TWO PLAYERS by SWEEP Posted: 10.10.2003 4390 Views
TRACK LISTING
1. Emptiness, Your Loneliness
2. Favourite Song
3. Closer To Earth
4. We Wrote Our Names In Water
5. Floating
6. Adorable
7. Miss You
8. Agoraphobia
9. Together
10. Last Train To Paris
LABEL:
A Different Drum
RELEASED:
2003
SWEEP
TWO PLAYERS
Ever since the release of "Sweepeepee" back in 1997 I've rated this Norwegian duo as one of the most promising synthpop acts on the scene and I'm pleased to say that this debut album more than lives up to that promise, showing Truls Kristian Nygaard and Jon Erik Martinsen on top form.
The excellent "Emptiness Your Loneliness" single (which also opens proceedings here) added further fuel to the fire and while it was an excellent choice any of the 12 tracks on this album would have sufficed just as well which is ample testament to the duo's songwriting strengths. It's this catchy dancey style that dominates the first half of the album with, apart from the aforementioned single "Favourite Song", "Closer To Earth" or "We Wrote Our Names In Water" making for a breathtaking opening section.
The rest of the album shows the duo being a touch more varied in terms of styles and tempi but still maintaining the excellent songwriting credentials throughout. The slower "Adorable" benefits from a dynamic, beefy production as does the surging, punchier "Agoraphobia". The uplifting and majestic "Together" and the emotional brilliance of "Miss You" prove that Sweep also know how to tug on your heart strings when the need arises with the latter track in particular proving yet another with the potential to become a future classic.
All of which leaves "Last Train To Paris" to finish the album with another superbly catchy closer which would have brought proceedings to a satisfying close were not for the unmentioned rumba track which is probably best left that way. It might be a joke on the band's part but it wasn't funny in 1981 when Jean Michel Jarre did it and it's not funny now!!
However, for all my moans, it is but a tiny blot on an otherwise bright landscape and in no way detracts from the triumph of catchy electronic pop that this album so obviously is. Buy now and love it forever.
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