TRUE - Wrapped In Air

In the spirit of their moniker, here are some true facts about this debut full length from Swiss synth-poppers Daniela Sarda and Rico Baumann: the album dabbles in various genres, including R'n'B, bass and funk; it juxtaposes Sarda's smouldering, soaring vocals with wispy electronic trimmings and hefty percussive thuds; there's occasionally some trumpet and saxophone in the choruses. And here’s our opinion: it’s pretty good. 

The raw ingredients of their sound could double as a checklist of current trends in easy-listening club music, but TRUE have cooked up a style that's fairly unique. Formally, the duo's arrangements owe a debt to the James Blake school of rug-pulling bass drops – most tracks begin with simple piano chords and intermittent snare hits before a fizzy flood of synth and kickdrums come rushing in for the chorus. Their aesthetic, though, is a fair bit sunnier than Blakey's, finding a strangely compelling halfway house between ambient experimental dance music and mid-2000s chart pop. 

Holiday Tickets is an easy highlight, a staccato hook and instantly gratifying horn refrain capture the butterflies of a relationship's early stages. Steal My Heart slows things down to a steamy crawl, a moist synth sound dripping like condensation in the background. For Myself and Justify could use a little more direction, but overall Wrapped In Air is a promising first record – truly. 

Listen to: Holiday Tickets, Steal My Heart