Karin Park – ‘EVO’ Review

What does Karin Park sound like?

Razor-edged synth pop with a crack of dark pop whiplash.

The review of ‘EVO’ by Karin Park

It’s been a few years since Karin Park has fully embraced her collection of synths. 2022’s excellent ‘Private Collection’ was all about stripping down her tracks to piano-and-vocal arrangements. That showcased Karin’s songwriting could stand on its own without all the technical wizardry. Karin has returned to the gadgets for ‘EVO’, her new EP. Sharp, catchy, and with a razor’s edge of danger to it, it’s a fine return to the dark pop dancefloor.

‘Try’ blasts out of the gate with an interesting lyrical perspective. We are placed in the position of someone who is reckless and messy and needs to try harder. ‘Try for your life now. We’re husband and wife now. We promised to do this in sickness and in health’ sings Karin with a vocoder grizzle. Whilst the main character seems to fail upwards, the ask for their partner to try seems to be pleading masked in a covert voice. What I love about this track is that the first two and a bit minutes are dark pop anthem territory. Sharp beats, throbbing bass, lots of rave-in-waiting synths. Then the track stretches out like elastic and collapses into a slow-motion blur of itself. It’s like the cries to try harder are being swallowed up whole. I appreciate the clever sound design.

Clever sound design is Karin Park’s staple, so ‘Explodera’ takes things into a darker, brutalist direction. Between dissonant synth blasts of bass, strange siren cries, and Karin’s native Swedish language spits, hisses, caws, and even raps at one point over the industrial grime. Translating as “explode”, the tense, aggressive approach is a love punch that takes a turn towards the sadistic. It’s a song of bubbling frustration that boils over with its final ascension of chords in its last seconds. ‘Shadow’ is a quieter track where the percussive moments sound like wing flaps trickling across the speakers. The smoky jazz chord progressions are dressed in neon-clad cyberpunk hotpants. The wiry synths whirr and detune slightly to create an alien howl. Park’s vocals then join that hazy warning sound for a track that aims to haunt and groove your bones.

The closer on the EP is the excellent ‘Sing Your Sorrow’. Written for Karin’s daughter, it’s a track that rewards patience. At nearly six minutes, it’s the longest track, and the first four minutes form the main track. It’s a tender, mid-tempo art pop piece that lets Karin share her desire to protect her daughter, whilst miniature knocking beats and static, buzzing arpeggiators form the main melodies. There is a delicate yet hollow tone to the piece, but Karin’s voice brings a motherly warmth to it, simmering the dry heat. Then, after a brief pause, the track switches gears. In bursts a bass-forward industrial pop version of the track that becomes increasingly more visceral, metallic, and dishevelled. It’s two minutes of pure alternative electronic hedonism.

Welcome back, Karin Park! What a banger of a release. ‘Evo’ is the first of a trilogy of EPs. Together they’ll be called ‘EVO-LUT-ION-(EN)’. Karin says its inspired by a painting by Hilma Af Klint from her EVOLUTIONEN series. With this being the first one released, it’s set the bar very high for what’s to follow. I can’t wait to hear them and see if ‘EVO’ has its own private evolution when heard its wider context. As a standalone EP, it’s a must have. This is dark synth pop at its finest.

Recommended track: Sing Your Sorrow

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