El Perro Del Mar

From The Valley To The Stars

2008-05-15

On her third release as El Perro del Mar ("the sea dog"), Swedish singer Sarah Assbring sounds so completely bummed out, even more than her last album. This time the music leaves its ecstasy to uplifting lyrics and lets the vocals' agony seep into starker, sadder arrangements. The result is an album that's more conceptually unified than its predecessor and has its share of intimately compelling songs, but could also stand to give its misery a little more company. El Perro Del Mar, whose lyrics do not go far past the title of the songs themselves, has this enchanting way of making short melodies that get stuck in your head and you find yourself whistling along. Oboe, french horn, trumpet and sitar saved this record, coming in at times where I was about to dismiss a song. There aren’t many tracks that stick out amongst the rest. They are all pretty, slow and dream-like. Reviewed By LaRae WYCE Programmer

Quick Links:

• El Perro Del Mar's Myspace