midaircondo

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For a label that has raised the bar to such dizzying heights, it would be more than reasonable to presume that the exquisite and lambent folk over at Type are about due for a dud release. If so, Midaircondo is most certainly not it... times by 100. A Swedish trio (Lisa Nordström, Lisen Rylander and Malin Dahlström) who combine their consummate skills in electro-acoustic music with a sapient understanding of well honed improvisation, Midaircondo have delivered a fascinating and nuanced record which comes across like a Sandro Botticelli for the ears. Whilst most artists whose oeuvre falls within the electronic remit tend to approach the stage with some trepidation as they seek to convert their recorded work into a live proposition, Midaircondo tackled this quandary from the opposite direction; lending a friable sense of spontaneity and majestic evolution to the album. Opening with 'Eva Stern, Shake It', Midaircondo coax a carbonated saxophone out into the open before bewitching it with some heart-soaked vocals that bring to mind both Piana and Mum, swiftly followed by the water-logged double bass and electronic creases of 'Could You Please Stop'. Sounding not unlike Bjork, Hanne Hukkelberg, Psapp or Catrina Pratter, 'Could You Please Stop' is an insistent little bugger than drills deep into your soul and snags whatever it is that makes music so indispensable and nourishing; in short, it's a rimy masterpiece. Elsewhere, 'Serenade' is the kind of overwrought piano led composition that would get to number one in a just universe, 'Perfect Spot' is a fidgety electronic love-song, writ sun-rise tall through its rousing multi-vocal peaks, whilst the lazy fuzz and accordion of 'Faces' suggest stumbling upon a portmanteau radio broadcast from an unknown source. S.t.u.n.n.i.n.g.