An abundance of glowing, dreamy pop earworms present all through Pricey Infrastructure, a pleasant new album from Marble Raft, the Stockholm-based duo of Olle Söderström and Gabrielle Baker. A incredible manufacturing pairs with a compelling thematic narrative, chronicling two fictional teenage protagonists who enterprise via an imagined, desolate metropolis. Every music captures a discovery of a brand new part inside the metropolis, from gardens overtaken by vegetation to crumbling concrete buildings. Each impress with their vocal work as nicely, bolstering the twin protagonist narration, because the meshing of synths, guitars, autoharp, glockenspiel, and past enamor with replay-inducing immersion.
A climactic, hooky attraction exhibits instantly with opening observe “To Have and to Maintain and to Break.” A magnetic swell of acoustic strums and twinkling synths transfer right into a bursting synth/bass cohesion. Each vocalists present their melodic abilities inside, alternating leads as shimmering synths radiate amidst a hypnotic rhythmic undercurrent. A title-touting hook envelops, feeling cathartic because the vocals merge with cohesive entrancement. The following “Right here in Your Yard” dazzles as nicely, contrasting the “it’s a wasteland,” opening declarations with a heavenly assortment of illuminated keys. Once more, sporadic vocal swaps construct pleasurable momentum into an exquisite hook, marked by a dual-vocal convergence and serenely impactful glistening from the instrumentation.
The stunning “Marble Halls” showcases meditative guitar strums and a spacious dual-vocal hovering, describing “flickering avenue lights,” and a “slumbering metropolis,” in vivid imagery of the overgrown metropolis. The protagonists enterprise via deserted residences, beholding remnants of the previous and considering what as soon as was. The inside exploration aptly follows the chilly sprawl depicted within the previous “Rites of Passage,” the place “via the chilly,” journeys and sifting via “remnants of previous,” present a “spark of hope.” Once more, the refrain enthralls with the gorgeously harmonious vocals and synth-laden glimmering.
“We’ll form up, we’ll actually strive,” aspirational vocals let loose on “Floral Haze,” an effervescent observe the place jangling guitars and summery synths transfer into an particularly consuming “mend our hearts,” mid-point — the place a string-touched feeling bustles right into a duet-ing vocal energy. Alongside the depictions of a barren metropolis comes the story of two protagonists who vow to proceed combating and make their mark, with hopes of eventual triumph inside a post-apocalyptic setting. “Neon Indicators of Life” continues that optimistic glow. Glowing synth bounces and chilly woodwinds construct invitingly, as lyrics reference “a sliver of hope,” into the cathartic title-referencing central hook. Pricey Infrastructure is a resonating total success from Marble Raft, intertwining heartfelt pop excellence with empowering messaging about choosing up the items from previous destruction.
