We’ve been hearing lots about South London trio Sälen not least because these three are seen as experimentalists and are playful with their music ideas, which leads to their efforts being firmly on the left-of-field side of pop.
That being said, Ellie Kamio, Paul Taylor and Simon Milner are not in any way afraid to tackle topics with distinctively macabre tones seeping from their spiky lyrics. That everything about Sälen, at once, becomes rather striking and from an intriguing place which our dark pop loving selves can’t help but sink our teeth into. It’s not that what Sälen are doing is bittersweet, it’s skewed and twisted and recoiled in tones of black humour. Sealed with a vipery hiss and with a sting in its tail. Sälen are more to Edgar Allan Poe in the writing of love sonnets than Wordsworth the bard.
Having just released the video for their newest acerbic track “Copper Kiss”, Sälen appear to have been YouTubing their merry way through Bjork’s archive of freaky brilliant music videos. Keep in mind, as a new band there’s a budget to comply too, but had they the monies at their disposal we quite feel the trio would run and run away with the ghoulish visual aesthetics to a larger extent.
Remember the name Sälen, because as newcomers they are ruling dark pop right now. And as much as they are quirky and visionary. They are standing out in their own tormented way too, etched by the sharp zesty but addictive aftertaste in their songs.