INGVILD FLOTTORP & ØYVIND BLOMSTRØM “In This for a Lifetime” (Vestkyst Records)
Cliché or not – sometimes can actually one plus one becomes three. Ingvild Flottorp and Øyvind Blomstrøm have found a tone a little on the side of what the so-called nordicana scene, and Pop-Norway in general, is doing.
It’s as if the fresh duo has given a bit of a fuck, in the work on this album. Not in the sense of a lack of ambition, but that Flottorp and Blomstrøm have played their way to the result – without any fixed direction or detailed master plan. Here you let the casio computer roll, while the melodies float on top, and harmonies are gradually baked in.
I know Flottorp as a country artist of a solid but modern format from her two previous solo records. Blomstrøm is a jack of all trades with a guitar in hand, sought after by artists such as Odd Nordstoga and Ingebjørg Bratland. In recent years, he has developed a style of his own with his instrumental trio Orions Belte, with fantastic contributions in the Steamdome for example. Together they become something other than all this.
Flottorp sings like a gentle spring breeze, and the layers of harmony vocals give the music a lot of air under its wings. I think the songs on this record are a step up, for Flottorp. Or is it the fine production behind this impression?
Blomstrøm peppers the soundscape with nifty details on various stringed instruments. The neck aværing is still too good to dominate the flavor palette. He never breaks into the basic melody, where Flottorp sets the conditions, but fills the “holes” with goodies. At the same time, the temptation to twist out becomes a hairy grimace solo Luckily too big, in some songs.
The music is consistently light in step, and very catchy. The folk ballad “Never Thought You Would” and the down instrumental version (!) of “Tell A Story” – which round off the album in style – are nevertheless among the melodies that stick the best.
Flottorp and Blomstrøm’s debut includes nine pop songs a lot attatched. Feel free to call it “Cosmic Norwegian Music”, if we allow ourselves a paraphrase of Gram Parson’s old program statement. It’s good listening anyway.
MAIDAVALE “Sun Dog” (Silver Dagger Records)
Straight on. That is the approach MaidaVale is going for. And it feels refreshing.
The psychedelic rock is burdened with far too many long intros and uneventful instrumental parts. There is, after all, no logic in the fact that neither mystery nor magic arises through endless repetitions of the same guitar riff.
These fireworks of a quartet will rather raise the pulse, shake the bangs, and dance. The Stockholm band also has enough sense to compose proper choruses. Jump around and sing along, without getting bored for a single second? Yes, of course it is possible.
Then it should be said that MaidaVale has a lot more than standard acid rock on the menu. Here they dig deep into the occult catacombs. There are Eastern and Arabic components in the rarely rich melodic patterns.
Maida Vale
Photo: Dan Kendall
The beat, which is often seasoned with a bit of extra percussion, borrows a lot from the African desert blues. At the same time, MaidaVale is not afraid to experiment with strong synth substances where the songs require a cosmic dispute.
I feel a clear urge to experience this music live. Lots of wonderful energy flows through the nine songs that make up “Sun Dog”. Something like this is often felt most strongly when you are face to face, with a distance of a few meters and the volume at max.
FREEWAYS “Dark Sky Sanctuary” (Dying Victims Productions)
These lovely harrytas from Canada parked their motorhome inside my head already in 2017, with the brilliant EP “Cold Front”. The debut album “True Bearings” (2020) also had some gold nuggets, but here we have a rare case of everything falling into place in The Difficult Second Album.
Through these eight songs, Freeway sets up camp in the middle of “the sweet spot” for everyone who likes their heavy best when it’s wearing slacks and a leather vest. It sounds as wide-legged as 70s stadium rock, but at the same time as down-to-earth as the wall-to-wall carpet in a brown pub with working people as its clientele.
Large doses of heavy metal swindled out of Birmingham/London provide some steel in the musical rubble. A bit of southern rock soaked in petrol and barbecue sauce adds an extra edge to the whole thing. Fans of UFO, Thin Lizzy, Blackfoot and early Iron Maiden should all be able to enjoy “Dark Sky Sanctuary”.
It’s melodious but never tacky. The production is of the “no fancy” type. At the same time, the guitars, drums – and in spots, the organ – contribute clever details. Jacob Montgomery is no metal god, with a multi-octave range behind the mic. But the voice suits these songs perfectly. And the songwriting is actually Freeways’ strength. Here there are many riffs and choruses that get stuck in the brain.
POKEY LAFARGE “Rhumba Country” (New West Records)
At the start of his career, I had the impression of Pokey LaFarge as another retro type. This image has changed in tandem with several fine record releases, and now a regret is actually in order.
Fettsleiken from Illinois is not rooted in any niche, but on the other hand an artist with an enormous urge to explore. This pleases the ears, and partly too the hips ours, good when “Rhumba Country” pours out of the speakers.
LaFarge has its roots in swing, rockabilly, blues and country. And by all means – it still sounds as if LaFarge’s recordings were made in the post-war period. But this time he has made a pilgrimage across the Gulf of Mexico, where much of American music either originates, or has passed through.
There is a little extra salt and spice in the sauce. Various African and Cuban rhythms lie at the bottom of several songs, including the sweaty max-pulse verse “Run Run Run”. On the other side of the spectrum we find “Sister Andre”, which is pure soul music. I consider the fact that there is something saunteringly Dylanesque about the way LaFarge sings a big plus.
You can hardly find a record that says “summer” with the same warmth, ease of step, and gentle breeze in the top lid. At the same time, there is a nocturnal darkness, and a feeling of loneliness, in my personal favorite “Like A Sailor”.
GORAN KAJFES TROPIQUES “Tell Us” (We Jazz Records)
Some people call this slow music, and I can see why. Although the tempo is not very slow, the melodies take their time to embalm the brain free of stress, worries and other tangles most of us incur in everyday life.
“Tell Us” is like a leisurely stroll, with two short stops. Not only because the three songs have a combined playing time of just under half an hour, but because it feels as if both the body and the mind are floating away. The impressions are many, but the melodies provide a nice connection.
Goran Kajfeš Tropiques is basically a quartet. But the Swedish trumpeter and his fellow players find an excellent balance between maximalism and discipline.
The basic line-up appears as a classic piano-bass-drums trio, where the rhythm section plays hair-raisingly well, while Kajfeš is also both active and original with his synthesizer. Up from the surface there are small fragments of violin and cello. Jazz of this format is pure pleasure.
