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The Swedish duo Sadovaja could be great. The team-up of a programmer rooted in hip hop and dance music and a female vocalist with a rock background striving to make "techno soul" should reasonably produce at least a few notable creative clashes. So why is it that their debut album "Kill Your Darlings" sounds so pale and devoid of energy? It's like Sadovaja have polished off anything resembling edges in their music, ending up with an end product that's miles away from sparkling of the energy of techno or the sexy beauty of soul. That singer Sarah Assbring isn't exactly an Aretha Franklin (she sounds closer to an anonymous version of Garbage's Shirley Manson) naturally doesn't help up, but what I really wish for is that programmer Philip Granquist would take some more risks. His musical backdrops are minimalistic in a sense that's far from the fierce minimalism of, say, Suicide, but rather makes them anonymous. In a time when black producers like Swizz Beats, Timbaland and Irv Gotti make flashing productions that feel more futuristic and hi-tech than any sci-fi movie (or EBM album), it's a shame that someone with a techno background doesn't dare taking his music into more electrified territories. Despite all this, Sadovaja are far from being hopeless. They write fairly nice tunes and have some pretty string arrangements, but they will never change anyone's life. I guess the word I'm looking for is "mediocre". KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN |
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