Taken By Trees – East of Eden – released September 8, 2009 on Rough Trade
Clocking in at a short, but sweet thirty-two minutes, Taken By Trees’ new LP, East of Eden, is certainly not something to write off. But you can’t really expect much less from Swedish singer-songwriter Victoria Bergsman. Formerly the vocalist of the pop act, The Concretes, she has since been concentrating on her solo Taken By Trees moniker and gained some wide recognition through her guest vocals on Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks”. East of Eden is her second solo album and this time she draws from cross-cultural influences by recording in Pakistan, hence the title’s biblical reference.
“Anna” could easily be perceived as an automatic fan favorite because anything that falls even near Animal Collective’s unstoppable halo effect of success would be blasphemous to reject. So this track featuring collaboration between Panda Bear (Animal Collective) and Victoria garners some increased attention. Deservedly so too, because it seems as their chemistry are unanimously inspired to produce layered, ethereal qualities. Bergsman seems to take an intermission from her some of her duties in the middle of the album. In “Tidens Gang”, she sings in her natural Swedish tongue, in an absolute melodic, but downhearted tone. “Wapas Karnas” follows as what seems to be a field recording of the music that she inhabited with during her time in Pakistan. After that, you’re in for a surprise – another Animal Collective-related track. This time it’s a reinterpretation of the hit “My Girls” into the tropical paradox that is “My Boys”. Surprising that there would be a cover of an AnCo song considering there are only nine tracks on the album, but it’s a somewhat pleasing lighthearted alternative to the original, despite lacking lyrical appropriateness with style. “Day By Day” plays in a celebratory religious fashion accompanied by repetitive hum-chants and tender vocals. Bergsman drones off to conclude East of Eden in “Belkannelse”.
The album has a cohesive spiritual sound that will soothe and push listeners toward a lost, but reflective state, conjuring up a feeling of transcendence that is very difficult to achieve for a musician. However, Bergsman seems to artificially incorporate the cultural influences of her Pakistani surroundings in one dedicated song (“Wapas Karnas”) rather then inject them directly into her own tracks’ rhythms and instrumentation. Also, the album lacks a lyrical consistency of a specific theme, causing some contradictions with her metaphysical chords. Overall, East of Eden is well produced by emphasizing its strength in complementary melodic layers in a short, but sweet compilation.
Rating: 7/10
