Album Review: Miike Snow

From the initial wonky descending synths of opener Enter The Joker's Lair, Miike Snow present music that triggers an emotional response. Just like their mythical mascot the jackalope, this outfit's sound transports listeners somewhere they never knew existed. Field drums during The Wave add anthemic urgency, a recurring motif throughout this release, but an undercurrent of fragility in Andrew Wyatt's vocal means you dance with tears in your eyes (Happy To You seems an incongruous album title choice). Poetic lyrics are always worth your ears (“I used to lie and think in clouds deciding which were queens and which were doves/And lines I throw myself are thin, are shower-curtain thin”). Words chosen often offer a surprising contrast from lush instrumentation that introduces xylophone to French horn, while autoharp and strings play out in the distance.

Bavarian #1 (Say You Will), with its irresistible whistling refrain, military drumming and galloping piano, opens previously cordoned-off doors in your imagination. It's fitting that the trio include a song named Archipelago – such a deliciously evocative word.

So much more than a band, Miike Snow is a collective of sonic artists who compose intelligently structured dance music that levitates above the quagmire of 'Guetta-featuring [insert latest paparazzi-courting celeb]' shite. Prepare for your mind to be blown.