The Cold Cut

Rating: A rare collage of musical styles... that really works

"The LK is the collaboration between Lindefelt, abstract sound artist, and Fredrik, pop visionary and songwriter par excellence. Fusing musique concrète-style collages of sound with iconic pop arrangements, the typical LK song is both gradually mind-invading and comfortingly direct. Recorded with a minimum of equipment, VS. the Snow was built largely by gluing pieces of Lindefelt's abstract sounds, lyrics and voice to Fredrik's simple, beautiful melodies and chords. The resulting 11 (including 1 bonus song for kora) tracks make for a crisp, fuzzy, stylish, melancholy noise-pop cocktail with a human warmth and dark sense of humor."

For the most part, The Kora Records description (above) of their newest signing The LK is on the money. The only thing they missed out is that 'Vs. The Snow' will be invading your airspace over the next few months, and no doubt finding its way onto a couple of 'Best Of 2008' lists. Ever since I first heard their first single, 'Private Life Of A Cat', I have been completely hooked on their perfect blend of Euro pop and electronica. Previously released as The LoveKevins, this new incarnation sees some nicer album packaging, a new track list and a US release under The Kora Records, who picked up the duo after they understandably sold out in Sweden.

'Vs. The Snow' is an album almost perfectly suited to its title- at times intense, at the next ethereal, this is the perfect accompaniment to a wintery day, which I'm sure the duo must be used to, hailing from Malmo, Sweden. Lindefelt and Frederik have created something that, if broken down, wouldn't really amount to much, but when you throw the dark lyrics, lo-fi melodies, abstract instrumental and samples into a musical melting pot, it amounts to much more than the sum of its parts. The songs sit comfortably in the no man's land between alternative pop and experimental music, never venturing too close to the boundaries of known musical genres. I, for one, have never heard anything like it- if you have a soul, songs like 'Private Life Of A Cat' and 'Blakboy Vs. The Snow' will grab you, I promise.

There are a couple of audible high points on this album, but no noticeable dips in quality- songs like 'Eurovision' and the single are brilliant, but the rest of the album does not disappoint, by any stretch of the imagination. With 'Vs. The Snow', we have an album that is the perfect accompaniment to every situation, wrapping you up with its melodies and take you along for the ride. As I said earlier, this album invokes a feeling of warmth whenever you listen to it, which is a rarity in the music world, where most are focussed with constructing the biggest and boldest bass line or beat. A rare gem of a record...

The LK- Private Life Of A Cat
The LK- Eurovision

Vs. The Snow is out on 4th March- get your hands on it here, before it sells out again!