Much like the name it bears, Swedish solo act El Perro Del Mar’s Pale Fire contains all the subtle strength of a gently burning white flame. While melodically subdued, the record has a palpable power only slightly dimmed by Sarah Assbring’s reverberant, airy vocals that result in a satisfyingly ambient synth-pop concoction.
Pale Fire is by no means ideal; in fact, it sounds rather monotonous at first listen. Only afterwards do the nuances and intricacies laced through the music float out of the thin wisps of rhythms and lyrics.
The title tracks leads off with sharp horn attacks followed by claps and hi-hats with kick and snare notes dominating the lower frequencies. Assbring relies heavily on repetition of the line, “Never get out of this pale, pale fire” to create a hypnotic and melancholy image of a distant passionate memory that seems to forever act as a temptress, never again to appear in the listener’s life.
“I Carry The Fire” is the only track that strays from such themes, instead providing contradicting evidence in favor of the existence and attainability of hope. The song features heavier drums, dueling synthesizers, and occasional slap bass progressions that add what can be considered momentum to an LP that can otherwise easily put the listener in a trance.
Indeed, this bass is prevalent on the best tracks of Pale Fire, which returns to crushing dreams and destroying faith in humanity as soon as the final note of “I Carry The Fire” fades into the distance. “Walk On By,” a clear winner on the album, features the most active bass sections that complement the electronic beats and horns pushing along Assbring’s reluctant verses that begin with, “Solitude is my best friend / The only one that sees me cry,” encouraging the listener to do the same.
Constantly evolving, Pale Fire offers the listener a new perspective with each listen. El Perro Del Mar may drive the audience into melancholia with the strained vocals on “To The Beat Of A Dying World,” reassure with a mellow love song on “I Was A Boy,” and calm with the almost entirely instrumental album closer “Dark Night,” but the LP will never disappoint.
