Stockholm’s multi-talented producer and songwriter has returned to the music scene after an 8-year hiatus with an exciting body of work entitled ‘Än’.
Name The Pet’s brand new record kicks off with, perhaps unintentionally, a sound which is blatantly bringing back the old-school rhythms of UK Garage, and it has had us throwing shapes in TGIF mode on a Monday morning, in the form of ‘Radion lovar regn.’
Therefore, within seconds grabbing our attention with, not just their tribute to Tuff Jam and The Dream Team, but also with a smooth, unique vocal which, when sung in her lower register, reminds me of the captivating sound of Sophiti-Pop icon Jessie Ware.
A masterpiece would be nothing without musical diversity, and Name The Pet ensures that her new album contains as much of this as possible, showcased on songs like ‘Upp,’ where the fearless musician fuses authentic, underground British Dance, with the help of the cockney-dialect of Josh Caffe and his slick Pop vocal, while paying homage to the Soul and Jazz experimentation of Sade via the superb use of bongos and an overall laid-back, chilled and blissful music production.
Track 3 ‘Era kyssar’ throws us back to Trinidadian singer Haddaway’s Eurodance synths of his 1994 single ‘Rock My Heart,’ over a radio-friendly R&B Electro beat which you can easily get down to.
To all you hardcore Sugababes fans out there, ‘Boy’ is very reminiscent of the band’s early career…think ‘We Could Have It All’ and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
However, Name The Pet, once again, on ‘Boy’ does not at all shy away from that UK Garage sound, us London listeners get nostalgic over.
‘Gwyneth’ takes you into a more trippy realm, with the use of a vocally atmospheric and sultry performance by the distinctive tones of Name The Pet, alongside drums which take us back to Drake’s critically acclaimed, 2016 duet with Rihanna ‘Too Good,’ as well as Goa-esque Trance melodies, and of course, in order to complete the album’s delivery of musical variety and showcase her beautiful voice, Name The Pet throws in the ballad ‘Visa mag vagen.’
‘130 100’ drops that 90’s Dub beat in order to keep the understated party going and wastes no time when taking you to a Katy B environment, sending you straight to the ultimate Saturday night rave, whilst ‘Sag Det’ has put the biggest smile on my face with its 80’s influence, R&B production via the classic Fantasia synth from Heart’s 1990 ‘All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You.’
You will, without a doubt, be sent into early Janet Jackson bliss, specifically her famous, 1987 ballad ‘Let’s Wait Awhile,’ while its’ catchy hook throws you back to Madonna’s iconic ‘Like A Prayer’ era, i.e. the hit single ‘Cherish’ of course, making ‘Sag Det’ my favourite song from Name The Pet’s new album by far.
And to end this memorable group of songs, Name The Pet leaves us with ‘I en annan varld,’ which moves into Zara Larrson, Pop territory, and last, but not least, the album’s title.
The song ‘Än’ surprisingly opens with a minor chord structure, performed beautifully on the piano, delivering a sad undertone, concluding a well-thought up contrast when comparing this outro with the rest of Name The Pet’s accomplished, newly released piece of work.
However, don’t be fooled, for the finale track does not stay in the traditional world of “piano and vocal-only” for very long, and soon enough builds up to a Dance Pop production, not too similar to The 1975’s emotive ‘TooTimeTooTimeTooTime.’
In some straight-to-the-point vocab…we are loving how unafraid Name The Pet is as an experimental artist of innovating UK Urban genres.
Her musicianship skills, which consist of unusual and emotional vocals complimented by a mix of different Electro music styles and Swedish poetry, are very impressive.