Sternpost - Ulrika (2024) [Hi-Res]

Testbild!'s Petter Herbertsson embraces lounge, exotica and space age pop on his third Sternpost album, offering a Swedish answer to Stereolab.

If there's one thing that immediately stands out about 'Ulrika' it's the lush arrangements. Herbertsson's a veteran player who's played in a number of bands, and his ambition is impressive; these songs are so intricately layered but never come across as fussy. Like Stereolab's earliest, most vital material, there's a joyful quality to the instrumentation - it's high-minded in a sense, but still crucially DIY. Guitars, echoing synths, xylophones and organs criss cross with harmonized vocals on 'Kanske', and Herbertson follows the vocals with his melodies, picking out the words like they're syllables in a nursery rhyme. Elsewhere, he leans further into jazz on 'Kalksinter' burying melancholy horns under woozy piano chimes, monosynth curlicues and harpsichord twangs, filling out the sound with dusty drums on 'Knappar'.

It's the kind of album that you wouldn't question if Trunk or Finders Keepers dug it from the archives of some long-shuttered arthouse outlet. Herbertsson is a precise, keen-eared listener who's able to absorb the sound of '70s exotica so accurately, it's uncanny.

Tracklist:
1 01. Sternpost - Anamorfosen (03:20)
1 02. Sternpost - Kanske (03:06)
1 03. Sternpost - Detta alternativa segel (03:31)
1 04. Sternpost - Dammig himmel (01:38)
1 05. Sternpost - Kalksinter (03:53)
1 06. Sternpost - Ögonblicket innan (02:02)
1 07. Sternpost - Alla dagar försvann (02:02)
1 08. Sternpost - Knappar (03:21)
1 09. Sternpost - Ulrika har en bil (02:44)
1 10. Sternpost - Ulrika tänker på regn (04:20)
1 11. Sternpost - Stjärnsändare (02:28)
1 12. Sternpost - Moln (01:49)
1 13. Sternpost - Ekfras (03:47)