The west coast in question isn’t California – or even Blackpool come to that – it’s Gothenburg in Sweden, where Studio (Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg) ply their trade. This is an unexpectedly ambitious long player, kicking off with a sixteen minute track (‘Out There’) that negotiates some funky terrain but remains on the whole well structured and layered. This contrasts nicely with the songwriting of ‘West Side’ and ‘Self Service’, where the nod is very obviously to 1980s Manchester and synth pop, but comes out the other side with some memorable material. If you persevere with the longer tracks, the rewards from this album will be great.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood