Album Review
Sylvan Esso - Free Love
4 StarsExactly what pop music should be: punchy and pure.
The combination of Amelia Meath’s vocals, with layers of homely melodies carrying vivid tales of real world people and emotions, and Nick Sanborn’s experimental mix of high-energy dance beats and lo-fi production mean Sylvan Esso create a familiar world unlike anything else. All but one of the 10 tracks on ‘Free Love’ are under 3:20, making it a whirlwind of thrills, almost exactly like is described on the empowering ‘Train’: “Pop music makes me go insane / Four on the floor and the tracks keep changing”. The raw ‘Free’, meanwhile, is a breathtaking number with a simple keyboard; the crackling of rain sits behind a single layer of Amelia’s bare vocals, confessing an emotional response to “what it’s like to love everybody”. There’s something in the way Sylvan Esso craft their music, weaving folksy melodies and acoustic instruments with synths and 808s, that feels like exactly what pop music should be: punchy and pure.
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Sylvan Esso share new ‘Numb’ video
Lifted from last year's album, 'Free Love'.
12th May 2021, 12:00am
Remi Wolf links up with Sylvan Esso for ‘Rufufus’ remix
Lifted from Remi's brand new remix EP!
15th April 2021, 12:00am
Sylvan Esso offer up new track ‘Free’
Their new album 'Free Love' arrives on Friday.
22nd September 2020, 12:00am
Sylvan Esso release new track ‘Frequency’
Their latest is accompanied by a video directed by Moses Sumney.
10th September 2020, 12:00am
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