Aboa Sleeping

Album Review

The Burning Hearts are Le Futur Pompiste's Jessika Rapo and Cats on Fire's Henry Ojala, and in a way the project can be seen as a mash-up of both bands. Like Le Futur Pompiste, the Burning Hearts sound a bit frosty and austere thanks to Rapo's ethereal, detached vocals and some new wave-y synth swooshes. And like Cats on Fire, the Burning Hearts' tunes are graced with a heavy dose of C-86-style jangliness and reverb. The whole thing comes off sounding a lot like the Radio Dept. and the Bridal Shop; but what sets the Burning Hearts apart is Rapo and Oljala's creative chemistry — they've come up with a really solid album of synthy, jangly songs that, while they do sound familiar, have a wintry sheen that's all their own. "Sea Birds" offers a great example of everything the Burning Hearts are doing well on Aboa Sleeping: what with its knotty, dramatic basslines, irresistible hookiness, and shimmering vocals, it has the dense, humid feel of a fever dream. "I Walked Among the Trees" is another stand-out track — opening with a tangle of spacy synth effects worthy of Gary Numan, the song develops into an icy-sweet mix of jangliness and synth pop that sounds something like a cross between a-ha and Altered Images. Aboa Sleeping is a subtle, moody little disc, and it's promising to boot.