robyn) who turned us all into Swede-obsessives and made collective female ballz come out– it’s quite shocking to have a band like Sound of Arrows go the opposite way, namely back to a world of shoulder-pads and whizz. You just don’t see it coming.

The band is already launched into stardom, having built up a good following over their previous EP releases. But when dance music feels like it’s inevitably confined to the dancefloor, you know something’s missing. There is little that Voyage, debut album by the aforementioned Swedish duo, can do outside a led-adorned disco circa 1988. Its heroic, larger-than-life beats cause it to be stuck in a particular time, a particular place, and even a particular attire. The teenage female choir that pops up like prezzemolo all over the record is its most decidedly over-the-top element. Especially if said teenage choir does nothing but incite to “Seize the chance, follow the dream, be yourself…” (see M.A.G.I.C). What is truly quite refreshing about Sound of Arrows, though, is how unashamedly they dive into this cheese-fest, as if they really are unaffected by how the outside world will react. The whole record has a cohesive, journey-like feel to it, which says that the band already have an established concept in mind. Also, it’s great to see an act so heavily influenced by Pet Shop Boys. It may take them a while to get to that kind of awesomeness, mind, but it’s clear that Sound of Arrows have the ambition.