Sweden has a rich history of electronic bands and Stockholm’s Hatif have joined these illustrious ranks. The duo released their debut full length album “Everything Is Repetition“, on September the 30th with the label Town And Towers Records.
From the start of the first track, “A Small Scratch“, your senses are wrapped in the gorgeous folds of the electronics, heightened by the Middle Eastern influence, pervading like the delicate smoke from a beautiful incense. “Pool” is imbued with the sights and sounds of a Moroccan bazaar with silken like darkwave and those are just the first two tracks
Even in the smooth electronics, there is an undercurrent of tension such as the sexuality in “Repetition“, the dispossessed in “City Beneath The City” or the entrancing “Close to None“, which is about loneliness, yet so utterly hypnotic and mesmerising… possibly one of my favourite tracks.
In some ways, Hatif remind me very much of the great Deine Lakaien. The vocals effortlessly creep under your skin, saturating the senses with sensual perfection. It is extraordinary electronica with the divine infusion of the exotic East, creating a glorious album where not “Everything Is Repetition” with the rather darkwave cool that is Hatif.
Onyx Music Reviews 