Pretty Solitude review of the LP Hollow

The Swedish four-piece Pretty Solitude have had a busy month with their debut Single – Bring it On – having landed on the 1st October 2012 and their twelve track debut LP – Hollow – set for release on the 1st November 2012, both published by Precious Elsa Music.

Pretty Solitude - LP - Hollow

Pretty Solitude – Hollow

Hollow starts with – Bring it On – which sets the mood to a fine release, with crystal clear distinctive vocal and a rumbling under-tow in percussion and bass. Gently delayed and softly strummed guitar nuances add immensely to the dreamy nature of the opener.

Second to None continues the theme and in this the vocal is given even sharper prominence and what a bitter-sweet glass shattering voice it is too as it floats up and down the scales. I am reminded somewhat of the vocal of Lynn Stein.

Dancing Alone is a step up in tempo and provides more space for the guitars to display the rock  / indie pop derivations that sits in the release. The songs all seem somehow familiar, yet new at the same time.

Breathe takes the pace back to the more introspective earlier sounds and once again the bass speakers are given a wonderful test and the ever-present snare tap is a mesmerizing focal point for the ears.

It is as though the phrase ‘Contemporary Music’ was waiting for Pretty Solitude to emerge to provide a definitive definition for the first couple of decades of the 21st Century and in Asking Why perhaps we have finally found the kernel of the meaning.

Nothing Behind closes the first half of the LP with an opportunity for the legs to take a work out as the driving sounds pulse in to the room.

The title track – Hollow – does justice to its billing with a first class opening guitar echo and delay before settling in to a sound that captures the essence of searching for the answers that are always just out of reach.

Tender for some reason made me think of bruised fruit as the lyric and guitar reflect on the nature of what happens when emotional pain hits home once too often and the inevitable reaction occurs. Worth the LP asking price all by itself.

Boring Dull and Grey – takes the listener back to those fissured fjords and the blissful sounds of the music float in to the listener like a rolling sea mist. One word – Stunning.

Stepping in to the influences of New Wave with Trouble the quartet deliver a well balanced piece in which they seem to melt in to one.

Scared has a delightful off beat tempo that ripples throughout the track, I couldn’t go as far as it in anyway resembles reggae, but as regular readers know, that off-beat is a sound in which I can settle for a long-time, so it will come as no surprise to add that I played this one a few times on loop before moving forwards to the concluding track:

Angel in which Pretty Solitude round off a fine debut album with an atmospheric overview in which the vocal is once again pushed to the fore floating about echoed guitars.

I have had the good fortune to lay my hands on a pre-release copy and I would recommend getting your own copy on the 1st November 2012 – mark it in the diary.

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Bring It On is available on Bring It On - Single - Pretty Solitude*

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  1. [...] wrote a review, back in October 2012 of the LP Hollow by Pretty Solitude and had the opportunity to catch up with Rebecka Heijel and Matz Lundin to discuss Swedish [...]



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