Peter Sommer "Alt forladt" (2013)

Alt forladt
release date: Jan. 28, 2013
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Pænt goddag, pænt farvel" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Tvivlen er i huset (del 1)" (3 / 5) - 3. "Alt forladt" (3 / 5) - 4. "Hvorfor løb vi" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Lamineret" (3 / 5) - 6. "Hvor langt skal vi ud" - 7. " 'For evigt' " (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Beruset" - 9. "Tvivlen er i huset (del 2)" - 10. "Mod nye højder"

Most recent singer / songwriter release by talented Peter Sommer. An album, I don't consider among his best. Actually, I really don't enjoy it that much. The lyrics are, as usual, really nice - strong poesy, nice wordplay, and personal / private deliverance. And maybe too much of the private stuff, though. The divorce from artist Lise Westzynthius is ever present on the album and makes it a mere private argument. Also, in hindsight, it comes close to nothing but his answer / remark to her album release Tæt på en kold favn (2012), which was her public diary and emotional detour due to their split. Alt forladt is his darkest release, and I come to think of Nick Cave, or Søren Huss, placing this in a neighborhood close to their with pain and suffering as a center point or driving force. The single release "Hvorfor løb vi" is nice but it quickly becomes annoyingly simple and too repetitious, a label that really fits several songs on the album. Maybe he should've released the songs as poems instead... 'cause I don't think the music is all that great. Normally, I don't mind simplistic compositions, and I enjoy Kraftwerk and the minimalism of Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, or Ryuichi Sakamoto, but the music on this album is not interesting, or near any sun beams. However, the lyrics seem important and could easily live on their own. It's really not his best, and actually, in my mind, his least interesting album. The best thing about it is almost the card-box package. It's a really fine cover design with b/w photos by Joachim Ladefoged and with all lyrics reproduced in the booklet.

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"Nok legen hund efter pind
Nok være bakkende ud i det blå
Her har jeg sat foden ned
Og her har jeg valgt at lade smilet stå
Nær aldrig kommet hertil
Palmerne var til at overse
Nu er det mit mindste problem"

[ "Mod nye højder" ]

Peter Sommer "Til rotterne, til kragerne, til hundene" (2008)

Til rotterne, til kragerne, til hundene
release date: Oct. 6, 2008
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Til rotterne, til kragerne, til hundene" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Rødt Kort" (3,5 / 5) (studio session) - 3. "Hærværk" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Vi falder først den dag vi kigger ned" (3 / 5) - 5. "Hvad sker der i dit hoved?" - 6. "Himmelflugt" - 7. " 7.777.777" - 8. "To bække små" (3 / 5) - 9. "Sandhed nr. 502" - 10. "Jalousi (igen)" - 11. "Chancetur" (3 / 5)

3rd solo release by Peter Sommer is a new direction of style. This is his first actual rock album. He's still a singer / songwriter with focus on narration and lyrics, and his trademark of playing with words, but it's electrified music with synths and drum machines, which seems very welcome and makes it more enjoyable, more complex, although, I can't help thinking that he may have listened a bit too much to Henrik Hall's Chok, suk og koma, released half a year prior to this. Compared to his 2006 release, the music is better on this one but some of the songs lack substance.

Peter Sommer "Destruktive vokaler" (2006)

Destruktive vokaler
release date: Mar. 27, 2006
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Intro" - 2. "Voksende mennesker" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Sang til Bo" (3 / 5) - 4. "Man hamrer løs på en åben dør" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Hvorom alting er" - 6. "Livets gang i Virkelyst" (3,5 / 5) - 7. " Karma" - 8. "8-6-6-0" (4 / 5) - 9. "De gamle stoffer" - 10. "Tænkeboks" - 11. "I morgen er alt muligt"

2nd studio album by Peter Sommer is a generally better and more coherent album with less fill and also better lyrics compared to his debut album. It's still folk rock and singer / songwriter with minimal orchestration.

Peter Sommer "På den anden side" (2004)

På den anden side [debut]
release date: Oct. 11, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Valby Bakke" (4 / 5) - 2. "Bombesikker" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Københavns Energi" - 4. "Flygtning" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Endnu en sommer er forbi" - 6. "Halvleg" - 7. " Chris & Tania" - 8. "Tigger" (4 / 5) (live) - 9. "Vand ved siden af" - 10. "Hvis bare jeg ku' " - 11. "Pigen & øen"

A promising debut album after leaving (?) the duo Superjeg. The album was like a sunbeam to Danish music, especially in the sense that it's a folk rock singer / songwriter album with lyrics in Danish, which was a rare but very welcome initiative at the time, and Sommer was almost inevitably compared to the great C.V. Jørgensen. Having said that, I think the album lacks great songs. "Valby Bakke", "Bombesikker", "Flygtning", and "Tigger" are the really fine songs here, but the rest are mediocre and basically feel a bit like fillers to make a full solo album a reality. Having said that, I think it's... promising.

Peter Sommer

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Peter Sommer: (aka Peter Sommer Christensen, birth name) born Aug. 28, 1974, was born and grew up in Skanderborg, Denmark. Former member of the band Superjeg, a duo with Carsten Valentin Lassen (guitar & keyboard), which was active from 2000-2003. He formed the collaboration duo De Eneste To in 2010 with Simon Kvamm (lead vocalist of Nephew). Peter was married to Danish singer / songwriter Lize Westzynthius, (2003-2010). He is primarily a singer / songwriter and he made his solo debut in 2004.

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