One Track Mind

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Since their debut EP on Labrador Records in late 2005, Sweden’s Sambassadeur have been purveyors of consistently pleasing indie-pop with an ever expanding palette. Beginning with the home recordings of the Between the Lines EP and developing through the more richly orchestrated chamber-pop of 2007’s Migration full-length, the band’s musical trajectory has taken them to more lush, ornamented heights. With an (as of yet unnamed) third LP set to grace shelves in January, Sambassadeur continues to refine their influences into an elegant gestalt. Most of the reference points in the band’s aesthetic emerge from the mid-1960s: there are splashes of Françoise Hardy and other chic yeh yeh girls from French scene, the jet-setting vibe of the period’s emergent bossa nova, and the timeless arrangements of higher profile acts such as The Walker Brothers and Beach Boys. Throw in some cues from the ramshackle jangle of British C-86 acts and their followers and you have all the main ingredients covered.

“Days” is our first preview of Sambassadeur’s latest album, and it begins with a whirl as pianos and strings burst forth along with the more traditional rock combo pieces. Its unhesitating pace is a nice foil for the cool, unhurried performance of vocalist Anna Persson. Her voice–unlike the cutesy coo favored by many of those female ’60s touchtones–favors the middle range, keeping things grounded against the sanguine musical backdrop. The galloping pace is given a nice reprieve about two-thirds of the way in, when “Days” allows the string section to carry the beat for a few measures, adding some nice depth to the track. When the song ends (with a sort of modified ‘cha-cha-cha’), it’s easy to hit play again since the whole thing is so nicely packaged at under three minutes in length.