Album Review - Niki & The Dove: Instinct

Niki & The Dove
Instinct
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Niki & The Dove, an electropop trio from Stockholm, Sweden consisting of members Malin Dahlström (vocals), Gustaf Karlöf (keyboards) and Magnus Böqvist (drums), comes from a long line of Swedish pop acts bombarding the airwaves with their unique take on pop/dance music. Sounding like a mix of The Knife, Fever Ray, Robyn, Lykke Li, with some Kate Bush thrown in for good measure, Niki & The Dove attempt to combine equal measures of pop smarts and experimental savvy, and for the most part succeed. Instinct is nothing if not catchy and completely listenable, and there is never a point where the record tips over the scale into too pop or too quirky. The struggle is finding that right mix between the two, and sometimes, especially in the middle point of the record, there is a long section where the songs skew too pop, and risk fading into blandness. Despite this hesitancy, there is genuine magic here when the mix is spot on which, unfortunately, makes me wish they had pushed their sound a little more than they do.

Tracks like "DJ, Ease My Mind" are what brought me to the record and keep me listening to it. Over a wobbly bass and chorus of angelic synths, the song, much like Robyn's best songs, detail the healing and protective nature of music, losing oneself and forgetting one's trouble's if only for a night of dancing. Dahlstrom's voice is in fine form here, perfectly emoting her sadness.



"Tomorrow" is a perfect mix of quirky music and pop beauty. A vaguely Asian-tinged melody and skittering percussion buoy a particularly strong vocal from Dahlstrom, kicking into a killer chorus.



"The Fox" keeps Dahlstrom's vocals in a tightly coiled frame over a chugging beat and menacing electronics before letting them loose in the soaring chorus.



Final track "Under The Bridges" uses its 8+ minutes effectively, building the track slowly, using a clattering percussion scheme and chanted vocals, allowing the back half of the song to go where it likes, turning into a percussion heavy rave-up.



"The Drummer" takes its cues from Kate Bush, almost sounding like a lost B-Side from Hounds of Love. Singing in the clipped/operatic style of Bush, Dahlstrom again begins tightly coiled only to unleash the full force of her voice on the chorus. Musically, the driving beat is accompanied by a bed of gurgling, harsh synths which recalls Bush's experiments with the Fairlight CMI back in the 80s.



That pesky middle section of the album, however, always tempers my excitement for the rest of the record. "In Our Eyes" is pleasant, yet inconsequential Top 40 pop. "The Gentle Roar," while fairly quirky with its mainly electro-percussive base, is mostly one note. "Mother Protect" suffers from the same pleasant, yet unmemorable streak. "Love To The Test" brings a 80s synth pop feel to the table but doesn't dress it up much and it fades almost instantly. Only "Somebody" adds an 80s Sheila E meets early Prince vibe, making it a dense, lush take on new wave/synth pop/funky R&B that is as infectious as the swine flu.



Instinct is ultimately recommendable for the stellar front and back end tracks which have mainstream pop appeal while also pushing that sound into new territory, taking the groundwork lain by Fever Ray and Lykke Li and making it more palatable for mass consumption. Only when they forget to push the boundaries does the record become what any record fears, that is, being unmemorable and even boring. Based on the strong singles "DJ Ease My Mind" and "Tomorrow," Niki & The Dove know how to put together a killer track, so I am not too worried about their trajectory; of course, as long as they keep pushing those boundaries.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.