Blood Donation

The mix of inspirations works fabulously on the first part of the album especially on the songs Blood Donation, Dead Meat and The String of Everything where Middle Eastern warmth finds a home in Scandinavian melancholy. All three songs have rock solid melodies but also a sense of urgency and relevance that only make them better with more listens. 　　

The album takes a stylistic turn as soon as Invisible Giving begins its intensive march. A voice that sounds a bit like Nina Simone on the first few tracks breaks out of the soothing niceties and starts exploring its wild and more eerie sides. Gone is the sense of home which is instead replaced with an erratic search of something else. The search is curious but does go on for a bit too long. It’s difficult to listen to 3 or 4 songs in a row that don’t seem to have a home anywhere even if Mariam Wallentin has an incredible voice. 　　

Blood Donation doesn’t end as strongly as it begins but final track Love Is Taking Me Over does have a pleasant Led Zeppelin-ish ballad feeling to it; a sense of the wildness being contained enough to fit in without becoming tame. 　　Blood Donation is a decent album that showcases Mariam Wallentin’s fantastic and diverse vocals and in more than just glimpses proves that she has huge potential as a songwriter