Review - The Sound Of Arrows – Voyage

Swedish pop duo (god, is it just me, or is literally all good pop music these days coming out of Sweden?) The Sound Of Arrows have finally, after much anticipation (most of that coming from me) released their debut full LP, ‘Voyage’. If you don’t already know TSOA, it is alright, as they haven’t gotten a ton of attention, especially not in the US.

TSOA are kind of like the Pet Shop Boys, in that they are a lot like the Pet Shop Boys. Like, a lot. To be perfectly honest, I have never been the greatest PSB fan. I have certainly never disliked them, and don’t really have a bad word to say against them, but I can’t say they are my favorite. Somehow, even though I just compared these two rather heavily, I like The Sound of Arrows a whole lot more.

The boys of TSOA have seemed to take the almost revolutionary sound that the Pet Shop Boys cultivated so many years ago and, while still being honest to it and not messing too much with any of the characteristics of their music, made it fresh, a bit more modern, and somehow their own. Tracks like “Nova” show this off well; it wouldn’t be totally out of place in a European dance club today (especially with a good remix attached to it).

My favorite single from the album – “Magic” (which I already had to write about) reminds me a lot of Justice’s mega hit “D.A.N.C.E.”. Basically, what we have learned from these two songs (and hopefully a slew of more to come) is that if you have a catchy dance/pop beat and you find pay some children $20 to sing on your track, it will probably do well and be terrific.

TSOA have also started lending their talents to other artists in the production field, so hopefully we will start to hear more from them (if only in terms of other artists). This whole 80’s pop revival is a tad hit or miss, but this duo certainly have it right on target.

Listen to: “Magic”, “Conquest”, “Nova”, and “Disappear”, a bonus track on the deluxe edition (although, if you have the time and the will, the whole set is rather good).