Most modern singles are built to reach their destination quickly. But ‘The Thrift Store Spaceship’ takes the opposite route. On their eleventh release, Norwegian-Irish/Swiss duo Todd & Karen allow atmosphere, texture and gradual movement to lead the way, creating a largely instrumental piece that feels like a handmade vehicle drifting into unfamiliar territory.
The title captures the project’s character particularly well. This isn’t a spotless craft assembled with futuristic precision, but something pieced together through curiosity, borrowed influences and the creative possibilities of limited surroundings. Recorded between the duo’s aptly named Shabby Road Studios and collaborator Trick Knobs’ Kongsberg sound laboratory, the track has an exploratory quality that suits its imaginary mode of transport.
Its origins lie in alternative guitar tuning and repeated listening to Air, Pink Floyd and Public Service Broadcasting. That influence can be heard in the openness of the chords and the patient way the arrangement develops. But rather than moving quickly towards an obvious refrain, the music establishes a landscape and invites us to simply remain inside it.
Guitars provide the track’s drifting foundation, while electronic elements add a soft, otherworldly glow. Ina Verdi-Ruckstuhl’s vocals appear later in the journey, functioning as another atmospheric layer in the piece. Their arrival gives the music a more human presence without interrupting its instrumental focus.
The Hardanger fiddle supplied by Spelegutta brings an especially distinctive element to the arrangement. Played by Sondre Johan Nørsterud and Albert Corbisier-Berge, the traditional Norwegian instrument introduces an earthy, regional character to music otherwise pointed towards the stars. Its presence connects folk history with psychedelic futurism, preventing the track from becoming merely an exercise in retro space-rock aesthetics.
And that combination is what makes ‘The Thrift Store Spaceship’ especially convincing. The duo may draw heavily from the late 60s and early 70s, but the use of Norwegian folk instrumentation gives the release a personality beyond its reference points. The result is dreamy and gently eccentric, with the melodic clarity of instrumental pop sitting alongside the more expansive instincts of progressive rock.
To date, Todd & Karen have built their catalogue around avoiding repetition, and this release supports that philosophy without abandoning their gift for melody. Its patient pacing may resist the increasingly compressed demands of contemporary pop, but that resistance is precisely the point.
‘The Thrift Store Spaceship’ doesn’t hurry to impress. It assembles its peculiar machinery, opens the door and trusts that adventurous listeners will climb aboard.
