I rant and rave about how much I love all the fantastic indie-pop music coming out of Sweden, but set all that aside. Yes Sambassadeur are from Sweden, yes they’re on Labrador, and yes they make pop songs so sweet you could get a mouth full of cavities just listening to them (remember Kate? God I love that song).
However, all that means absolutely nothing when put into the context of the first song available from their new record Migration. It’s called “Subtle Changes” and it takes everything that made their past work great (a lilting beat, a deft touch of strings, and vocals that wrap around you like your favorite blanket on a winter morning as you watch the snow fall), and adds enough force to knock you over.
Subtle Changes – Sambassadeur
From the first moment, with those soaring strings and galloping beat you know you are in for something special. And it only gets better once the vocals join the fray, as smooth as can be. Then, there’s that horn solo, as brilliantly off-kilter as any I’ve ever heard.
This is a song to be treasured, to be listened to on repeat as you begin the long task of healing a broken heart. It’s the kind of song that reassures you – any world with music so beautiful can’t be all bad.
According to their page at Labrador (where you can stream the whole thing), the new album is due out on October 24. I have a feeling that’s the release date for Europe, but hopefully it’ll make its way over to these parts sometime soon. I’m not normally one for listening to streaming music, but I went over there just to get a taste and listened to the whole record. It’s really good.