In a Venn diagram of things that interest us here at The Line of Best Fit, one of largest crossovers comes within the following three sets: Sweden, dreamy pop music, and facial hair. Fitting in perfectly, then, are Swedish duo Pallers, purveyors of dreamy – and sad – electropop, who ply a fine trade in moody (and moustachioed) press shots, and have just released debut album The Sea of Memories.

Pallers is the work of childhood friends Johan Angergård (Club 8, Acid House Kings) and Henrik Mårtensson, veterans of the Swedish music scene who, despite having played together in one form or another over many years, have only just got round to making a record together. In their own words, it’s “music for the slightly depressed”, but to expand on that The Sea of Memories, released by Labrador, is in turns delightful, melancholic, and a captivating record. Although it generally connects to a lot of the elegiac Nordic music we’ve heard over the past twelve months (Forest and I Break Horses to name but two) there’s also a freshness to the languid nature of some of the tracks, which must come from relaxing in the sun of some of the touring and recording locations (Spain, South Africa) the duo has visited over the past few years.

Dividing the vocals, music and production duties between them, although Angergård still feels like a de facto leader, Pallers create what they’d call “three dimensional” electronic pop, and there are certainly many layers of sound that reveal themselves over a number of listens. Many of the tracks, such as opener ‘Another Heaven’, take a simple Kraftwerk-style synth pattern – think ‘Neon Lights’ – before adding more sounds, and also plenty of reverb and delay, and the light vocals of Angergård. This particular track, and following number ‘Humdrum’, while being melancholic, have a certain dancefloor feel to them, picking up the rhythm and pace as the song moves towards the chorus, the electro pulses mixing with some scratchy guitar, leading to something almost euphoric, or Balearic at least, rather than Nordic. Repeated listens reveal at least three different rhythms in ‘Humdrum’, ranging from a solid floor tom sound, to the more noticeable clicks and shimmers higher up in the mix. Rather than being “conventional” pop music, there’s always something more complex at work with Pallers.

There’s a “happy sadness” to much of the music here, evident in the uplifting harmonies of ‘Come Rain, Come Sunshine’ and this leads into the all-too-short ‘Tropical Fishbowl’, an instrumental of gentle indie guitar pop that reveals the duo’s background in indie guitar pop. Lacking in happiness, ‘Years Go, Days Pass’ is a sad song of loss, blanketed by snowy and glistening electro. The same can be said for ‘The Kiss’, a morose tale barely lifted by some synth strings and chiming guitar.

‘Wicked’ introduces the female vocals of Elise (of Jemma & Elise) and takes us once again to the dancefloor in what’s pretty much a 90s techno tune (choon?) and is hi-energy fun. In the context of the record as a whole it perhaps doesn’t quite fit with the general ambience, but it’s a great song nonetheless and could benefit further from some remix action. Such dance antics are banished on final track ‘Night’, which begins with stately piano and stays firmly downbeat, Angergård’s sad vocals barely registering above the ambient synth washes.

If there’s one criticism I could aim at Pallers, is that a couple of the songs on the record don’t justify lasting to the five minute mark, especially when Angergård’s voice doesn’t really change in tone across The Sea of Memories. It’s an immensely sad voice, speaking of love and loss, but when I want it to soar and take my heart with it, the vocals stay tethered to the ground. Having said this, it’s a small gripe on what’s an engaging and layered album, and for a duo making their first serious forays into the world of electro, it’s a confident and assured start.

Pallers – The Sea of Memories