Club 8: Golden Island

Ambient and subtle in numerous ways, Golden Island is the uniquely understated new album from Swedish group Club 8. This album is a delicate and precise collection of immersive experiences. There is a peacefulness to each track, a solitude that envelops a room in a soft, amberic glow. Each song flows easily, so soft-spoken that it’s hypnotising. There is a palpable anticipation of something boombastic that will never come, which is what makes Club 8 so unique. We are lost in sound but quite conscious of any slight adjustment that’s being made. Golden Island provides an organic and earthy film on music that is so rarely found and harvested.

Though Club 8 has been around for over two decades, there is still a freshness to their 10th album. Their standalone brand of electro-pop comes in whispered vocals and bossa nova beats, mixed in with sounds from the natural world. Golden Island is experiential and homely, the kind of soundtrack unironically played at a music festival similar to Woodstock. The opening track entitled “Swimming With the Tide” begins with a rhythmic heartbeat which is deemed a connection to the world and Mother Nature. The track “Pacific” is awash with waves and birdsong, and contains no vocals, as well.

We get a glimpse into the more electro-pop side with tracks like “Lost” and “Fire”, but true earthy roots are what surround the album as a whole. Sensuality and attraction leak from Karolina Komstedt’s vocal performances while Johan Angergård accompanies with heartbreaking melodies. This album is both melancholy and hopeful; a precise blend of intuition and reality.

Clocking in at just over half an hour, Golden Island packs a punch of punctual and peaceful tracks that meld into each other with cohesion and battle-tested experience. The replayability of this album is very high because it is so desperately short. However, it’s no surprise that we’ve entrusted this duo with a lot more than entertainment value or bang for our buck. Golden Island is a trust fall, a blindfolded journey into the senses that carries a heaping helping of longevity.

Rating: 8.0/10