TROLN - Says Abraham

This review was commissioned through Ko-fi. However, it bears no weight on the score or decision. All reviews are written from an unbiased standpoint. 

Troln is a Danish quartet consisting of Helene Navene (vocals, lyrics), Thomas Olsen (drums, beats), Christian Rønn (organ / keys), and Henrik Liebgott (guitars). The band is hard to nail down as far as genres go, but influences range from post-punk to psych rock to gothic pop music. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2019 and received critical acclaim Peter Albrechsten, writer for Politiken in Denmark and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2022 sees the band return to the scene with a plan of attack including several singles leading to an album. The first of these singles is titled 'Says Abraham'. 

What's immediately different about 'Says Abraham' from Troln's previous work is the raw behavior of the single - for better or for worse. I feel as if the guitar strums during the verses are fed too much reverb as this leads to a slushy sound that takes over the rest of the mix. During the chorus, however, the song dives into a lovely psychedelic moment - which is quite brilliant. There's also room on the single for an electronic guitar solo around the two-minute mark that lasts for around twenty second. However, it wasn't that impressive. If you're making headway for a solo, it better be something that's going to blow the listener's pants out of the water. This did no such thing. The standout element of the single, however, is vocalist Helene Navne's voice. Simply put, her voice is impeccable and hits highs like they're nothing.

While I wouldn't say that Says Abraham should be completely written off, I do feel as if 'Says Abraham' is a bit of a step back from the clarity, cinematic, and generally gorgeous composition found on their self-titled debut. The mixing, mastering, and everything else from the play I gave it was fairly great. 'Says Abraham' has a few rough edges that were not present there. I do think that it's a good song, but it's not Troln at their best. Six-and-a-half out of ten. 
Apr 18 2022