ALBUM: BLØSH 'Keep Bleeding Keep Breathing'

“A lot of the tracks are reflections about the last couple of years after we moved back to Oslo. Some of them are dark, some of them are happy; and all of them are trying to say ‘hey – we’re gonna be fine!'”

Keep Bleeding Keep Breathing is the debut album from Scandinavian indie-pop duo BLØSH, and it’s a healthy dose of aural optimism. Guitarist Jørgen Berg Svela and cellist and singer Teresa Bernabé have enlisted the help of Grammy award nominee producer Øyvind Gundersen to create a record that’s clean, catchy and cool.

The band cite the likes of Paul Simon, Dirty Projectors, The Dø, and The Beatles as some of their influences, and their mix of upbeat and contemplative tracks on Keep Bleeding Keep Breathing mirrors their eclectic tastes. Opening track ‘Give It Away’ is a buoyant memorable tune which urges listeners to “tell the neighbours” that “it will be okay”, and this all encompassing, funky attitude is continued on ‘Dance With Me’. ‘Keep Your Tongue’ is similar in sound, whereas ‘When The Light Doesn’t Fit You’ slows things down, with its reverb and hypnotic vocals.

Half way through the album is ‘When Love Is Alive’ – a captivating collaboration with Grammy Award winning singer Siri Nilsen – which warmly encourages listeners to “love, if you dare”. The acoustic led ‘Choir & The Stars’ hosts gentle, sleepy vocals, whilst ‘Nobody Knows (Keep Bleeding Keep Breathing)’ is ambiguous in its lyricism: “I don’t wanna know what it’s all about…”. Once ‘Highway’ starts playing, however, all ambiguities are forgotten; it’s a super cool sound to cruise to.

The garishly named ‘Nightmares’ closes the record, but the grand piano and calm vocals provoke an understated horror; the horror of loneliness -“There was a time we were lying in bed, it was so lonely, with nothing to share…”. Fortunately, the uplifting chorus prevents the song becoming too dark. After all, in the band’s own words: “whenever something hits you in the face, you have to shake it off and keep going” – and that’s exactly what BLØSH have achieved on this album.

Keep Bleeding Keep Breathing is out today, 12 February.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut