The new album from AOP is called Adult Oriented Pop. It's sort of both the title of the release and the full name of the band, as well as an apt description of what's within. The record drops today on Lazy Octopus Records and it's largely a successful foray into the genre in question.
Swedish popsters Mattias Gustavsson and Martin Fogelström have known each other for years and worked with Dungen, First Aid Kit, Little Children, and other bands, but this time around they are doing things themselves. Album Oriented Pop is a neat blend of lush Eighties-style pop and the sort of thing that most would, indeed, call adult oriented pop. Stuff like "A New Beginning" is ornate, while "No Need to Talk" is even better, a throwback to both O.M.D. and the kind of electronica one found on early MGMT records. "Look at Us" is similar to stuff from Ablebody from a few years ago, while there are other moments here that are not as successful, like an ill-advised and straightforward cover of "Make It With You" by Bread. Still, AOP are trying to meld both mainstream pop and alternative rock and they largely do that here thanks to supple melodies and the glossy sheen of the synth-washes.
Adult Oriented Pop is out today via Lazy Octopus Records.
More details on AOP via the duo's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Per Kristiansen]