Bahamas: Barchords – review

A hit at this year's SXSW, former Feist guitarist Afie Jurvanen 's tropical pop arrives as lazily and beautifully as crashing waves. Somewhere between Jack Johnson and early Lou Reed, Jurvenen crafts stripped-down, harmony-brushed songs with gorgeous hooks and without a wasted note. The twist is in the lyrics, which chronicle the death of a relationship. In the lovely Caught Me Thinking he realises it wasn't just his drinking that drove her away; in the darker Okay, Alright, I'm Alive it's his turn to be accusatory: "I can tell when you're lying." The musical mood swings further upward in Any Other Way's Bolan boogie and the classic pop of Time and Time Again, but these are simple, blissful songs which offer more with every listen. Zoom in on the lyrics, and they offer even more.