Notes and the Like' is textbook Morr; but given that Ms. John Soda very much helped to cement that sound, it would be churlish to deny them their glory. The collaborative badge of Stefanie Bohm and Micha Acher, Ms. John Soda emerged from the Weilheim scene alongside The Notwist, Lali Puna etc. and act as an nigh-on perfect distillation of what brought this strain of electronica to attention in the first place. Taking a bleeping engine and then hooking on carriages of prime-indie, European-pop, tender solipsism and brash sloganeering, Ms. John Soda allow the velocity of their talent to blur into a gorgeous entity that can't help but drag you along wantonly in its slip-stream. Opening with 'A Nod On Hold', Bohm's gummy vocals are teased into submission by a snowfall of electronica and chest-swelling strings, combining the winsome nature of Mum with the sunset scope of Piana, before the irresistible 'Hands' takes on 'Neon Golden'... and wins. Yet to paint 'Notes and the Like' as a direct descendent of their previous work would be misleading, with Ms. John Soda evolving far beyond the boundaries expected of them, with 'A Million Times' a prime example. Marrying chamber music to a Schnauss beat, mournful strings and Bohm's fractured voice, 'A Million Times' is like the spring thaw - with beatific elements bursting forth in the most natural way imaginable. Elsewhere, 'No. One' is a leaking cask of Hooky bass and electro-ice, 'Outlined View' dances with Broadcast, whilst 'Plenty Of' brings down the lights with a poignancy that defies articulation. Soda Stream!
