Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2014	Sylvan Esso	Sylvan Esso	★★★★	82	Pop	Indie Pop	Indietronica

The self-titled debut record electronic indie duo Sylvan Esso is a cute, feel good indie pop album that’s a product of its time in the best way possible. There’s a cool, laid back, sophisticated aura about the record that makes it fitting for a hipster coffee shop, as well as a playful electricity that makes you want to sing and dance along to it at a party. 

On moments like “Hey Mami,” “Wolf” and “Coffee,” the duo shows they have more musical finesse than most other electronic indie pop acts of the mid 2010s (CHVRCHES, Phantogram and Glass Animals, for example). Most tracks are built on bouncy synth beats and computerized vocal rounds, which makes the tracks feel light and airy with a constant forward motion. The lyrics and imagery across the record are simple, and a little childish at times, but mature in meaning, and some of the more reflective moments on the record — “Could I Be” and “Uncantena” — are really effective. The duo creates a district sound with an upbeat curiosity that I thoroughly enjoy.