We Are Only What We Feel

Designed around vocalist Stina Wappling, Sweden’s NONONO give the singer plenty of room to play around with their shiny, sometimes happy, and sometimes danceable synth-pop. The trio (rounded out by keyboardist Michel “Rocwell” Flygare and guitarist Tobias “Astma” Jimson, who’ve worked as the production duo Astma & Rocwell) balance between artsy, atmospheric swaths of beauty and more mainstream, accessible moves meant to enrapture large audiences and keep the party moving. But they never settle for obvious tropes, and their emphasis on slower tempos moderates their debut album quite gracefully. “Echo” is a gentle cry that uses its slower gait to emphasize Wappling’s achy-breaky vocals and the producers’ ability to build sound on sound. While “Jungle” and “Like the Wind” release a carefully sculpted party vibe, songs such as “Pumpin’ Blood” and “One Wish” expose subtler effects at work, with the background vocals swelling in strategic spots along with other musical shifts. The sonic poetry of “Down Under,” “Johnny,” and “Love” prove there’s more to synth-pop than the same ol’ dance grooves.