El Perro del Mar

El Perro Del Mar, the Spanish moniker of Swedish singer-songwriter Sarah Assbring, resembles nothing like a dog as her name would suggest. She's much more angelic, the way maybe a hummingbird is in its grace. Yet El "Picaflor" Del Mar just doesn't roll off the tongue the way Perro does.

Her first self-titled record was nice and jangly, yet at times, a very mellow affair. We saw her voice being the focal point of her work, and if you're not one for sparse arrangements, she'll probably put you to sleep. From The Valley To The Stars continues much more in the stripped down direction; aside from the poppy "Somebody's Baby" and the appropriately sunny-sounding "Inside The Sun." It would seem that all those '60s girl-group nods we heard on the last go around are pretty much done. Valley is much more comatose in nature, we find Assbring sounding more and more like Cocteau Twins babe Elizabeth Fraser. She's droney on the desperate, organ heavy "Do Not Despair," and a bit gospel-like on "Happiness Won Me Over."

Those subtle variations are hard to pick up on, and over the course of sixteen tracks, the mood feels a touch too somber. In other words, there's very little bite on this one, but her vocals are pleasant enough to keep paying attention maybe one more round. But who knows? There might be a Feist-y "1 2 3 4" lurking somewhere in Sarah.

—Michael D. Ayers
04.29.08