Ghost In The Water
Tooth
Hidden Shoal Recordings

As I mentioned when reviewing Ghost in The Waters single, "Clean Sinks and Folded Laundry", last moonth: "...spellbinding, ghostlike electronic pop...". You can might as well add music clever, crisp and cool as ice-cream. And as tasty.

Last week I saw Low play live here in Oslo, and it made me think of Ghost In The Water. Not that they can compare musically, not at all. What do compare is: they're both husband and wife performing together, sharing the singing duties - and both pairs hail from Minnesota. Where Low's Alan and Mimi's low-voiced slowcore breeds some lush, yet dry tristesse, Ghost In The Water's Nathan and Mandy creates a fruity, somewhat bubbly optimism. Tooth is a collection of fine melodies and rich vocal patterns. The songs are made for cloudwalking, or daydreaming, or whatever you call it. They sound fluffy, but they're not too soft and cuddly.

Here's 10 songs (including the single "Clean Sinks...", plus its backing, "How To Draw A Ghost"), and as a whole it is indeed a very good album. For numb relaxation as well as gentle movements near some dance floor. Hidden Shoal mention Björk and Xiu Xiu in their press material, and some parts of the album could've been that combination. Opener "I'm Not Afraid of Falling" is very elegant and graceful. There are of course more good songs to follow, "The Campfire" and "Clean Sinks...", and "From Mouth To Ground" to name a few, and this makes Tooth a powerful debut.

Copyright © 2008 Håvard Oppøyen