Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt

With Azure Blue, former Irene and Laurel Music songwriter Tobias Isaksson creates a melange of ’80s synthpop textures and ’90s shoegaze vocals mixed with that wall of sound, perfected by pop music back in the ’60s. Yet, this music sounds utterly contemporary. Azure Blue’s debut album, Rule of Thirds, received many critical accolades back in 2011 with the culmination being a win for best pop album in the Swedish version of the Grammys last year. Now Isaksson returns with his sophomore album under the Azure moniker, the philosophically titled Beyond the Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt. Like the soundtrack to a fantasy movie that’s never been made, Beyond the Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt is a record filled with unabashed wonder, pastel coloured hues and heart flipping melodies. Oh, and synthesisers. A lot of synthesisers. As a reference point: it’s the exact record that fellow Stockholm group The Sound Of Arrows could have made if they’d only steered clear of major label temptation and production values. As the wistful opener ‘Time Is On Our Side’ bursts into the tear inducing epic ‘The Road I Know’, the pace of the record continues through a lustrous sea of texture and emotion that’s delivered with incredible panache. If there was ever a remake of The Never Ending Story on the cards, its score has already been written.