The Deer Tracks - The Archer Trilogy Pt. 2

Emerging from their desolate and isolated cabin, The Deer Tracks share their new release The Archer Trilogy Pt. 2, the second instalment of their 3 part musical triptych, a full length album rather than the preceding EP. Promising to "take you any and everywhere you allow your mind, body and soul to go," The Deer Tracks beautiful waves of ethereal sounds embody visions of their cold, dark and frosty hometown of Gävle, Sweden. The duo continue to produce successful combinations of delicate folk melodies alongside glitchy, pulsing electronic rhythms which create visions of vast icy soundscapes lit up by the otherworldly aurora borealis.

Explorations of opposites are key to the concept of the album and this is most noticeable in the androgynous quality of the David Lehnberg and Elin Lindfors’ voices which merge into an asexual apparition. What is also enchanting is the EP’s connection with nature, it is clear to see that The Deer Tracks were truly inspired by the wilderness of their natural desolation. Animalistic echos resound through many tracks, particularly allusions to whale’s song in ‘Dark Passenger’, although when contextualised by lyrics discussing breaking a neck to give a ‘reality check’ it is hard to contemplate the track’s true meaning. ‘1000 Vända Kinder’ plays with silence beautifully, balancing the gaining momentum by being placed in the middle of the album, and could easily be plucked from any Sigur Rós record, using the same effortless interchange between languages that they do so well. On the other spectrum, the pair also excel at creating a gargantuan wall of noise and ‘U-Turn’ ends the album with a completed puzzle of integrated instruments.

The album is beautiful in it’s simplistic cohesion, but I cannot hasten to express my disappointment in its sameness. Not one track seemed to scream obvious single release to me either, instead each track follows a particularly similar pattern; growing from a quiet and pensive skeleton into an epically layered soaring piece. It is hard to see if The Deer Tracks really create anything unique. As a sleep companion, the tracks encourage vivid and boundless dream capacity, but as anything else, I feel it would not be so successful.

Rating: 7/10