CD of The Week

Miike Snow (a collaboration of three producers, Andrew Wyatt, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg) exploded unexpectedly into our ears with their indie/electropop gem “Animal,” in January of 2009. The appreciation was not immediate overall, but, like the rest of their debut album, it had a stronger magnetism the more one listened to it. Now, three years later, their music has built up considerable momentum and they are back (finally) with Happy to You, a better-organized effort that seems more complicated instrumentally. It’s noticeably less piercing than the debut, lacking the abundance of harder songs like “Cult Logic” and “In Search Of,” (“Paddling Out” would be the only one), but once I stopped looking for songs like that, I realized this album still has a lot going for it even without the more inflated beats and synths.

For instance, songs like “The Wave” and “Vase,” are rich with incredibly ear-catching electronic fun — only, at a slower pace. But Happy to You is impeccably balanced throughout, between fast to slow and darker to lighter tones. “God Help this Divorce” stands out with a strong sentimental and bittersweet lament accompanied by delicate orchestrations, complete with chimes and other interesting elements that give it an almost theatrical quality. The same goes for “Archipelago,” which I would not be surprised to hear in the soundtrack of a film at some point. Andrew adds a variation of effects on his voice in “The Wave” (creating a wave as he sings the word) and “Pretender” (close to being this album’s “Silvia”) and even “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will),” which is definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album.

There is “Black Tin Box” a low, creepy song featuring Lykke Li, with dark synth arpeggios that make me wonder what Karin Andersson (The Knife, Fever Ray) would have sounded like instead, as it seems like a perfect fit. But with the new label INGRID that Miike Snow started with Lykke, Peter Bjorn and John, Teddybears, and a few other extremely talented Swedish artists, it’s certain we’ll hear more juicy collabs from them soon.

Miike Snow play The Electric Factoryon Thursday, May 3rd.