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Album Reviews
Album Review: Sambassadeur – European (Labrador)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 14 April 2010
As you hit play on Sambassadeur’s new album, ‘European’, and the first few bars of piano on ‘Stranded’ wash over you, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’ve been catapulted back to 1996 and Sarah Cracknell is about to open her mouth and croon some gentle loveliness about north London on a Saint Etienne record. But instead, you get the vocals of Anna Persson, Sambassadeur’s equally lovely lead singer.
While her voice might lack some of the strength of Cracknell’s, she also lacks her mumsiness, in its place exuding Scandinavian cool and glamour. At the album’s high points – the pop chorus of ‘Days’ and the soaring orchestration of ‘Forward Is All’ – the music is affecting, poignant and timeless.
If most modern pop is a Concorde flight across the Atlantic, getting straight to its destination, Sambassadeur is a luxurious two-week cruise up the coast of Scandinavia in blissful summer sunshine. Some might find the whole experience takes too long, but others realise the joy is in the journey. DG
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