I honestly never expected GusGus to be around this long. With a line-up debuting with Polydistortion in 1996 on 4AD with at least nine members, calling themselves a collective, it seemed to be one of those projects that would come and go. It’s now almost 17 years later from their original formation, and 7 full length albums in, and GusGus – at least in Europe – are at the peak of their career. Granted there have been many lineup changes, original members leaving and returning, and new members coming, going, then coming back. But with the line-up shifts, changes to the GusGus sound were a direct result, and with it their staying power. They have always lived in the realm of electronic music, from the crunchy soulful take on trip-hop of their original album, to their magical and soulful modernization of classic house music with their new album, Arabian Horse. Their strong-suit has always been their song-writing (something lacking overall when it comes to electronic pop tunes) and the vocals of one of top male singers in all of pop music today, Daniel Ágúst Haraldsson, who has one of one of the most smooth and soulful voices I’ve heard – maybe ever? He is the key to their success in my view, the perfect compliment to the dark, pop beats of the music, and his return is the most vital element to their resurgence of the past few years. Not that the vocals of Urður Hákonardóttir prior to his return have not been good – as they are (and she returns on this album, to our benefit) – but something about his voice just ties everything together. From the vocal interplay between Daniel and Urður over the driving pop groove of ‘Over’ to the gorgeous, soaring ‘Deep Inside’, then capping off with the rolling, popping drum stomp of ‘When Your Lover’s Gone’ (featuring vocalist Högni Egilsson from Icelandic chart-topping rock band Hjaltalín), GusGus have perfected the idea that music dark in sound doesn’t have to be dark in mood. The mix of dark and hope is a hard, curious mix to reach, but somehow they have done it here. This is dark, soaring, electronic pop music that demands patience and willing hips, rewarding on so many levels.