The synth-infused music has been thriving in recent years, with many artists and bands investing all their efforts into their works. Because of this global phenomenon, the contemporary music scene thrives like never before, making it so difficult to pick the finest tracks, extended plays, or albums that will become the next big thing. Still, there are music outlets like The Connecting Dots that push their sound to the very limits, breaking all the rules and shattering the boundaries in order to deliver only the finest compositions to the table. That’s the case with “Sweet Debauchery,” their latest piece of work that carries ten marvelous compositions. Anyone even remotely paying attention to the music news knows that writing, composing, arranging, and producing one-of-a-kind songs is not an easy task to achieve nowadays, but that seems like a piece of cake for The Connecting Dots. Their new album shines with fresh, unique, innovative, exciting songs that go beyond comprehension so many times. Lyrically, this outstanding Swedish duo decided to write beautiful love songs that tackle various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances. In an ongoing political, social, and environmental climate, where things become more hectic and chaotic every day, The Connecting Dots made the right choice and decided to spread some love, because this world needs more love than ever. These tracks are highly relatable in so many ways, and “Sweet Debauchery” is a material that will resonate with the broader audience, but it’s also a very personal record suitable for any mood or occasion. Sonically, The Connecting Dots are masters in blending several complementary music genres in order to depict a luxuriant sonic imagery. This album carries everything you ever needed from a synth and dream pop music, but there are also some explorations into synthwave, darkwave, new wave, eighties pop, and nineties rock. It’s a mash of various techniques, different directions, and complementary styles that work quite well together, making “Sweet Debauchery” an entirely complete material that will not only appeal to the fans of synth or dream pop music but also anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
Right off the bat, “Modern Shapes” immediately wraps around your listening apparatus with all those lush synth works, pulsating sequences, and ethereal pads. The band wastes no time, and immediately showcases what you might expect from the remainder of the material. Its calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal atmosphere, supported with subtly distorted guitars, intricate basslines, and well-accentuated rhythmic patterns, invites you on an epic sonic voyage, fully packed with everything you need from synth music. “Weekend” calms things down a little bit, with its dreamy, piano-soaked ambiance, decorated with perfect arrangements, instrumentations, and thoughtful lyricism. You’ll enjoy all those carefully composed piano and synth harmonies, melodies, and themes, which are dominant during the entire song, while the subtle percussions serve as a backbone that keeps everything in line. “Dominoes” introduces more indie instrumentations, with all those jangly, angular chord progressions and warm-sounding basslines acting as a perfect backdrop for Helena Sundström’s incredible vocal performance. These guitar works expand into fully distorted riffs, adorned with more lush synth leads, while the drum beats offer more groove and pace. Helena Sundström’s soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, powerful vocal performance stands out on songs like “Ends Meet” and “The Final Song,” two marvelous compositions where slightly darker yet tender textures collide harmoneously. Her impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything The Connecting Dots intended to achieve with them. Besides decorating all those segments and instrumentations, she also contributes more than necessary emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate song structure. “Morning Disco” is a self-explanatory composition where all those immensely detailed disco beats meet beautiful, complex, warm-sounding basslines while the synths act more as accentuations that lead the instrumentation until the chorus strikes. “The Sweet Life” channels some of the finest elements of dream pop sound, with all those tender, mellow, calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal soundscapes pervading from all the possible sides, while Helena Sundström’s tremendous vocal performance, heavily drenched in reverb effect, commands attention and leads the way. This track expands with each section, with vocal and synth layers becoming more complex and ear-appealing. This dream pop trend continues with “Jupiter Falling,” yet this composition is more groovy, dynamic, and powerful thanks to the additional rhythmic patterns. “Something Out Of Nothing” seamlessly blends the fundamental elements of synthwave, new wave, and pop music together, bringing all the qualities of the duo upfront. Once again, The Connecting Dots incorporates all those luxuriant synth soundscapes, catchy guitar works, powerful basslines, and energetic beats in order to deliver one-of-a-kind music to the listeners. It’s also a good indication that this album comes to an end, as it gradually prepares listeners for “Leave All That Glitters Behind,” a closing track packed with all those classic and dream pop qualities The Connecting Dots are known for. It’s one of the finest tracks on this material, as it vividly points out many reasons why you should spin this exceptional album once again.
With “Sweet Debauchery,” The Connecting Dots shake the rules and boundaries of so many music genres at once. Their sonic and lyrical aesthetics go beyond comprehension so many times throughout the entire album, proving that they poured heart and soul while working on this material. It’s a comprehensive collection of honest, profound, soulful, lovely compositions that will immediately wrap around your listening apparatus, grab you by the collar, and transport you to a different realm. Therefore, head to your favorite streaming platform and check this masterpiece out!
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