There certainly isn’t any shortage of Nordic bands in love with the synth pop sounds of yesteryear and, now, Secret Treehouse throw their hat into the ring with their album “The Big Rewind”.
Duly, the sequencers return to guide their songs on a journey through the synthetic sounds of the past with “Fear of Frogs” and “Wrong Hands” crying out to be married on a double A side single for a trip down the aisle and up the charts of yesteryear. To their credit, Secret Treehouse aren’t the kind of band to stop at such simple retro worship and, consequently, they take welcome detours on this, their ten track, musical road trip. As an example, there is the spacious acoustic simplicity of “Hero”. You don’t get more basic and organic than a guitar and the gloriously wistful voice of Anja Bere. Her voice is the standard bearer that leads all of these songs on their journey to conquer your ears even when the subject matter is downright bleak as in “Wrong Hands”.
“The Big Rewind” is therefore an album that beats to the stylistic pulse of today yet it also demonstrates that Secret Treehouse have more than enough heart to escape into dawn’s early light.
Best song? The catchy synth pop sounds of “Fear of Frogs”.
The verdict? Strong songs and endearing vocals make this album.