Album Review

Philco Fiction – Take It Personal

• 14th Sep 2012

Philco Fiction are certainly a curiosity.

I find myself drawn in and bewitched by what I hear, yet every single listen leaves me wondering quite what it is that is appealing.

The Norwegian trio certainly flit around between electro and synth-pop, at times glacial, at others a more out-and-out pop sound, and so the list goes on as they refuse to go easily into pigeon holes.

Certainly, a fair number of tracks should slot right into FM playlists without too much bother, easily swanning into specialist shows if they are perhaps too outlandish for prime time.

Gracing the music is the beguiling, almost childlike vocals that warble and float as broken English is spouted in a manner easily comparable to that of Bjork, or even Robyn or Lykke Li, a level of naïveté creeping in the female vocals that seems to call out for nurturing, providing an intriguing listening experience as seemingly random lyrics spill forth across all ten tracks.

And perhaps this is ultimately where a wonderful album begins to fall down, whether the nonsensical songs are intentional, or are simply lost in translation, it is the lyrics that usually provide us with a foothold, either emotionally or simply through a need to sing along, and as such the kookiness and quirkiness that is somewhat endearing, is also rather hard to relate to or empathise with.

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