Quadron – Avalanche
Epic: 2013
Quadron hails from Copenhagen, Denmark, a city known more for its philosophers and writers than for its music scene. It’s self-titled debut coincidentally came out in the same year as The xx’s debut album, and the resemblance is somewhat uncanny: imagine if Jamie xx grew up listening to The Staple Sisters and Stevie Wonder and not Portishead and Smashing Pumpkins. Quadron shares the same plodding pace and digital-acoustic balancing act in terms of developing songs, letting singer Coco Owino’s graceful vocals glide over producer Robin Hannibal’s mellow violins and saxophones one minute and shimmering ’80s synths the next, with an ever-present abyss of space surrounding each track.
It’s certainly not as intimate as xx was, but it brings more class, sonic variety and more ambitious quirks than one would expect from a fledgling band (look no further than “Jeans” and the song titled “Horse” for confirmation). Following its release, a four-year hiatus led Owino to tour with Raphael Saadiq and collaborate with Chip Tha Ripper, Tyler, The Creator and Jay-Z while leading Hannibal to become one-half of Rhye, whose own brand of soul is even more soft, albeit coming off as slightly sterile. The duo’s reunion on Avalanche embraces the benefit of that long break, as Owino’s more confident vocal performance and Hannibal’s growing expertise in songcrafting proves for a tighter, focused album with great grooves.
If Quadron was influenced by the ‘60s, Avalanche is solidly a nod to the ‘70s and ‘80s. Hannibal confirms this in the group’s interview with Life+Times, and if their first album was suitable for a jukebox in a dark, wooden dive, their latest effort deserves Bose speakers wired around a bar with a pool. “LFT”, has lush, plinking keyboards, stuttering guitar and lithe violin, eclipsed only by Owino’s pretty voice. “Hey Love”, the lead single co-produced by Fraser T. Smith of “Set Fire To The Rain” fame, is the project’s catchiest and most lively tune, a bobbing bed of hums, hand claps and drumstick clacks accompanying Owino’s loose, sultry come-ons that expand in the chorus. This album deserves a cool drink and a great view.
For as backtracking as the group’s influences might seem, Quadron’s subdued approach to soul does feel contemporary. Regardless of the good or bad, the music industry has been a raging blast fest for the past four years or so, ranging from the rise of Waka Flocka’s blaring trap symphonies, Skrillex’s brotastic dubstep empire and Top 40s balls-to-the-wall techno surge. It was merely time for things to die down; softer acts like Drake, The Weeknd, Miguel and even Kendrick Lamar have taken notice of the merits of the quiet storm, and it’s provided room for more emotional vulnerability and for a return to funkier, smoother music. What is Iamsu!, an up-and-coming baron of Bay Area rap, but a rhyme-slinging Roger Troutman?
Likewise, Quadron, and more importantly Owino, model themselves after Michael Jackson, even paying homage on the slightly somber “Neverland”. Her vocal timbre shares little comparison to Jackson’s, but her cadence and adherence to innocence are certainly hand-me-downs from The King of Pop. On “It’s Gonna Get You”, she begs: “open your mind like a child,” placing the same force behind each syllable that made the lyrics in songs like “Smooth Criminal” and “Beat It” so special. She does stops short of any “chamons,” although she does use it jokingly. Her falsetto might not be as sharp as his, though, as displayed at the end of tropical slow-burn “Sea Salt,” but she still seems very aware of her range, seeing as her singing rarely falters.
But as far as hero worship goes, Quadron does it gracefully, delivering a project that keeps its influences close and does not alienate the expectations of the listeners. Avalanche deserves a spot on your summer playlist; if the lovely cover, sweet vocals and Hannibal’s majestic production aren’t enough to entice, perhaps the Kendrick Lamar verse on “Better Off” will.
4 out of 5