Taken By Trees

Taken by Trees' Victoria Bergsman is no new Swedish indie rocker on the block. Formerly of the Concretes (of Target commercial fame), she is also a Friend of Peter, Bjorn and John (two of whom assisted with this album). But boy, has the girl gotten weird on her first solo album! Strange, quasi-Chinese instrumental numbers alternate with tracks dominated by Bergsman's elderly little girl vocals and intentionally infantile instrumentation ("Chopsticks"-style pianos, erratic woodblocks, untuned ukuleles). At times alienating and overly precious, Open Field is still strangely enticing and exotic.

Some people loved Peter Bjorn and John's “Young Folks” for the incredible bongos.
Some loved it for the really annoying whistle hook. But it's safe to say most people loved it
for Victoria Bergsman's voice, the purr of a melancholic barfly with the bad taste of too
many late nights in her mouth. For Swedish pop fans, Bergsman is a long-familiar presence
from singing with the superb Stockholm collective the Concretes. But her first s... More >