Album title:
Hey Trouble
Artist:
The Concretes
Label:
Licking Fingers
The Concretes used to be so achingly bashful. Victoria Bergsman's fraught whisper transformed the Spektoral shimmers of debut LP Say Something New into a spate of awkward self-doubting apologies. But the Swedish ensemble's third offering Hey Trouble is an altogether more bullish affair. Bergsman's sudden departure in 2004 left drummer Lisa Milberg gripping the vocal reigns with confident aplomb; instantly progressing the group's inherent shyness into bolshy composure. Underlying themes of lost love and tragic souls still resonate in the giddy, slow-building soundscapes of Oh No and Firewatch but the subjects are tackled with confrontational poise rather than retiring into a painful world of introverted woe. Gracefully composed, this record uncovers twisted raw emotions and moulds them into bittersweet arrays of pop purity like the sumptuous Are You Prepared. A gentile slither of starry-eyed liberation, Hey Trouble proves even the most heart-wrenching break-up can lead to invigorating new horizons. [Billy Hamilton]