Kleerup – Kleerup

The situation regarding this re-release is a little confusing, as I alluded to in my review of Kleerup's new EP Hello Holla not long ago - but suffice it to saythat if you're interested in getting hold of Kleerup's stuff, this is the release to be getting your hands on. In fact, this release is quite substantially different in tracklisting to the previous version of the album, so even if you have the old one you might want to consider rebuying, even in these cash-strapped times in which we live.Because at the end of the day, even Andreas Kleerup's lesser work is always entertaining. Here is an electronica/pop icon and producer who by now sounds as though he can pull pop gems almost effortlessly out of some creative orifice the rest of us just don't possess, and the man's capable of pleasing just about anyone whose musical affections lie in that territory. As evidence for his mainstream appeal and talent for crafting glassy pop gems we (still) have "With Every Heartbeat", which may by now be getting overfamiliar, but still remains superbly shiny.Most of the other accomplished works from the original version of the album are still present and correct here, from the midtempo, darkly digital Lykke Li outing "Until We Bleed" to the rather more heavenly-sounding pop of "Longing For Lullabies", featuring a vocal contribution from Swedish pop singer Titiyo. The songs featuring these guest vocalists may unsurprisingly garner more immediate attention and evoke more immediate appeal, but the songs without them are often every bit as strong. New to this version of the album are tracks like "Ain't No Stopping", which makes hefty use of arpeggio, echo, and heavy vocoding, as well as the rather plodding "Iris". Whether Kleerup fans will want to buy this version of the album to acquire these new tracks is going to be a question of how completist they are.There's no doubting Kleerup's talents and at 14 tracks and 55 minutes, this extended edition of Kleerup is the best single document of that talent that has so far been released - ultimately it's a great electronica record, despite its familiarity, and almost up with Röyksopp's Junior among the best electronica albums of 2009 so far. 79%Kleerup on MySpace