Listen: Naomi Pilgrim - "House of Dreams"

28 April 2014, 16:35 | Written by Maya Hambro

(Tracks)

(Naomi Pilgrim)

It’s a well-accepted fact that Sweden produces a whole lot of top-class pop music. Relatively new export Naomi Pilgrim looks set to follow the trend, albeit producing music that better resembles the output of Jhene Aiko or SZA – a comparison new single “House of Dreams” seems likely to confirm – than the sound we’ve come to expect from the nation that brought us Tove Lo and Lykke Li.

A co-write by Pilgrim, Fredrik Okazaki and fellow Swede Dante, the cut manages to encompass the jarring influences of her dual Bajan and Swedish heritage, stuck somewhere between electro-pop and an RnB slow jam. Over crisp beats her moans are sawn into melodic samples, bouncing off piano chords that lap tentatively on the edge of menace. Marrying electronically methodical harmonies with skipping, syncopated rhythms, it catches you off guard, leaving you swaying in the dancehall-worthy warmth of her delivery.

The whole thing is sweet enough to persuade you of its simplicity, but sufficiently intricate to reward hitting the repeat button, drawn in by the repetition of the lyrics: “This is my palace, this is where I live, so take your shoes off and stay….” If there’s a smile of assurance in Pilgrim’s voice it seems deserved. Such a tantalising invitation is not to be declined.

“House Of Dreams” is released on 19 May through Best Fit Recordings (UK / IRE) and Cosmos (Rest Of World). A limited edition 12” vinyl, the House Of Dreams EP (which will also feature last year’s singles “No Gun”, “Rainmakers” and “Money”) is available to pre-order now via Best Fit Recordings.