A multitude of musical watercolour landscapes roll by on »Oas«, the second album from the Swedish band Dina Ögon. Colourful stylistic magic appears on every track, such as in the form of strings that trace out a soft background. In addition, hip-hop, jazz, bossa nova and R’n’B clouds gather, which finally dissolve into folk-rock pearls like gentle rain. Whereas the self-titled début from 2021 emphasised even more clearly the references to the groove era of the 70s, »Oas« is free of rigid styles and engages in skilful genre-hopping, as the song »Berget« with its hint of »Motown sound« and a pinch of »Phil Spector« exemplifies. The formation around Anna Ahnlund (vocals), Christopher Cantillo (drums), Daniel Ögren (guitar) and Love Örsan (bass) hovers over all ten songs, not least because of the Swedish language, a discreet Nordic-mystical sonic mist.
The song »Vi smälter« emerges from the sweet fog of the North above all. With their music, Dina Ögon quite casually introduce an extension/amplification of the musical language, outside of the English tongue, if you care to take a look through global pop glasses. Combining one’s own roots or musical culture with the pop DNA, and in particular the strands of soul, funk and jazz, to create something new is certainly not novel, but everyone does it in their own way to make something unique. Modern soul-pop that focuses on the future but sees itself more in the retro rear-view mirror in terms of sound and style.
OAS
