State Of The Nation – Mirage (CD Album – State Of The Nation)
Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.
Background/Info: Tomas Gustafsson, Fredrik Sigeback (both also known as Erotic Elk) and Johan Siegeback are releasing their debut album “Mirage”. They previously released several EP’s.
Content: State Of The Nation is Swedish electro-pop that will make people happy. The sound is sweet, but danceable. Some guitar parts can be noticed now and then. Next to the more danceable cuts, the work also reveals a few, softer songs. The vocals are somewhat fragile-like, but perfectly matching with the music.
“Mirage” features 10 songs plus 4 remixes.
+ + + : “Mirage” is a real entertaining opus, which doesn’t really innovate in the electro-pop genre and yet, it doesn’t sound like a new ‘cheap’ copy from a leading formation in the genre. This albums has something pretty ‘Summer’-like for its ‘happiness’, but it also is an artistic piece of music. The songs are well-crafted and the sound production reveals a professional approach. I especially like the “Endless” song, which also is one of the most danceable ones, but in a different way I recommend “Complementary”, which is a short, but emotional cut.
– – – : The album is missing an absolute hit, but we get several cool songs instead. The remixes don’t really add a bonus to the work.
Conclusion: Sweden clearly reminds one of the most prolific countries when it comes to produce electro-pop music. I definitely prefer Erotic Elk, but State Of The Nation is something different and pretty cool as well.
Best songs: “Endless”, “Hamburg”, “Complementary”.
Rate: (7).
Artist: www.facebook.com/sotnsweden
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
