Swedish popsters The Perishers cultivate a heavily Coldplay-influenced vibe. Their mostly piano-driven songs' restrained musicality hints at the drawn-out winters of the rural, northern area from which they hail. Unfortunately, neither the melodies nor the lyrics are as compelling as the beautiful and chilling musical backdrop.
The gorgeous piano and bass that open the record create a perfect launch pad for Ola Klüft's Wayne Coyne-like tenor. His whispery layered vocals are coated in layers of reverb that complement the sparse, sustained piano and recall Coldplay's potent pop. Brushed percussion enters the mix in the second verse, accenting pulsating eighth notes in sync with the bass guitar. Now, given the beauty of this presentation, you might hope that the subject of the opening track would be worthy of it. Unfortunately, "Weekend" is concerned with exactly what it suggests -- its lyrics praise the weekend as a refuge from the grind of the work week. Kind of banal, right? This is a problem that plagues Let There Be Morning, and it's a testament to the beauty of the music that the lackluster lyrics and subject matter don't sink the effort.
"Sway" is an unmistakable contender for first single. The major-to-minor shift leading into the verse sets you up for one of Morning's catchiest refrains: "I don't wanna hurt you / I don't know wanna make you sway / Like I know I've done before / I won't do it anymore / I've always been a dreamer / I've had my head among the clouds / And now that I'm coming down / Won't you be my solid ground?" On the second time through, the chorus picks up extra layers of instrumentation that push "Sway" into goosebump-inspiring territory. "Pills" is a sleeper hit, with unexpected female backing vocals and some of the disc's only notable lyrics: "One may think that we're alright / But we need pills to sleep at night / We need lies to make it through the day / We're not okay."
The hypnotic warmth of Klüft's voice will hold your attention throughout Morning. Of course, there are exceptions: on the downtrodden, acoustic guitar-driven "Reminder", Klüft's energetic, whispery wail transforms into a hoarse, less enjoyable Jakob Dylan-style moan. Still, most of these tunes, however prettily they're sung, lack truly engaging lyrics and original melodies. "Going Out", for example, resembles a Neil Diamond song -- note the stock melody, cheesy percussion and precious synth sounds. Klüft has noted that he prefers to sing in English as opposed to Swedish, as doing so allows him to hide behind his lyrics to a certain extent. Ultimately, though, there's nowhere to hide: his lyrics suffer for their detached, undeveloped character. It's unfortunate that the lyrics and melodies don't live up to The Perishers' otherwise impressive music, but their songs are interesting enough to make you overlook that point.
