Taken by Trees
Taken By Trees - My Boys
Artist: Taken By Trees
Hails from: Sweden
Musical Style: Alternative, Pop, Indie
For Fans of: Cat Power, Animal Collective, Peter Bjorn & John
Why you should check her out:
If the name doesn’t sound familiar, the voice certainly will. Taken by Trees vocalist Victoria Bergsman is most well known for her performance on the ubiquitous whistle-happy tune “Young Folks” by Peter, Bjorn and John. However Taken by Trees is Bergman’s show; on this sophomore album she creates a lush and textured sound that blends her melodic Swedish pop with Near East instrumentation.
Background Check:
Victoria Bergsman’s first musical success was with the indie rock group The Concretes, a band that draws as much from the art of The Velvet Underground as it does from the summery pop of Belle & Sebastian. Bergsman left the Concretes in 2006, right on the heels of her appearance in the Peter, Bjorn & John song “Young Folks”. She created her solo moniker, Taken by Trees, and took her distinctive deadpan vocal styling to the studio for her 2007 release Open Field.
Her most recent album, East of Eden, is a slight departure from her usual sound. She traveled to Pakistan to record the album and enlisted local musicians to offer their Eastern influences to the record’s aesthetic. She also called on some of her fellow indie rock friends to help fill out the sound. Animal Collective’s, Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), supplies background vocals for the song “Anna”. And at one point in the album she pays tribute to all of the gentlemen in Animal Collective with a cover of their song “My Girls”, aptly titled for her as “My Boys”.
This is a record that is truly entertaining from start to finish. Because of its density it will reward the patient listener, however it is also immediately accessible. It is chalk full of infectious melodies, compliments of Sweden; and exotic head nodding rhythms, compliments of Pakistan – the best of both worlds.
Where you can find her in Cyberspace:
On Tour:
