Ecco2k and Bladee are members of a Swedish group, Drain Gang. The stylistic borders that Ecco and Bladee mix, combine the heavy use of auto-tune and unique vocals. Recently they have received recognition, despite previously being looked at as a joke. The duo’s most recent work is the album Crest, containing nine songs.

It’s extremely hard to categorize Bladee and Ecco into a specific genre, however, they do use a lot of synth-pop/rap inspiration. The track “White Meadow” is a good example of this. It consists of regal and peppy synth leads, making a very soft background on this track. Casual vocal leads layer on top of itself creating an electronic ambient, adding a catchy and entrancing feel. Another song, “Faust” brings some “sticky” refrains to the album. The subtle verses pull the listener in, illustrating much of what Bladee and Ecco are trying to accomplish. The lyrics have a lot of allusions to heaven, existentialism, mortality, and humanity.

“Yeses” is one of the more repetitive songs on the album, as “yes, yes, yes” is sung throughout. Despite this, the song does embody the overall album’s strength since it is quite mesmerizing and enticing. Along with this, Ecco’s somewhat mystical back-end of the track contrasts previous works. “Desire is a Trap” is another piece of synth-pop with a lot of infectious lead melodies and bubbly beats. This effectively sets the stage for many of the references to existentialism and a nod to fairy-tale storytelling.

The elephant in the room would be “Five Star Crest Most.” While most of the songs run about two to three minutes, this song is eight minutes long. The song is a tribute to late drain gang member Vattenrum. The track contains some of the prettiest and most captivating moments on the entire album, opened by very somber mournful piano chords.

Overall, Crest is overall a catchy album and shows the growth of both artists’ individual and collaborative skills.