Scandinavian singer-songwriter, Alice Boman, is the latest lo-fi folk songstress to have us completely enchanted. Having released EP II last year and receiving nothing but praise, her profile has been continuously rising and rising, and we’ve no doubt this will only heighten in the forseeable future.
Her sound, if pigeonholed, is dreamy and atmospherically haunting. Depending on a piano mostly, Boman usually has a hazy underwater effect to her songs, possibly helped by the fact that she recorded a few of her songs in a cabin, giving the music an unworldly feeling. The fragile hazy hiss of faded background music eludes to the sound of a tape or a cassette/ vinyl playing which intriguingly adds a ghostly, lulling oldness feel to her music and helps add to the dreamy world of which Boman evokes.
In terms of her lyrics, Boman has stated she tries to let her lyrics speak for themselves, even to the point of treating her finished songs like drafts, seemingly unedited and unfinished. ‘Skiss 1′, ‘Skiss 2′, and ‘EP II’, are vague titles, and subsequently Skiss translates in English to ‘Sketch’. A really good device to allow the listener to create their own interpretations with their fixed ambiguity. She uses simplistic words and images, for instance, “You know I need the darkness just as much I need the light,” in “Over”, which emphasise her honest quality in an endearing manner. Vocally, she’s fragile, almost childlike. There are hidden resemblances of Nina Simone, but really, Boman is completely in a league of her own.
A delight to listen to. She heads out on tour from today (Jan 31st) so get over to her Facebook for all the details.
Check out her haunting song, ‘Waiting’, below.
