ALICE BOMAN
DREAM ON
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
Almost seven years after Alice Boman sent her demos to a studio where she wanted to re-record them, before they were then forwarded to a label who immediately insisted on releasing them, the Malmö resident finally releases her debut album, an all-too-brief collection of 10 songs that sound like the Twin Peaks soundtrack had it been recorded in the Swedish mountains. Listen to the sustained keyboards, jazzy percussion and her feathery voice on Hold On and it will take you straight back to Julee Cruise’s Falling, and The More I Cry will transport you directly to a booth in the Roadhouse. Her voice is even more effectively showcased on Heart On Fire, which layers it over acoustic bass, while Everybody Hurts – with its crystalline guitars and the chorus’ celestial Liz Fraser-esque vocals – has nothing to do with the R.E.M. song and everything to do with the kind of magic Cocteau Twins conjured up back in the day. Wish We Had More Time, moreover, is quite simply heartbreak distilled, and by the time you get to the album’s end, the fragile Mississippi, whose acoustic guitar couldn’t be strummed more quietly, you’ll be wondering how this was produced by Patrik Berger, who’s also worked with Robyn and Charli XCX. Don’t wait another seven years, Ms Boman, please. WW