SG83: Yndling - Time Time Time (I’m in the Palm of Your Hand) [LP]
Yndling is the dream pop project of Norwegian musician Silje Espevik. Time Time Time (I’m in the Palm of Your Hand) is the dark, atmospheric follow up to Espevik’s sophomore album Mood Booster, which showcased her gossamer vocals and highly meticulous, textured instrumentals. There is something gorgeously otherworldly about the soundscapes that Espevik creates, as if she is providing tracking for an expansive universe that has yet to exist; opener “Hold on to a Feeling,” in that regard, is a soft, warped daze, as if priming one’s arrival to her unique world.
Over the course of the album’s ten tracks, one finds themselves sinking deeper into the lush expanse, complete with intoxicating synth melodies and glimmering flourishes that attempt to simulate the feeling of deep, inexplicable yearning. “It’s Almost Like You’re Here” is a delicate, yet resilient ballad that feels trans-dimensional, while the stunning “Before It Gets Dark” is a ghostly waltz, with swirling, smoke-like instrumentals and formidable percussion. And yet, there are moments of stark, biting clarity that appear like fire within the haze, such as “As Fast As I Can,” with fervid, intimidating instrumentals and piercing vocals, as well as the sparse, but spiky “Fences.” The title track is a soft, sprawling, slightly cinematic masterpiece, with a mix of orchestrals and modern rock, as if one has stitched together two separate complex tapestries.
Overall, there is a stunning balance between the breathlessly soft and the sonorously intense within Time Time Time, as if gesturing to something close to the feeling that the album’s title seemingly evokes: succumbing to the liminal, yet fecund void of past, present, and future, and to do so without the fear of losing yourself completely.
SG83: Yndling - Time Time Time (I’m in the Palm of Your Hand) [LP]