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Frida Hyvönen, "Until Death Comes"
This international release of the Swedish singer's 2005 debut (originally only released in the icy north of Scandinavia) is a joyous collection of gentle pop music. The music is quite retro sounding, harking back to the likes of Joni Mitchell but less cloying and with enough of an edge to set it apart from the thousands of other singer songwriters that have passed through my tired ears. Until Death Comes is not a perfect album but it is a perfectly good way to spend half an hour.
Secretly Canadian
Hyvönen’s music is jaunty pop with a little bit of a bite. Most of these songs could (and should) get radio play but with lines like "Once I felt your cock against my thigh," I think many stations will shy away from her. Well, radio tends to ignore what needs exposure anyway but I digress. What is important is that Until Death Comes is the kind of pop music I like: simple, catchy and with enough depth to make me want to listen to it again, as evinced by the opening song "I Drive my Friend," which sees Hyvönen playing a simple and percussive melody on piano, driving not only her friend but the song forward. Her vocals are nice, a country lilt giving her plenty of character.
Some of her lyrics are a little cumbersome such as on "Today, Tuesday," which features a couple of lines that stumble more than flow but Hyvönen manages to keep things going. The first few times I listened to the album these off-kilter lines irritated me slightly but now I think they added some much-needed texture to the songs. Without these minor aberrations the album would be audio wallpaper. Sometimes the songs do tend towards the kind of thing that would be played in the background of a restaurant but for the most part Until Death Comes keeps my attention.
Short and sweet, this album is a nice slice of pop. Hyvönen crafts good songs, most them interesting and pretty but with the odd speed bump along the way. I am interested to see where she goes from here, I think more of the same would be a turn off but there are times on Until Death Comes when I feel she has the ability to unleash more power.
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