release date: Sep. 4, 2015
format: digital (12 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70]
producer: Ane Brun & Tobias Fröberg
label: Balloon Ranger Recordings - nationality: Norway
Track highlights: 1. "Hanging" - 4. "Directions" - 5. "Shape of Heart" - 6. "Miss You More" (live) - 7. "All We Want Is Love" (4 / 5) (acoustic live) - 10. "Signing Off" - *12. "Hunting High and Low"
*bonus track
7th studio album by Ane Brun following four years after It All Starts with One (Sep. 2011). The album also follows the release of two compilations: Songs 2003-2013 (Jun. 2013) and Rarities (Oct. 2013). The standard physical issues of the album is a 10 track album (cd and vinyl), whereas the digital issue add another two tracks to the set list. All songs are credited Brun except track #12, a cover by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy from a-ha.
This new one, appears as a new set of colours to her repertoire with broader arrangements and an incorporation of electronica on the one hand and traditional backing by strings and percussion on the other, although this may not be a new element to her music but the combination takes the music in a new direction, and then there's a sense of leaving behind the influence from traditional folk. The front cover is held in vivid colours and that's apparently not coincidential as the music comes out as more positive, bright, and yeah, you could say more freely. However, there's room for interpretation in both the shiny image as in the songs, and that's really a trait and a quality of Brun, which is ever-present in her works. It's never just one-dimensional. There's a fine balance of uptempo and wider arangements and strong ballads, which makes this another fine collection of songs in a long list of recommended albums by Ane Brun. Only a tiny little breech is a sense of anonymity to the whole package despite the overall attempt of adding a sense of positivity to her music. Perhaps it's the lack of more great and truly memorable songs that leaves this impression 'cause Brun undoubtedly delivers on many parameters and her vocal is crisp and original as always. And please don't confuse this as a negative response because When I'm Free is so much better than the majority of albums from 2015, it's more the slight crack in direct comparison with say her most recent album from 2011.
Recommended.
[ => Bandcamp ]
[ Irish Times 4 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5, 👎PopMatters 2,5 / 5 stars ]
