Kasbo - Places We Don't Know

Kasbo
Places We Don't Know
2018
Spotify

Kasbo is a name that has peculating on the electronic scene for awhile, however Places We Don't Know is the Swedish Producers first full length. The first few tracks feel like Odesza meets EDM, bright catchy hooks with swirling ethereal synths creating the background. It's a fully pleasant experience if not a pedestrian one. There are really fun moments, really cool electronics, but everything feels like places we've been before and with better results. It's a strange vibe because Places We Don't Know ticks every box you want it to tick, but it just doesn't send you over the edge like you really would like it to. A lot of the builds tend to even out and plateau creating this almost even sense throughout. The big moments just don't feel big enough and the small ones don't really feel all that personal. This album wants to be festival filling IDM, but it never gets there. "About You" has this simply wonderful almost violin-esque line of music to it, but then the chorus shifts back into exactly what you would expect it to be. You are able to feel each shift and each new song long before they happen because it's just far to predictable. The features Kasbo chooses also all sound almost exactly the same, the high Northern European Female vocal that we all know so well. "Over You" is the one time there is a bit of a sense of surprise as He manages to give you false drops and builds the tension until it boils over into this beat heavy dank sounding drop. It's all so nice, but there is almost no risk and no stakes what so ever.

Maybe that's the point though. Does everything need to edgy and life changing, or is there some space for music to just be really nice. This album is really really nice. We are al;ways looking for something to blow us away, something cutting edge, but every now and again an album can be perfectly pleasant and that is enough. If I heard this record live with a ton of people it would be a hell of a lot of fun, and you can tell that's what Kasbo is going for. You would like him to cut it up a little more and push things a bit harder, but that is just wishful thinking. Each track that makes some kind of impact comes with a few others that simply don't and that is not what great albums are made of. You want Kasbo to make this thing flow and soar, and maybe He will this is only his first record. There are some great bones here and some structures that this young producer can build on. I'm not giving up hope just yet, and you shouldn't either.

6.4 out of 10