Mandy Rogers
It’s a pleasure to know that Vanbot is back in the creative flow of making music. We were kept waiting some considerable time by the Swede between the debut and arrival of the tricky but brilliant sophomore album “Perfect Storm” that any expectations of new material reaching us so soon after the project drew to a close haven’t so much dared to enter into my mind.
Yet here we are serviced with an announcement of Vanbot’s forthcoming third album “Siberia” and to go with it a new track “Collide (Krasnoyarsk)” acting as the first single.
Emerging from the dust settling on “Perfect Storm”, embracing artistic development with a renewed vigour. Vanbot goes about edging away further from the fizzing pop offerings of yore, concentrating on experimentation and moving goalposts all whilst, still keeping the main essence of the music embroidered with an electronic pulse.
“Collide” feels quite spartan in comparison to the many previous shimmering Vanbot gems, but I now see that the “Perfect Storm” chapter, was acting as the bridge into the gateway of expansive electronic pop artistry becoming the new focus for Vanbot.
If you know your Swedish pop well, you might detect that “Collide” flashes in bursts of resemblance to The Knife and Lykke Li and you’d well to do so, as Vanbot has partnered up with the aforementioned’s producer Johannes Berglund. Making the most of Ester Ideskog’s ethereally blessed vocals, the icy production accentuates the raw and minimal soundscapes into one seamless flow of chilly Siberian mysteriousness.