Max Elto is changing the way we're looking at music from Sweden. His latest, "Backyard Animals" checks off a few of the Swedish basics, namely, super-catchy, crystalline vocals that are airy and dreamlike in every sense. And though he's that, Elto seems also to branching off in a sense. While all of the prerequisites are there, the dark ambiance and almost house-like beat overwash the effort with a tone we haven't yet heard. Whether this shift is simply Max Elto flexing his creative muscles, or a greater indication of where the nation's new electronic music is headed is yet to be seen, but the audible experience on "Backyard Animals" excites us, either way.
Max Elto