Søren Huss "Vi fik mere end vi kom for" (2024)

Vi fik mere end vi kom for

release date: Apr. 5, 2024

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Søren Huss & Christian Balvig

label: Universal Music Group - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 3. "Sensommerdrøm" - 4. "Et støvet loop i inderste rille" - 5. "Langt ude, langt oppe, langt nede og langt, langt væk" - 7. "Kinddans" - 8. "Lyden af os under ét tag" - 10. "Stoledans"

5th studio album by Søren Huss following 4½ years after Sort & hvid til evig tid (Sep. 2019) is despite the time span an album of a familiar style. His 2019 album was in a way a final statement that his songs are eternally bound to both dark [sort] and light [hvid] sentiments. Some critics had early on directed some criticism to his blue-toned melancholic soundscape, and made attempts in writing positive and lighter songs but Huss has made it clear that his musical tone is one of many blue notes. In that regard this only follows suit with his prvious albums. It's music filled with harmony, light tones and uplifting moments AND it's soothing with melancholy.

The musical expression is far from that of Saybia - only the vocal is familiar, but that's how Huss primarily comes out on his own. All songs are credited Huss, and his backing band is a mix of stable instrumentalists. Guitarist Lars Skjærbæk has been aboard on the most recent three albums, and bassist Morten Jørgensen and drummer Jesper Elnegaard have both been stable musicians on all of Huss' solo albums.

Vi fik mere end vi kom for ['We Got More Than Expected'] is by no means a poor collection of new songs, and in that regard it's a most fitting title in that it's also an excellent description of the album. The title is taken from track #5, which appears as the central song of the album. Huss stays on a safe path - he certainly has been on these roads before, and some songs could easily be followed by older material without anyone finding it a disturbing change. Huss has never been afraid of narrating about his personal life and about existential crisis. Huss has found himself in a depressive state, and that's central to these ten new songs, and that theme is not new to fans of his discography. That said, it's a return to his more minimalist songwriting as found on his two first albums. It's still an original sound with a strong influence from folk rock and a whole world of balladry with a subtle touch of jazz. It's music for solitude, for rainy days and for a attentive listening, and once you have accustomed and adjusted your expectations, it's like a cleansening bath in Autumn leaves.

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6, Politiken, Ekstra Bladet 4 / 6 stars ]

Søren Huss "Sort & hvid til evig tid" (2019)

Sort & hvid til evig tid
release date: Sep. 10, 2019
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Mahler & Bir (aka Christoffer Møller & Lars Skærbæk)
label: Universal - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "En smeltet kaktus i en vestvendt vindueskarm" - 2. "Postkort" - 4. "Romantikerens kile" - 6. "Vekseleren" - 7. "Sort og hvid til evig tid"

4th studio solo album by Søren Huss is like his most recent solo album MidlivsVisen from 2017 produced by the duo Mahler & Bir and it also feature the same team of backing musicians credited as 'Hussband' with Lars Skjærbæk on guitars and backing vocals, Christoffer Møller on piano, keyboards and backing vocals (also credited string arrangements), Morten Jørgensen on bass, and with Jesper Elnegaard on drums and percussion. In between these two regular studio albums, Huss arranged new music to the play "Bertolt Brechts Svendborgdigte" performed by BaggårdTeatret in Svendborg, and Huss himself participated in the play - the songs were released by Huss in vinyl and cd formats as Bertolt Brechts Svendborgdigte (Jun. 2018) by Sorte Plader.
The title of the album hints at the contrasting elements of sullen melancholy and light-hearted temper that appears to follow Huss as fundamental traits - his ability to write about the strongest of emotions whether he emphasises the troublesome sides to life, or he connects to an opposing positive side - as someone who needs to let the steam out of his system.
MidtlivsVisen was his attempt to break with an old discrediting label of only being able to write sullen soft rock tunes, and without much luck. To some extent, he seems to have returned to a more balanced tone that you'll also find on his sophomore solo Oppefra & ned from 2012. For an artist who spent his formative years writing songs in English, it's quite astonishing what type of true poet of solid craftsmanship he has turned out to be. Søren Huss appears as a genuine artist who just keeps releasing albums at a very high quality level, yet he also seems almost destined to writing songs that always connects with the conditions of existence.
Recommended.
[ 👉Gaffa.dk, Soundvenue 5 / 6, 👎Jyllands-Posten 3 / 6 stars ]

Søren Huss "Midtlivsvisen" (2017)

Midtlivsvisen [stylised 'MidtlivsVisen']
release date: Nov. 24, 2017
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Mahler & Bir (aka Christoffer Møller & Lars Skærbæk)
label: Universal - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Et forbehold eller to" - 2. "Achilles" - 3. "Et helt almindeligt liv" (4 / 5) - 4. "Ingen appel" (4 / 5) - 7. "Opvasken" - 9. "Mig og mine tanker"

3rd solo album by Søren Huss follows five years after his acclaimed Oppefra & ned (Oct. 2012) and two years after the come-back album by Saybia, No Sound From the Outside. The front cover already suggests that this is something else from the hands of Søren Huss, who has become associated with melancholic and introspective morose narration, but on this he reveals himself with a large amount of irony in a study of self-criticism, which also signals a strong contrast to his first two solo albums and their black and white front covers.
MidtlivsVisen is a play of words with the established expression 'Midlivskrise' [Midlife-crisis] combined with 'vise' [ballad] - suggesting a collection of songs that all connect thematically with midlife status, stories of current life - at this mature point in life, AND with the implication that it contains some kind of crisis.
Stylistically, it really isn't a long stretch from his 2012 album, it just seems like a much willed effort to meet the content of the album with other expectations and to view the songs from a more positive and lighter perspective. I deeply admire and enjoy the solo works by Huss, who has already established himself as on of the most important national singer / songwriters of a generation who has the ability to embrace and bond with the great songwriters and poets of traditional Danish literature and who still produce highly relevant contemporary music. At times he reminds me of the late troubadour Povl Dissing, at other times he comes closer to C.V. Jørgensen, but mostly he just sounds like no one else moulding an image of a modernist without obvious limitations.
My initial thoughts of the album were less positive than they quickly grew to be. MidtlivsVisen is a beautiful collection of warm and, yet melancholic ballads, exposing Søren Huss as a formidable lyricist and with that underlines that he is a strong contender to the title as the most significant contemporary Danish songwriter.
Recommended.
[ Gaffa.dk hands it 4 / 6, Soundvenue 5 / 6 stars ]

Saybia "No Sound From the Outside" (2015)

No Sound From the Outside
release date: Oct. 2, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Michael Patterson, Nicolas Jodoin, Saybia
label: Columbia Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "No Sound From the Outside" - 3. "Black Hole" - 4. "Hollow Is Your Promise" - 5. "One Minute Man" - 7. "It's About Time" - 8. "Down" - 11. "I'm Still Waiting"

4th studio album by Saybia released more than eight years since the predecessor Eyes on the Highway (Aug. 2007) and following the start of a succesful solo career of lead vocalist and songwriter Søren Huss. After the band's hiatus from late 2007 to Jul. 2010, the band played comeback concerts in the Summer of 2010 in the Netherlands, but it wasn't until 2014 that they announced a new album to be released early 2015. During the recording sessions, founding member, lead guitarist Sebastian Sandstrøm decided to call it a day and he was subsequently replaced by Kasper Rasmussen, which may explain the delay of the release.
I believe that many thought Saybia had come to an end after the 2007 album - and especially after Huss proved to experience major success as solo artist, and perhaps also after what some saw as an artistic slacken in the output from Saybia. Allegedly, Huss has stated that the band members didn't want to see their 2007 album as their final statement, which called for at least another attempt.
Stylistically, No Sound From the Outside still sounds very much like Saybia, but it appears as the band's most electrified studio release to date. Where the two predecessors have much in common, this one sticks out with a bolder alt. rock sound and style, which for a start makes a positive impression.
Musically, it may be in short of hit-material, although it succeeds by being no less than one of the band's most cohesive studio albums. It (obviously) still contains ballads, but they are shaped to a new formative sound and they don't point in various directions, and that's the album's biggest asset. Also, this is the first time you cannot argue that they sound like this or that - contemplating they copy this or that - yes, it's contemporary alt rock with various stylistic traits. Some compositions are shaped with inspiration from post-punk, others have progressive rock elements, and some reflect a more general soft rock approach, but altogether, they all sound like stemming from the same band just using whatever they find natural to colour its own original blend. At bottom line, I find they just sound as Saybia, which is a bit of an accomplishment.
The album didn't enter or peak at the top of charts but it reached the position as number #7 on the national albums chart list. Commercially, it may not be the great come-back album they sat out for, but musically, I find simply find it their second-best of all their albums, and who knows, perhaps in a few years, we'll all look back at this very album with a common confidence and state that it's actually their finest ever. It's a fine grower, and it contains several fine compositions.
Recommended.
[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

Søren Huss "Oppefra & ned" (2012)

Oppefra & ned
release date: Oct. 15, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,94]
producer: Søren Huss, Hussband
label: Universal - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Det er ganske enkelt" (5 / 5) - 2. "De sorte tal" (4 / 5) - 4. "Oppefra og ned" - 6. "Fru Mørke" - 8. "Adgang forbudt" (4 / 5) - 9. "Øjeblikket" (4 / 5) - 10. "Den smukkeste sommerdag" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by Søren Huss co-produced with Hussband, aka Christoffer Møller, Jeppe Kjellberg, Morten Jørgensen og Jesper Elnegaard ('Hussband' is a wordplay with the word 'house-band', which is spelled 'husband').
The album is the difficult follow-up to a great solo debut, and yes, he did it again! This is another fine studio album, and a much more positive and energetic pop / rock album. It contains some downright fine narratives and in some ways it's actually bettering the debut by reaching a high quality level, and in another way it doesn't reach the same high level by also having a few album fillers (tracks #5-7). Anyhow, both albums are unique releases showing that great music still comes from this small country when only one knows where to look.

Best of 2010:Søren Huss "Troen & ingen" (2010)

Troen & ingen [debut]
release date: Oct. 18, 2010
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,36]
producer: Søren Huss & Christoffer Møller
label: Universal - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Som mejslet i massiv granit" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Velkommen hjem" - 3. "Du er" (4 / 5) - 4. "Fra tanke til..." (4 / 5) - 5. "... Hvorfor?" - 6. "Svigt" - 7. "Jeg finder vej" - 8. "Intet er, intet bli'r" (4,5 / 5) - 9. "Et hav af udstrakte hænder" (5 / 5) (live) - 10. "Troen og ingen" (4 / 5) (live) - 11. "Tak for dansen" (4 / 5)

Studio solo debut from frontman / lead vocalist of Danish pop / rock, soft rock band Saybia, Søren Huss, and what a breathtaking accomplishment it is. Huss (aka 'Søren Huus', birth name) born Sep. 6, 1975, grew up in Nyborg, Denmark. Since 2008, the band's activities have been paused, presumably as a consequence of the tragic death of his girlfriend, who was killed by a truck Dec. 17, 2007 - an accident that severely injured and almost killed his two-year-old daughter too. Troen & ingen is about his loss and tragedy. Knowing just a small part of the tragic circumstances that motivated Huss to write these songs, makes it overwhelming to have this small glimpse of one man’s personal tragedy and existential struggle with life, and its hopeless conditions. He narrates openly about his deepest frustrations, about the fatal loss of life of his beloved girlfriend, the meaninglessness about life as such, and he ends this sinister tale, which forever will be present in his mind and soul, with an open-minded and more productive approach on life - and in that demonstrates the will to live on.
The songs are far from sing-a-long pop songs but more like chapters of a diary with words meant to be taken in. The lyrics are in that way honestly brutal, and yet he accomplishes with some fine arrangements, which make the single tracks stand out as individual compositions on what seems much like a conceptual album. Yes, this is an outstanding performance, and it aspires more than any to this year’s best Danish album release.

2010 Favourite releases: 1. Søren Huss Troen & ingen - 2. The Chemical Brothers Further - 3. Robyn Body Talk

Saybia "Eyes on the Highway" (2007)

Eyes on the Highway
release date: Aug. 27, 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Rune Nissen-Petersen, Saybia
label: EMI Music Denmark - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "On Her Behalf" - 2. "Eyes on the Highway" - 3. "Angel" - 4. "Godspeed Into the Future" - 7. "Pretender"

3rd studio album by Saybia, who has timed up with Danish producer Rune Nissen-Petersen, although, still blending melodic soft rock and pop / rock in a mix with acoustic ballads and more uptempo chorus-based rock tunes the style very much seems unchanged compared to These Are the Days from 2004.
Tracks #2-4 make up a collection of very strong compositions but the rest doesn't quite match this high level, but what's worse is that the band has been met by a declining interest from music fans, and despite being well-received by most critics, the album became the band's so far least successful release in terms of sold albums - only reaching 15.000 sold copies nationally, where it also peaked at number #2 on the national albums chart list. And it secured the band top-20 entries in Norway, Switzerland and in the Netherlands, where the band most likely experienced greater success than they did nationally.
Eyes on the Highway is by no means a bad album - it's just as unfocused and incoherent as its predecessor. The band members play with instrumental skills, but they still sound like they are too much inspired by others. You listen to one of their songs, and immediately ask yourself, what artist and song it sounds like 'cause it's really hard to point to the very essence of Saybia without mentioning 4-5 familiar names, which is kind of sad. Also, this band doesn't exactly release new albums every year - you have to wait some years, which should leave them time to make something coherent and original. And frankly, if you put together the band's last two albums, you actually have enough great songs to make two great but also very different albums, but instead we have two fine and yet much alike releases pointing in too many directions to call them great.
Tragically, the wife and daughter of Huss were involved in a traffic accident, Dec. 2007, in which the wife was killed and the daughter hospitalised with severe injuries. This of course came to have a significant impact on the band's further engagements. In late summer of 2008 Saybia officially announced to take a planned hiatus, although they played their scheduled Autumn concerts.
[ Gaffa.dk 3 / 6 stars ]

Saybia "These Are the Days" (2004)

These Are the Days
release date: Sep. 14, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Andreas Ahlenius, Saybia
label: EMI-Medley - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Brilliant Sky" - 2. "Bend the Rules" - 3. "I Surrender" (4 / 5) - 4. "Guardian Angel" - 6. "Soul United" - *11. [untitled]
*unlisted song with a running time at 17:22

2nd studio album by Saybia released 2½ years after the acclaimed debut is like that produced by Saybia and Swedish producer Andreas Ahlenius. The album marks a slight change of style by being lesser crafted as a mere rock album - there's a bolder use of acoustic instrumentation with piano, acoustic guitar and strings as opposed to electric guitars and keyboards, although, the first two compositions take off in an orchestrated electrified production.
Following an acclaimed debut, These Are the Days didn't quite meet the expectations, despite also topping the national chart list, and it also appears as pointing in at least two different directions. It starts off with britpop electrified energy and then slows down with singer / songwriter material, and then it all ends with a strong progressive rock anthem, which makes you wonder where they will go after this. Even after years and dozens of full listenings, it really feels very unresolved when it clings out after close to 60 mins.
Saybia still sounds like Coldplay and Keane, but I also hear inspiration from Radiohead and Mew, which isn't entirely something bad - I just end up asking myself what Saybia is all about 'cause I can't decide whether it's the first power track, the beautiful soft pop / rock ballad, "I Surrender", or the post rock-inspired end-composition that marks the true highlight of this album. Not that any particular track necessarily needs to sum up the album's strengths, but it just exemplifies how impossible it is to point to that personal trait of what Saybia is, and I think that's not only the album's biggest weakness but also Saybia's. Having said that, I do think it's a mighty fine collection of worthy pop / rock material, which should not be forgotten and which also stands quite strongly against artists like Keane and Coldplay, imho.
[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

Saybia "The Second You Sleep" (2002)

The Second You Sleep [debut]
release date: Jan. 21, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Andreas Ahlenius, Saybia
label: EMI-Medley - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "7 Demons" - 2. "Fools Corner" - 3. "The Second You Sleep" (4 / 5) - 4. "Snake Tounged Beast" - 5. "Joy" - 6. "Still Falling" - 7. "The Day After Tomorrow" - 8. "In Spite Of" - 9. "Empty Stairs" - 11. "The One for You"

Studio album debut by Danish quintet Saybia released on Medley Records (since 1992 bought by EMI Records and continued in Denmark as EMI-Medley). Saybia consists of primary songwriter and lead vocalist Søren Huss, lead guitarist Sebastian Sandstrøm, bassist Jeppe Langebek Knudsen, keyboardist Jess Jensen and drummer Palle Sørensen.
The band plays soft rock and pop / rock with obvious jangle pop and chamber pop influences.
The Second You Sleep is filed as the first Danish debut album to top the national chart list and at the Danish Music Awards 2003 Saybia won the prizes for Best Danish Album, Best Danish Band, and Søren Huss was handed the prize for Best Danish Vocalist.
Yes, the national hype around this band was tremendous, but they deserve all the acclaim. It truly is a great and surprisingly solid collection of songs for a debut. The style is not the most original one clearly building on britpop acts like Coldplay, Sleeper, Manic Street Preachers and Travis, but the production and the execution - the instrumental and vocal performances on these 11 songs lack nothing in comparison with their much more renowned British colleagues.
The album was never really a favourite of mine. I think, I tired too much of the musical exposure and also found it a bit too much on the softer side of rock to my liking - but my only regret was that I found it too close to music already made; however, there's no doubt that this is altogether a quite an impressive Danish debut where especially Søren Huss shines brightly as vocalist.
[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6, SputnikMusic 3,5 / 5 stars ]