The more one reads about the story behind these five songs, the more it sounds like a beatnick novel. The first meeting between Lunden and Björkås took place by coincidence, with him assisting her as an inpromptu sound engineer at a performance at an art exhibition. Later, when they had written three songs in the confinements of Sara’s Stockholm studio but were unsure as to how to record them, rescue again came in the midst of night and by complete chance. In a bar in Oslo, the two met Andreas Mjös, who had very concrete ideas on the arrangements, inviting them to finalise the tunes in his own production space. Just two weeks later, “Dubious” was completed.

When listening to the music, however, no story in the world sounds improbable any more. It is so easy to get caught in its web of utterly romantic, tobacco-tinged, coarse-grained duets, its sensual bass lines and physical lyrics, sharing thoughts deemed too open for many diaries: “I lie naked in my bed/ I imagine you are there/ It’s a new feeling, newer than before/ I couldn’t help myself when I first saw you/ I couldn’t help myself this time/ I got this instant urge to make you mine”, Lunden and Björkås sing on “Naked in My Bed” and their immense intimacy seems so unashamed and unaware of the microphone’s presence that, as a listener, one doesn’t even feel like a voyeur.

With its brushed drums, atmospheric electronica, upright bass pluckings, unresolved harmonic cycles and close-miked voices, the EP feels like a bedroom Jazz performance at midnight, with only the bright yellow moon peaking in through the window as a solitary spectator. When Björkås reverts to spoken word, caressing the air around him with his deep vocal reverberations and Lunden answers him with cool, brittle melodies, it is almost like a flirt between two people who have never met but know they belong to each other.

There are no more than sixteen minutes of music on “Dubious”, but they feel as though it were an entire night. It is a slow dance, spinning you around softly and ever-so-slowly making you feel comfortably dizzy with the taste of whiskey on your lips. Art may have been stronger than the love in the long run, but love was certainly at the heart of these timelessly artful songs.

By Tobias Fischer

Dubi-dubious (as the title track opens vocally) is a nice collection of minimalist electronica pop. Low-toned and a bit introvert and cold. Yet in some way including and warm. Lundén's semi-fragile voice is a good match with Björkås' darker toned vocals. Lee and Nancy, or Nick and Kylie (or, rather, Polly Jean)? Well...of their genre maybe, but then... not really. Björkås has written 2 of the tracks, Lundén the last three. The quintet of songs make a nice handful, and quite an okay 16 minutes of pleasant company. I think I prefer Lundén's songs the better. "You Can Come" and "Naked In My Bed", but especially the most quiet track, "The Sound It Makes". The closing "Murder" (by Björkås) is sort of a spooky murder ballad.

These 5 songs were recorded at Saralunden's place in Stockholm during a couple of weeks back in 2004. There's nothing wrong with spending time together for a follow up.

Copyright © 2007 Håvard Oppøyen