Harket
5-04-02, 01:02 AM
Well, the boys with 80's hits such as "Take on me", The Sun always Shine on TV" and "Cry Wolf" has made their 7'th album entitled "Lifelines". The album has of yet no US release date, but has been out in Europe and Japan since late April 2002.
And what is it like then? Well, there are several new innovations on this new album from their previous work. One is, that this time Paul Waaktar Savoy, that used to be the sole writer of their songs has had to share this responsibility with both Morten Harket and Magne Furuholmen. Is this good or bad, you might ask? In this reviewers opinion it's clearly a plus - and the only thing I wonder is "Why haven't they done more of this in the past?". They did have Morten and Magne write on the previous album "Minor Earth Major Sky" from 2000, but not as much. It's now very clear that A-ha has more than one good song writer, and it promises well for the future.
Also a new thing is the production process, where A-ha has worked with several different producers as a kind of experiment. Those include Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, Blur) and Tore Johansson (Cardigans). The producers were allowed to choose which tracks they liked to work with themselves. This gives the album an interesting appeal in itself before even listening to it, as it can go both ways - a beautifull well-produced album or a sound chaos.
Another new thing is the length of the album. An impressive 15 tracks and around 62 minutes of pure music is a lot for a band that use to have about ten songs on each album.
On to the music.
The CD opens with the title track "Lifelines", which is best described as pure, classic A-ha. A beautifull, atmospheric sounding track with Morten's voice pure as crystal and string arrangements backing up the strong lyrics. Great song!
Next is "You wanted more" an up beat song about relationships - both among friends and lovers. It's definately clear that Pet Shop Boys producer Stephen Hauge has his finger on this one. If you are used to A-ha this track might surprise you a bit, and take some getting use to. In the end though, it's coming through as a really great song and a sign that Furuholmen/Harket has their place in A-ha song writing.
Third song is playfully titled "Forever not yours" and is the first single from the album. A catchy piano (signed by Magne) and an even more catchy refrain makes this an obvious choise as a single. A-ha hit-song a la 2002.
Fourth is "There's a reason for it" which sounds more like a Savoy song than A-ha song. (For those not knowing - Paul has another US based band called Savoy). It's ok - less "poppy" than the others. I feel that Morten's unique voice is not used well on this track.
Fifth is "Time and Again" another Paul song. Low key, and beautifull lyrics. Nice one! A quiet, somewhat melanchollic song.
Sixth is "Did anyone approach you" is A-ha 2002 in full force. Surprising at first, but quickly becomes one of the favourites. Also up-beat, but with tempo change along the way. Also nice lyrics!
Seventh track "Afternoon High" is.......Hmmm. My mother always said "If you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything!" Well, it's not that bad ;) Maybe after some more listenings I grow to like this song.
At number eight we find the strangely titled track "Oranges on appletrees". It's difficult to place, but it requires that you listen to it more than once to appreciate this Furuholmen/Harket song. It has a lot of change in style which it does gracefully, but as said it's not an easy song to get into. But it grows on you which is usually a good thing.
Number nine is "A little bit" which is another more low-key production that has some nice lyrics. A-ha as we know them from "Memorial Beach" is the best way I can describe this song.
At ten we find "Less than pure". This is Paul's work, and reflects his songwriting anno 2002 very well. Lyrics are great, and the music is a mix of a strong up beat front and beautifull guitar in the back of the soundscape.
Eleven is "Turn the lights down" is a classic A-ha love song, which in this case features the enchanting voice of Anneli Drecker in a duet with Morten Harket. Good for holding hands under a star lit sky ;)
At twelve the track "Cannot hide" will divide the listeners in two. Those who love it and those who hate the distinct euro-pop sound. I belong to the first half. This is the most 80's song on the entire album, and I simply LOVE this!!!
At Thirteen the Furuholmen song "White Canvas" shows just how great a songwriter he really is at his best Beautifull, clear and complete song.
Fourteen is a track called "Dragonfly" also a Furuholmen song originally made for the soundtrack of a Norweigan movie as far as I recall. It's a beautifull, well produced song with a positive side to it, although it's one of the more quiet songs.
The last track is called "Solace" and is a bit anonymous. Not much to say really. Not bad nor great.
So that was that! The overall impression is a positive one! I really feel that A-ha shows they have grown both lyrically and musically, and transended into the 21'st century as a grown entity. If you live in the US I can only recommend you import this, as it will be a positive experience with a band you probably haven't heard since the 80's. For the Europeans I can just say - this album is really a sign that A-ha is continueing their progress in strong songwriting that started on "Minor Earth Major Sky". Get it NOW! :D
- Harket
And what is it like then? Well, there are several new innovations on this new album from their previous work. One is, that this time Paul Waaktar Savoy, that used to be the sole writer of their songs has had to share this responsibility with both Morten Harket and Magne Furuholmen. Is this good or bad, you might ask? In this reviewers opinion it's clearly a plus - and the only thing I wonder is "Why haven't they done more of this in the past?". They did have Morten and Magne write on the previous album "Minor Earth Major Sky" from 2000, but not as much. It's now very clear that A-ha has more than one good song writer, and it promises well for the future.
Also a new thing is the production process, where A-ha has worked with several different producers as a kind of experiment. Those include Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, Blur) and Tore Johansson (Cardigans). The producers were allowed to choose which tracks they liked to work with themselves. This gives the album an interesting appeal in itself before even listening to it, as it can go both ways - a beautifull well-produced album or a sound chaos.
Another new thing is the length of the album. An impressive 15 tracks and around 62 minutes of pure music is a lot for a band that use to have about ten songs on each album.
On to the music.
The CD opens with the title track "Lifelines", which is best described as pure, classic A-ha. A beautifull, atmospheric sounding track with Morten's voice pure as crystal and string arrangements backing up the strong lyrics. Great song!
Next is "You wanted more" an up beat song about relationships - both among friends and lovers. It's definately clear that Pet Shop Boys producer Stephen Hauge has his finger on this one. If you are used to A-ha this track might surprise you a bit, and take some getting use to. In the end though, it's coming through as a really great song and a sign that Furuholmen/Harket has their place in A-ha song writing.
Third song is playfully titled "Forever not yours" and is the first single from the album. A catchy piano (signed by Magne) and an even more catchy refrain makes this an obvious choise as a single. A-ha hit-song a la 2002.
Fourth is "There's a reason for it" which sounds more like a Savoy song than A-ha song. (For those not knowing - Paul has another US based band called Savoy). It's ok - less "poppy" than the others. I feel that Morten's unique voice is not used well on this track.
Fifth is "Time and Again" another Paul song. Low key, and beautifull lyrics. Nice one! A quiet, somewhat melanchollic song.
Sixth is "Did anyone approach you" is A-ha 2002 in full force. Surprising at first, but quickly becomes one of the favourites. Also up-beat, but with tempo change along the way. Also nice lyrics!
Seventh track "Afternoon High" is.......Hmmm. My mother always said "If you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything!" Well, it's not that bad ;) Maybe after some more listenings I grow to like this song.
At number eight we find the strangely titled track "Oranges on appletrees". It's difficult to place, but it requires that you listen to it more than once to appreciate this Furuholmen/Harket song. It has a lot of change in style which it does gracefully, but as said it's not an easy song to get into. But it grows on you which is usually a good thing.
Number nine is "A little bit" which is another more low-key production that has some nice lyrics. A-ha as we know them from "Memorial Beach" is the best way I can describe this song.
At ten we find "Less than pure". This is Paul's work, and reflects his songwriting anno 2002 very well. Lyrics are great, and the music is a mix of a strong up beat front and beautifull guitar in the back of the soundscape.
Eleven is "Turn the lights down" is a classic A-ha love song, which in this case features the enchanting voice of Anneli Drecker in a duet with Morten Harket. Good for holding hands under a star lit sky ;)
At twelve the track "Cannot hide" will divide the listeners in two. Those who love it and those who hate the distinct euro-pop sound. I belong to the first half. This is the most 80's song on the entire album, and I simply LOVE this!!!
At Thirteen the Furuholmen song "White Canvas" shows just how great a songwriter he really is at his best Beautifull, clear and complete song.
Fourteen is a track called "Dragonfly" also a Furuholmen song originally made for the soundtrack of a Norweigan movie as far as I recall. It's a beautifull, well produced song with a positive side to it, although it's one of the more quiet songs.
The last track is called "Solace" and is a bit anonymous. Not much to say really. Not bad nor great.
So that was that! The overall impression is a positive one! I really feel that A-ha shows they have grown both lyrically and musically, and transended into the 21'st century as a grown entity. If you live in the US I can only recommend you import this, as it will be a positive experience with a band you probably haven't heard since the 80's. For the Europeans I can just say - this album is really a sign that A-ha is continueing their progress in strong songwriting that started on "Minor Earth Major Sky". Get it NOW! :D
- Harket