Call it dream pop or shoegaze, or what have you, the music of Sweden's Hater is enthralling. The group's newest, Sincere, is out on Fire Records now, and it's a considerable expansion of the outfit's approach. This might be their best yet.
There's a cohesion to Sincere that suggests Hater have been refining their attack, with numbers like "Bad Luck" revealing both heart and intellect here. "Far From a Mind", a robust highlight this time around, ups the tempo a bit, though the guitars are just the right kind of fuzzy still. Elsewhere, "Hopes High" and "Something" have the woozy charm of Slowdive and Eighties Sonic Youth, respectively.
So much of what works for Hater is down to the vocals of Caroline Landahl. She anchors this all, enough that even if the guitar-lines aren't spiralling towards the sun, the songs still seem fairly memorable. But, in fairness, Sincere works throughout, from the spacious, more ruminative selections, and to the ones which erupt in bursts of energy. Hater's sound is an organic one, and with each record it expands in a new direction. The changes this time out are subtle, but for anyone who's been around for a couple of albums so far, this may seem like the group's most thoroughly realized release to date.
Sincere is out now via Fire Records.
[Photo: Fire Records]