ProStudioMasters.com

This self-titled debut album from Norwegian dream/psych pop trio Chain Wallet hints at sorrow: the music suits the environment wherein it was created, in the band's rainy hometown of Bergen. It’s not difficult to imagine the mist hanging heavily over the indie dystopian vision and yet, despite the feelings of nostalgia and melancholy that lurk in the Scandinavian shadows, it’s also not difficult to find indie-pop gold glittering below the heavy layers of synth and reverb. Tracks like Shade and Abroad have an uptempo urgency to them, whereas other dreamy ballads occupy a rich and hazy middle ground. Chain Wallet explores themes of betrayal, idleness and crushed dreams against the backdrop of an existential breakdown, ensuring that Chain Wallet hits on a visceral, teenage level, amongst the shimmer of the lo-fi soundscape conjured. "We want to capture the acute distress of an afflicted character; his self-indulgent pity, gradual loss of touch with reality and his forlorn attempts on returning to normal life. The abrupt disintegration unveils interesting tensions between urgency and inertia. The album is about fragmented memories, unfulfilled ambitions and the quiet whisper of a stranger." - Chain Wallet