When I was surfing the internet the other day, I came across a post on Nordic music blog It’s A Trap detailing the nominees for the 2010 Swedish Grammies. Hidden beneath the layers of umlauts and obscure sounding band names (at least seen through an American perspective) housed four nominations for El Perro del Mar‘s (née Sarah Assbring) stellar 2009 album Love Is Not Pop: “Best Pop Album”, “Best Producer”, “Best Composer”, and the oddball but entirely appropriate “Best Lyrics” category.
Now I’ve seen little press for this 34 minute too-long-to-be-an-EP too-short-to-be-an-LP composition compared to her other, more popular albums (like her extraordinary sophomore S/T), however I believe Love Is Not Pop to be some of Assbring’s best work. Sung in her patented monotonously restrained style (Andrew Bird’s female counterpart), Assbring is able to conjure up highly involved emotions — everything from utter heartbreak to euphoric love — with just simple sentences. With her sparse instrumentation and emotionless lyrics providing scant cover to hide behind, it’s no wonder she was nominated for “Best Lyrics” since her whole act pretty much relies on her words. She was doing The xx when The xx was in elementary school.
Easily the most interesting track out of the group and the one that best shows the growth of Assbring as a composer is the Sue Grafton titled “L is for Love.” Opening with the repeated haunting line “When the night is near / you can lean on…” sung over fading piano flickers and austere drum beats, the dark mood is set right off the bat. Similar to The Raveonettes “Aly Walk With Me”, you are unsure whether to take the mysteriously referenced lover up on her offer of aid, as she is most likely going to lead you through dark alleys and grimy passageways. There is no light either at the chorus, with the repeated “L is for Love”s making the scene more creepy than comforting.
Regardless if this is your first time listening to Assbring or your an avid El Perro del Mar fan, Love is Not Pop is a worthwhile album to own and one of the best of the year, even if it is only getting the recognition it deserves from her home country of Sweden. Here’s an mp3 of “L is for Love” to hopefully whet your appetite:
El Perro del Mar // L is for Love
Tags: El Perro del Mar, mp3, The Raveonettes
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