Hailing from Stockholm, Niki and the Dove is bringing a refreshing element of terrestrial darkness to an otherwise currently day-glo and minimalist pop landscape. Malin Dahlström's vocals are very much a departure from the majority of her contemporaries in that she continually references an emotional height that, when compared with other electronic art-pop vocalists, veers strictly away from their recent and all-too-common use of aloof and distracted vocals. Her capacity to hit bright, dare I say, Lauper-like highs, and dusty Stevie Nicks-inspired lows creates a wide and varied mix of texture and emotion. Wherein Fever Ray roams the dark forest aimlessly with only the moonlight and a diving rod (and is perfectly content doing so), Niki and the Dove stands in the foggy clearing at the break of dawn, ever-so-slightly brighter, but still equally as witchy and eerie... maybe they are from the same coven.
With Gustaf Karlöf (keyboards) and Magnus Boqvist (drums) framing the vocals with a driving urgency and an exciting and somewhat bi-polar execution, the outcome is a perfect musical mix of pointed and full peaks, and abysmal and barreling valleys. This exemplified most perfectly in their single "Tomorrow", in which the song meditates on a love-like-a-drug relationship that just can't be kicked. Throughout the whole process of hitting very organic moments, Niki and the Dove still manages to sound fresh and capture a fresh pop sound both modern and playful. Please give a listen to the album below and watch the videos for "The Fox", "Tomorrow" and "The Drummer" below...
...and if you find yourself waking up under a giant oak in the middle of a forest at 4am, don't say I didn't warn you.