White Magic

The first solo release from Eric Berglund, one half of the Swedish band the Tough Alliance. Epic, sweeping melodies and moving lyrics that wrestle with the ideas of identity, relationships, space and time. Complex pop with lots of intricate string arrangements and electronic elements. FCC CLEAN

1. A deep bassline slowly swells into an intricately distorted keyboard line. Smooth cellos lay down a steady beat and soon the rest of the orchestra joins in. In a glowing, triumphant effort, the lead singer joins in with blissful lyrics about “challenging space and time.” Oh so epic.
*2. A strong and confident beat reminiscent of old Tough Alliance rhythms leads into an infectious pop song with a million-dollar synth line and enough drive to please the crowds.
3. Happy go-lucky love song which would be pretty cheesy if not for the awesome synthesizer sequences, rattling percussion, blazing guitars and random yelps of positivity.
*4. A complex tribal rhythm backed by distorted vocals and an out of control synthesizer. Rattling and frantic, but does include some serene peaceful instrumentation in the form of a priceless acoustic guitar solo at 1:20. Long instrumental fade at the end, but it’s totally worth it.
*5. 1 minute introduction with freakishly distorted chanting and superblissful ambient washes. Then a smooth cello and some cowbells chime in to complement melodramatic vocals. There’s also some chopped up spoken word samples and lots of string solos in this uppity, posh Magnetic Fields-esque track.
*6. A whirlwind of random samples and guitar work—everything from birds to the sounds of swords being drawn. A chorus of “no mercy, no no mercy,” makes for a sappy love theme, but the lively instrumentation keeps things interesting. A choice cut.
7. Hard driving bass rhythms and chopped up vocal samples. Smooth strings and emotional resonating vocals.
*8. Slow, emotionally moving organ notes with Swedish lyrics. The last few minutes consist of an EPIC cascade of instrumental tracks. This song is a rendition of a classic Swedish Christian song which is often sung by elementary school choirs prior to the closing of school for holiday.