El Perro Del Mar may sound like the latest hipster band made up of a bunch of musicians from all over South America, New York, and Los Angeles. If you thought that, then you’d be wrong. It’s actually made up of just one woman named Sarah Assbring. While the name of the band sounds like the music comes from a sun-drenched part of the world, she’s really from Sweden and the music is a distinct blend of 60s pop influenced by the likes of Motown, Smokey Robinson, Brian Wilson, and Burt Bacharach. People and a label that are no joke in the history of music.
With a voice that is both solemn and sweet, her songs sound sad, lush, and from a different place and time. While saying that seems to be a line I know I’ve heard quite often that I disagree with most of the time, El Perro Del Mar could easily fit into the Top 40 from the 60s/early 70s while also sounding as refreshing as anything groundbreaking coming out today. One of the strongest songs “God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)” boasts of giving love to get love. A rather simple lyric that is what it is. I like that. I like a song that is clear and to the point. There’s just something beautiful in her voice too that sounds happy no matter how sad her songs try to be. “It’s All Good,” does a great job of capturing the feel of a Motown song while “Here Comes That Feeling” has splashes of organ groove, jazz and mod pop music that come together rather beautifully.
El Perro Del Mar is a nice little album that really sounds sunny and eclectic and Sarah’s voice is nothing like I’ve heard before, distinct, childlike, captivating and entertaining. |