LOW-RES – ‘Därför’ [Album Review]

Swedish post-punk duo LOW-RES drops their album, Därför, the sister album to 2021’s full-length album, Varför. The two albums will be released as a double album on vinyl.

LOW-RES explains, “‘Varför’ and ‘Därför’ belong together. Both records were written in the same vein and with the same approach: fast, creative, and with many collaborations that color the expression. We have a lot of fun making music and it works as an antidepressant. We just heard the term Art Therapy and that pretty much sums up why we do this.”

Encompassing 11 tracks, entry points on Därför include “Stigma,” featuring Johan Hinders, which blends tints of new wave with electro-pop, forming dark, shimmering washes of pushing harmonics atop a rumbling, syncopated rhythm.

Thrumming with shadowy essence, “Helga” rolls out on heavy layers of dream-pop merged with shoegaze as soft, ghostly vocals imbue the lyrics with portentous, sighing timbres. While “Makeup,” arguably the best track on the album, rolls out on fat, foaming textures, at once thick and murky, yet accented by luminous coloration, giving the song a throbbing glow.

Commenting on the song, LOW-RES says, “‘Makeup’ is about leaving a negative spirit. Someone who is holding you back… It’s about addiction, to live with someone who abuses, and daring to leave such a relationship.”

A personal favourite because of its iridescence and dreamy vocals, “Away” hums with luscious surfaces of hazy dream-pop, ebbing and rising on muted, sparkling tendrils of pastel coloration. “Coral” conjures up suggestions of The Bangles, pulsing with jangly electro-pop energy as breathy vocals imbue the lyrics with seductive, spectral flavours.

LOW-RES

The title track closes the album, opening on trembling textures riding a pulsating rhythm. Coruscating hues glisten with plucking tones, while wistful synths drone and percolate with sun-drenched memories.

Oozing lush seams of post-punk and avant-garde nuances, Därför dispenses ghostly waves of blurry harmonics and siren-like vocals.

Därför Track Listing:

1. Stigma
2. Helga
3. Makeup
4. Away
5. Spirit
6. Gloom
7. Coral
8. Kitchen
9. Aberdeen
10. Skenbubblan
11. Därför

Run Time: 41:02
Release Date: May 5, 2023
Record Label: Adrian Recordings