Review - Ascend to the Stars

With a grasp on contemporary indie pop that uses spacious, organic beauty ("When I'm Gone, Will You?" is as sad as it is lovely) as easily as it does infectious hooks ("Playerin" comes close to kicking ass â?¦ in a too-tight t-shirt kinda way), "Ascend To the Stars" is an album that was obviously made with care and attention to detail. Largely the solo effort of Swedish indie-auteur Karl Larsson (with production from Pelle Gunnerfeldt), it's clear that the goal here was to make a fully-formed pop beast. Larsson succeeds in making even the simplest pop construction sound elegant and, when he explores more sonically dense avenues ("At Your Most Beautiful"), he's equally successful.