Sonores “Elefanten” CD

Beautiful. I had been looking forward to "Elefanten", the third release and debut full-length from Swedish outfit Sonores, since early this year when I first encountered the group through their It's a Trap mp3 release, which was somewhat of a preview for the album itself (which was just issued by the Structures Sonores label). The chief songwriter for Sonores is Jonas Odhner, who is actually better known in Sweden as a DJ with a background in hip-hop music, though you'd never guess such from the brilliant atmospheres created on this exceptional album—where Odhner is joined by numerous other contributors. The end result is a rather moving—if not chilling—display of musical influences seamlessly fused together in what the label calls "traces of classic progressive rock blended with a jazzy feel for pop sensibilities". I'm not sure I fully agree with that assessment, but I don't really listen to much of this sort of thing, so my vocabulary regarding such attributes is limited, and I certainly don't disagree. It's just that what Sonores is doing is so defiant of categorization that there's really no clear place for them, which is perfectly fine, of course, and really quite admirable. Reverberated clean guitars and bright, airy synth melodies; dry, folk-ish acoustic guitars; scattered electronic textures and subtle yet intricate nuances; resonant percussion and dense, roving basslines; among other instrumentation... it's all quite wonderful. The approach is one perhaps comparable to fellow Swedes Paatos at times—notably when the amazing female vocals are present—though these compositions are much more experimentally textured and assembled, and in my opinion more intriguing and emotionally powerful. I don't know what more to say other than I find this to be a truly outstanding CD, and I fully recommend it to anyone interested in curious music that has a chilled out, ambient sort of atmosphere that still carries with it a great deal of impact and feeling.

Sonores "Jonathan"
Sonores "Elefanten"

Please support these artists with a purchase if you enjoy the music:

Structures Sonores
It's a Trap