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Album Review

Taken By Trees
East of Eden Rough Trade

Article written by Ged M - Oct 27, 2009

Taken By Trees: East of Eden

If this was weather, the mix of cool Northern Europe front sliding down into warm South Asian air would provoke a catastrophic thunderstorm. The results in musical terms of Victoria Bergsman’s trip to Pakistan are much more pacific and it's surprising how well the different styles work together. She makes good use of local sounds - from the gorgeous folky percussion on ‘Watch the Waves’ to the harmonium drones ("drone" used in an approving way) of ‘Bekännelse’ to create the perfect blend of strident and soft. There's also an Animal Collective influence on ‘Anna’ - a midnight music kind of song - while she covers the best track from Merriweather Post Pavilion on the gender-reassigned 'My Boys'.

In going to Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan, she's marrying that seductive voice hazed with ice-crystals with expressive Asian musicians and vibrant instruments like dholak, tabla and tambour. The play of talents between Victoria and her co-producer/ bandmate Andreas Söderström and the Lahore musicians is like sunshine after snowfall. After the filigreed beauty of her debut album under the Taken By Trees moniker and her crucial contribution on the immortal ‘Young Folks’, it would have been easy for her to have stuck in an indie rut but she's struck out in the most striking way and the results are pretty spectacular. And it's not cultural tourism; judging by Victoria Bergsman's mixtape that is included with copies bought from Rough Trade, she's internalising an eclectic range of influences for the most mind-broadening experience.

Links:
http://takenbytrees.com/
http://www.myspace.com/takenbytreesmusic