Sunny Sixties-Inspired Swedish Electro Pop
We’re not quite sure what to make of Gothenburg’s Pacific! and their debut album. Going by the title alone, it could have turned out to be either chilled chanting for yoga practice, or a compilation of songs from musicals. It is, in fact, neither. ‘Reveries’ is chilled electropop, like listening to the Beach Boys being played by Daft Punk whilst listening to Air. Sweet, relaxed harmonies blend effortlessly with choppy electro beats and sixties-inspired surf music and psychadelia. Check out the wailing on lead single ‘Sunset BLVD’, and tell me it doesn’t sound like it could have come off ‘Pet Sounds’. Equally, ‘Disappear’ and ‘Silent Running’ could have been the greatest comeback Jeff Lynne and ELO never made.
It’s a beautiful summer record, seeing as it’s more laid back than a sloth on tranquillisers. It’s what the eighties should have sounded like. Synthed-up Europop without all the pretension. If it was the eighties, you’d swear blind Trevor Horn had produced it. And there’s just that little hint of cheese, or at least irony, behind the songs. But that doesn’t matter. You’re just enjoying the happy noise.
If you concentrate too hard, saccharine-soaked numbers like ‘Number One’ would probably get on your nerves after a while, so let each number drift by and enjoy it while it lasts. It’s a shame that none of the tracks here really stand out and shout “I’m the single!” but that’s probably better for the album as a whole, as half a dozen songs can drift by before you know where you are. The only real misses here are opener ‘Villanova Sunset’ which is pleasant enough but very harsh and bleepy compared to the rest of the album, and the foggy-sounding ‘Love Isn’t Always On Time’ where the usually chirpy vocalist sounds like he’s been drinking heavily and overdosing on AOR records.
‘Reveries’ just goes to prove that the simpler the plan, the more effective the outcome. There’s nothing here that the charts can latch on to particularly, but it doesn’t mean that the tracks are bad. They’re just beyond the usual realms of pop music in the UK. If you link your pop music sunny and chilled, or are a fan of French dance/pop (and it’s likely you’ll be both), this is ideal.