MOONLIGHT COVE ORPHANS OF THE STORM ALBUM KINETOPHONE RELEASE: NOVEMBER, 2008 REVIEW: DECEMBER 15, 2008

I was on the verge of giving up hope for something like Moonlight Cove. A truly surprising jolt of perfection, and from my native soil no less. Swedish trio Marcus Karlsson, Mattias Löfroth and passionate vocalist Markus Landgren have been active under the Moonlight Cove moniker before, but took a break only to return with this remarkably fresh set of songs called "Orphans of the Storm".

Landgren was actually part of a television show here in Sweden called Fame Factory, where new talent were competing for stardom. He also performed in the Swedish Eurovision contest with the catchy pop number "Television". I may have been one of the few who actually bought that CD single? His voice is still very strong indeed, bringing lust and power to the words spicing this impressive landscape of electronic pop. The fast songs dominate the disc, but intermissions of calm make it all the more coherent. "I Don't Wanna Go", a track in between these tempos, immediately sets the tone of quality and it's a true pop pleasure from then on. "Stay Forever Away", definitely one of the best tracks of 2008 follows, gripping both my body and mind with its rich arsenal of sweeping sounds and instant appeal. This feeling lingers on all the way through, inducing me with thoughts about giving a ten, but let's save it for their next album.

It's a shame it's released close to the comeback album of Elegant Machinery, as they will undoubtedly steal most of the synthpop spotlight in the media, but in my book Moonlight Cove are up for the challenge. "Orphans of the Storm" beats "A Soft Exchange", according to me. A truly beautiful album.

NIKLAS FORSBERG