Starlet

Another fine Swedish export, Malmo’s Starlet is back with their third release. The volume gets turned up a bit this time around, pushing Starlet’s sound a bit beyond their delicate, laid-back guitar-pop roots. Heavier guitar sounds may make a couple of appearances, and the mood may be a bit darker, but the overall sound this four-piece outfit developed still remains. There are still plenty of acoustic-based songs throughout the album’s ten tracks. "Sunshine” and the title track show the brighter side of their songwriting style, with the latter sounding unmistakably like Belle & Sebastian, as well as name-checking Smiths lyrics, one of their prime musical inspirations. Unlike many of their Swedish pop peers though, Starlet’s subject matter is a bit more melancholic; songs about love lost, not found. Singer Jonas Farm’s voice is quite frail and its weaknesses are apparent on certain tracks, hampering some of the musical developments they’ve made. However, the songs lend themselves well to this soft singing style, and the album holds up very well overall.