Taken By Trees

Other Worlds

BY Cam LindsayPublished Sep 24, 2012

Following her departure from the Concretes in 2006, Victoria Bergsman recorded Open Field, her album under the Taken By Trees moniker, with Bjorn Yttling, of Peter Bjorn & John (whose "Young Folks" she sang on). For her follow-up, she travelled to Pakistan, where her life was actually put in danger. The result, 2009's East of Eden, however, found her home-grown Swedish pop influenced by the Sufi Qawwali music that surrounded her. Looking to find new inspiration for her third album, Bergsman headed to the warm locale of Hawaii and brought in Henning Fürst (of the Tough Alliance) to produce. Other Worlds again finds Bergsman exposing her tender melodies to an outside influence ― this time dub. It might seem like an odd combination, but Fürst caters to her docile intonation by keeping the production breezy and subtle. "Indigo Dub" and "I Want You" best exemplify the Caribbean feeling Bergsman envisioned, but it's the balmy disco of "Large" and the hypnotic, Tough Alliance-indebted "Dreams" that make this fantasy such a reality. Other Worlds proves Bergsman has a good thing going with these inspirational voyages, leaving the listener besotted and desperate to know just where she'll head next.
(Secretly Canadian)

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