KITE EP EP PROGRESS RELEASE: OCTOBER 1, 2008 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

Oh man, what an exquisite debut we have here. Kite consist of the two veterans Christian Berg and Nicklas Stenemo who have been active in different Swedish bands such as The Mo, Yvonne, Strip Music and more. Together they make sweet electronic pop coupled with the most curious and powerful of voices. The first track "Ways to Dance" is a virtual power plant of energy, and I just can't stop listening to it. The melodies are simple but effective, the sound is a sort of retro tinged new wave electro and it's simply brilliant. And following this, there are three more tracks, all of which are small masterpieces.

"My Girl And I" is a sweeping and quirky ballad, "Say It Ain't So" is yet another upbeat and hooky synthpop track, perhaps a tiny bit influenced by Erasure. Finally we have "Learn to Like It", a slower but powerful number that builds up until it fades out with soft humming voices.

I know that not everyone likes the vocals, but to me they sound sort of otherworldly and eerie, really bringing a lot of emotion to the colder electronic backgrounds. Since this is their debut, I will not give it a ten, because there must be some room to improve, but this is some of the best stuff to come out of Sweden for a long time.

JOHAN CARLSSON