After fulfilling her life's dream and making an album, which she did in Brooklyn with Ben Greenberg of
the Men, Annelotte De Graaf was faced with making a second record. The first
Amber Arcades record,
Fading Lines, was an unassumingly good modern dream pop record that balanced De Graaf's plain-spoken vocals and melancholy nature against a gentle backdrop of drowsy guitars and dreamy melodies.
European Heartbreak takes a different tack entirely. De Graaf wanted to make something that was both sparse and lush; simple, classic ballads and midtempo songs filled out with strings and horns. She laid down the basic tracks with producer
Chris Cohen of
Deerhoof, and they headed to Spacebomb studio in Virginia to add the rest in their typically cosmic American music fashion. The result is something of a mixed bag. Sometimes the plan works really well and De Graaf's pleasant songs come to life when given full arrangements. "Where Did You Go" and "I've Done the Best" have a rambling, loose-limbed feel that's not far from the same sweet spot
Camera Obscura occupies, "Simple Song" sounds like a mash-up of
Stereolab and
Dusty Springfield, and a couple of the ballads -- especially the desolate, album-ending "Baby, Eternity" -- have a nice dramatic impact. ~ Tim Sendra