| The songs that Kathrine Bergstrom has written for her first solo project are commanding, melodic and immediately likable works of art. Simply gorgeous. |
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Katie Goes to Tokyo
CD Singles
Moving From This Town/
Somebody I Never Knew
Until She Breaks/All About Us
Tap Your Feet (2005)
Loyal buhdge readers will be more than familiar with The Wilson Hospital, whose 2001 CD, Medication for a Lost Generation, I discovered just this spring. The happy, poppy confection was one of the sweet surprises of this year, instantly catapulting into heavy rotation in my home, my car, my iPod, and my Pure Pop radio show. Kathrine Bergstrom's sexy, delectable vocals and those glorious, old-fashioned pure pop songs, co-written by Bergstrom and musical wunderkind Marten Tromm, were simply delightful and out-of-this-world wonderful, and more than that one really can not ask for.
Except, of course, a new Wilson Hospital album, provisionally titled Kick Box, that hopefully will be released next spring. With that exciting eventuality on the horizon, fans can take solace in three songs slated for that record that are posted on the Tap Your Feet site (see link below), and two CD singles already released as tasty tasters for an upcoming Bergstrom solo album, on which she trades as Katie Goes to Tokyo.
Perhaps not as overtly happy as The Wilson Hospital's songs--they're certainly more introspective--the songs Bergstrom has written for her first solo project are equally as commanding, as melodic and immediately likable as their Wilson cousins.
"Moving From This Town," the latest Katie single release, is a lovely, mid-tempo ballad about moving on from loneliness. A subtle string arrangement and a typically gorgeous solo, lead Bergstrom vocal bring this one home. "Town"'s counterpart, "Somebody I Never Knew," is a wonderful pop song, sporting a beautiful, intimate mix and velvety-smooth backgrounds.
The single that preceeded "Moving From This Town" coupled the upbeat, incredibly catchy, seventies-influenced, Bergstrom/Tromm co-write "Until She Breaks," a song about the sadness of a broken relationship, with the affecting ballad "All About Us," driven by nimble acoustic guitar work and a chorus as catchy as they come. The background vocals on "Until She Breaks" are particularly splendid.
By the way, all four of the songs described above can be heard streaming on the Katie Goes to Tokyo site (link below). You can also view clever videos for "Moving From This Town" and "Until She Breaks". You can even download some nifty desktop wallpaper.
Apart from creating delight alive around you, these songs leave you wanting more, as the greatest art does. Katie can go to Tokyo or Topanga, as long as she sings like the angel she is.
Stay tuned for the latest Katie developments.
Alan Haber
November 6, 2005
Go to: Katie Goes to Tokyo, Tap Your Feet