If you were to blend Hoops, Tops, and Tennis together, you would have Morabeza Tobacco. This dream pop duo from Stockholm, Sweden just released their second full length, Shadow of the Cherry, and it’s a great one.
Vanilla Stillefors and Gustav Jennefors share songwriting and vocals, trading lines of verses and working off each other. Bass lines have a tight EQ, and often carry the songs with a funk feel. Guitar chords are rich with a tape warped chorus tone. Drums are generally centered, sounding almost as though they have a spring reverb effect, or as if they were re-amped through a guitar amp. Synth pads fill the space, as electric guitar melodies build off the bass patterns. Hand drums add a nice dance feel, panned separately from the drums.
All of the songs are sung in English, except a portion of the last song, Amina, which is sung in Swedish. Song topics center around the intimacy of a relationship, which are heightened by Vanilla and Gustav’s vocal interplay.
Gustav shows his talent at producing and mixing the album, giving him the opportunity to dial in the exact sound that they were looking for. Johan Åkerström mastered the album, and it was released by Roxy Music and Playground (a Scandinavian independent label/distributor for labels like Beggars Banquet, 4AD, Domino, Matador XL Recordings, and Secretly Canadian).
Temperature is a track that belongs on thousands of playlists. But really, enjoy the album from start to finish.