CD of the week

TAKEN BY TREES Open Field Rough Trade ****

Taken By Trees is essentially just Victorian Bergsman, the Swedish singer whom most people know from her vocal contribution to Peter, Bjorn and John's ever-so- slightly addictive Young Folks single. More advanced students will remember Bergsman fondly from her days with The Concretes (an underrated Swedish pop indie outfit).

Having split from The Concretes quite suddenly, Bergsman initially said she was leaving the music industry, but got new impetus from Young Folks. On Open Field she has thrown off all notions of bouncy indie pop and gone for a quite beguiling pastoral affair that at moments reminds you of a Nordic Nick Drake and other times evokes the spirit of the Beth Gibbons (with Rustin Man) album, Out of Season.

Opening track Tell Me sets the mood: Bergsman's voice has never sounded better as she floats over this plaintive ode, turning the song into a spookily restrained affair. Julia is a more upbeat number, as catchy as it is insistent. Elsewhere she brings a touch of rootsy Americana to Lost and Found, while on the instrumental Open Field you're reminded of The Beach Boys' Let's Go Away for a While. The big surprise here, though, is how much Too Young sounds like Billy Bragg's A New England, though more in musical tone than outright influence.

Thankfully free of any amped- up guitars or vogueish beeps, Open Field is a charmer of an album, and Victoria Bergsman truly deserves to be your chill-out summer music listening of choice. www.takenbytrees.com

BRIAN BOYD

Download tracks: Tell Me, Lost and Found