Anna Ternheim "Psalmer från sjunde himlen" (2025)

Psalmer från sjunde himlen

release date: Jan. 17, 2025

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Joakim Berg, Martin Sköld

label: Universal - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Kom tilbaks" - 2. "Nära dig" (4 / 5) - 3. "Orkanen" - 4. "Hit men inte längre" - 6. "Lämnar alla bakom" - 8. "Kalifornien" - 9. "Sjunde himlen" - 10. "Små mirakel"

[ Promo-video ]

8th studio album by Anna Ternheim following her 2019 album A Space for Lost Time offers something quite different from what she has so far released as a solo artist. Former Kent-frontman Joakim Berg is here credited as composer of all tracks, and former Kent-bassist and producer Martin Sköld is also credited as co-composer on half of these ten new songs. Berg and Ternheim are together 2/3 of the project-band Dead People who gave us the debut We Love in 2022, an album which reflects a style that blends folk pop and synthpop, and that's basically also what greets us on this new album from Ternheim. In that sense it marks a huge leap from her 2019 stripped-down folk release. Berg previously worked with Veronica Maggio on her Fiender är tråkigt (Oct. 2019) for which he co-composed 9 songs, and it's tempting to point to that album when listening to Psalmer från sjunde himlen. The vocalist has been exchanged but Berg's fingerprints are all over this album, and he really has a gift for writing melodic pop-tunes. To finish off the tempting comparison with Maggio's solo release, that one is held in more uptempo synthpop arrangements, which in many ways fits her vocal better, whereas Ternheim appears more of a vocalist, which succeeds in the blue notes. That said, this album is remarkably uptempo when comparing to Ternheim's discography, and it's her first to be exclusively with Swedish lyrics.

All in all, the album is a refreshing new move on Ternheim's musical path. At times, I sense references to the Kent back-catalogue, and some songs reek a certain simplistic naivity but then again, these are explicitly 'psalms from the seventh heaven', and shouldn't shock anyone as primarily positive melodies, and then it's mostly just honey for ears and mind, and at bottom line this whole album is like a blow of fresh air. And don't we all need that. Psalmer från sjunde himlen is up there among Ternheim's best albums, and it's a recommended listen.

[ Aftonbladet.se 4 / 5 stars ]

Barry Ryan "We Did It Together" (1970) (single)

We Did It Together, 7'' single

release date: 1970

format: vinyl

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,18]

producer: Paul Ryan

label: Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "We Did It Together" - - B) "Lay Down"

Single release by English songwriter (and photographer), Barry Ryan (Sapherson, aka Barry Davison) of the twin-brother duo 'Paul & Barry Ryan'. This single seems to stem from a time when Barry had concentrated on a solo career while twin-brother Paul assisted him in writing songs and producing, and the title track somehow appear like a most fitting desription of how the two brothers found their way in show business.

This particular Danish print probably comes from my older brother's record collection. I do recall playing this at 7-12 years of age, but it never caught my interest. Stylewise, it sounds much inspired by The Walker Brothers with a love for heavy orchestrated arrangements. Barry and Paul did experience som success after Barry went solo, e.g. with the single hit "Eloise" (1968) (much later also a hit for punk rock band The Damned).

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Anita Lindblom "Sån't är livet" (1961) (single)

Sån't är livet, 7'' single

release date: 1961

format: vinyl (271 201 TF)

[single rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]

producer: ?

label: Fontana - nationality: Sweden

Tracklist: A) "Sån't är livet" (5 / 5) (fan video) - - B) "Det är nå't mysko"

Single release by Anita Lindblom is a cover of a Roy Hamilton 1961 song "You Can Have Her" written by Bill Cook. The Swedish version has lyrics by Stig Rossner (aka Stikkan Anderson), and Lindblom's version was a major hit in all of Scandinavia.

This single was part of my parents' record collection, it's a song I vividly remember from my childhood as a song I have always loved. Not only was the song played on our turntable, but it was and it has been a stable song on national radio ever since the 1960s. It may not be played that often nowadays, but it has status as one of the most played and a highly loved modern standard.

Hamilton's version of the song is fine and strong, and he is one of the many forgotten stars who experienced lesser careers all because Elvis found inspiration in their performances and vocal styles, and he rightfully deserves more recognition. That said, Lindblom's version outshines the original. Her powerful vocal is up there among the greatest, although, she didn't exclusively choose a singing career, but this song more than proves her worth.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

OMD "Bauhaus Staircase" (2023)

Bauhaus Staircase

release date: Oct. 27, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: OMD

label: 100% Records / White Noise - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Bauhaus Staircase" - 2. "Anthropocene" - 4. "G.E.M." - 5. "Where We Started" - 6. "Veruschka" - 8. "Don't Go" - 10. "Aphrodite's Favourite Child"

14th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - the fourth since the band's reformation in 2006, follows six full years after The Punishment of Luxury (Sep. 2017). As all the band's four studio albums of the new Millennium, the album production is credited the band and most tracks are written and composed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys with the former taking the strongest role as songwriter - business as usual. The band hasn't exactly lived without exchanging members and the line-up with the two founding members McCluskey and Humpreys alongside keyboardist Martin Cooper are now on their fourth consecutive album together, whereas drummer Stuart Kershaw, who took part in the writing of five tracks on Liberator (1993), debuted on the 2017 album.

Bauhaus Staircase not only continues where the band left us in 2017 but basically adopts the sound they have stuck to since the reformation and the release of History of Modern (2010), and the title referencing the German art school pretty much sums up what kind of legacy they aim for - and they do know how it connotates an early electronic European tradition, which implies both Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. The album cover reflects the same perspective, as we've seen it with their four most recent albums. From the Pacific Age (1986) to Universal (1996) OMD found themselves - if not on a downward spiral, then at least on a negative trend, where they seemed to be caught on the wrong foot, searching of a proper style, which ultimately had McCluskey dissolve the band in '96. After the reunion, however, the band acts very determined to stick to a simple synth-pop founded on synths, drums, and melodic uptempo tunes that somehow all incorporate some of the characteristics of the band's earliest years. Since 2008 they have released live-versions of their most popular albums and been on tours only performing the albums Dazzle Ships and Architecture & Morality, and they have released the live album Access All Areas (2015) dedicated to hits of their heydays.

I feel somewhat undecided on this as I sense much reproduction and not much new, and then on the other hand I acknowledge that they really understand their own strengths and keep to these in a predictable, yet also quite charming way. My first impression was basically a complete rejection, and I thought it was game over. And again, I have to hand it to McCluskey & Co. as they know how to keep the torch alive.

Recommended.

[ Mojo, PopMatters, Record Collector, Uncut 4 / 5, Clash 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Veronica Maggio "Och som vanligt händer det något hemskt" (2022)

Och som vanligt händer det något hemskt

release date: May 22, 2022

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]

producer: Agrin Rahmani, Simon Hassle

label: Universal - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 2. "Se mig" - 3. "Låt mig gå" - 5. "Varsomhelst / Närsomhelst" - 6. "Höghusdrömmar" - 8. "Förlorat mot världen" - 9. "Var är du?" - 10. "Heaven med dig"

7th studio album by Veronica Maggio following 2½ years after Fiender är tråkigt (Oct. 2019) is once again mainly produced by Rahmani and Hassle. Actually, half of the album (six tracks) with the subtitle Kapitel 1 was released as a 6-track EP as early as Oct. 2021 - this was a first half of the full albums total of 12 tracks but released in the following order: #12, #9, #2, #5, #11, and #8, and as of May 22, the full-length album was issued, though no Kapitel 2 has been released, so if you purchased the EP and only need the remaining tracks, only option is download, or to buy the full album. This is modern and smart marketing! It's almost a natural consequence that Maggio's albums top the Swedish albums chart, but she's not only popular at home, as she in Feb. 2022 reportedly was the first artist to round 1 billion streaming hits for a Swedish-language-only performer.

Then how is the new album from one of the most popular Swedish artists? It's really everything you have come to expect. Maggio goes in the obvious direction. Popularity points and off she goes! Sales numbers are probably glowing hot and live shows will be sold out, but imho, it has become too much of what we've already heard before. As Håkan Steen in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet commented in May '22: 'she has nearly become too skilled in sounding like herself'. And then this marketing smartness really is an new player. Six tracks were issued half a year earlier as promotion gimmick, which would have been sort of Okay had they released the first half but by picking a different running order makes it bothersome, and then in addition, another four new tracks were released as singles from Mar. to May as small dripples from what was to come, so when the full album finally was released, all but two songs had already been issued. That's smart isn't it?! And not really helpful for fans - and I'm not really the strongest one there, so I just awaited the full album, but still feel fans are not treated well with this bothersome initiative. Anyway, I'm not impressed by this new outing, and frankly, I find it a dull and almost mediocre reproduction of her most recent two albums - perhaps because I normally really enjoy her albums. Even the two highlighted songs "Låt mig gå" and "Var är du?" sound a bit too familiar, and you may think they were part of one of her other albums.

Not her best, but still better than most contemporary pop albums.

[ 👍Aftonbladet 3 / 5 stars ]

Olivia Newton-John / Electric Light Orchestra "Xanadu" (1980) (single)

Xanadu, 7'' single

release date: Jun. 1980

format: vinyl

[single rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,54]

producer: Jeff Lynne / John Farrar

label: Jet Records - nationality: Australia / UK

Tracklist: A) "Xanadu" - - B) "Fool Country"

Single release by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra with the title track taken from the 1980 musical film "Xanadu" directed by Robert Greenwald and featuring Newton-John. The A-side is credited Jeff Lynne of ELO, and the B-side is a track performed by Newton-John and credited John Farrar.

I think, that I may actually have purchased this item without really knowing the song yet. I didn't watch the film, and possibly just got it on sale 'cause I never was a fan of Newton-John, and especially never fell for the music by ELO. I do know, however, that I didn't play this on many occasions.

Toyah "Desire" (1987)

Desire

release date: Jun. 1, 1987

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]

producer: Mike Hedges

label: E.G. Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Echo Beach" - 2. "Moonlight Dancing" - 3. "Revive the World" - 8. "Deadly as a Woman" - 11. "Desire"

2nd solo album by Toyah following two years after Minx (Jul. 1985) and now with new wave and post-punk producer Mike Hedges. The album consists of songs by Wilcox and former members of the band Toyah - two songs co-composed by Simon Darlow, one with Adrian Lee and one with long-time associate Joel Bogen. Apart from these, Toyah wrote two songs with Nick Graham, one with Bruce Wooley, and the title track with husband Robert Fripp. The album also features two covers: track #1 originally a 1980 song by Martha and the Muffins, and track #6 originally a '77 single by Donna Summer.

Desire appears as an attempt to regain some of the aura but also the sound from the heydays with the band Toyah instead of being a natural follow-up to the poppier Minx. In that way the new album sounds more as something stemming from the early 80s with a stronger new wave appeal. "Echo Beach" preceded the album as a minor single hit reaching number #54 on the singles chart. The second single was "Moonlight Dancing", which doesn't reflect any chart entries, and despite I find it the best song here, it might have fitted better on the band's 1982 album The Changeling - and fact is, the song was co-written by two other band members and also contains the lyrics from the song "Dawn Chorus" from that very album.

The album didn't perform too well and basically didn't enter the albums chart, and it mostly sounds as a bit of a dated release when thinking 1987, and Toyah issues this album that sounds more like 1983-ish. Some of the songs are filled with keyboards and a drum sound that makes me think 'early Nena' or 'Toyah 1980s', and I wonder if some of the tracks are outtakes or alternative versions of older songs, because that's mostly what the sound yells. A few songs take up a tone from Love Is the Law (1983) or Minx but the overall sensation goes back to another time - also underlined in the lyrics. It's the pale imitation of a well-documented period and therefore not recommended.

John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John "You're the One That I Want" (1978) (single)

You're the One That I Want, 7'' single

release date: Mar. 1978

format: vinyl

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: John Farrar

label: RSO - nationality: Australia / USA

Tracklist: A) "You're the One That I Want" - - B) "Alone at a Drive-in Movie (instrumental)"

Single release taken from the 1978 musical film "Grease" by Randal Kleiser. I think I may have purchased this particular item myself at the age of 14, probably after watching the film. I can't say that I was a fan of neither Newton-John nor of Travolta, but I do recall liking the film and the energy of the title track.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Veronica Maggio "Fiender är tråkigt" (2019)

Fiender är tråkigt
release date: Oct. 25, 2019
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,77]
producer: Simon Hassle; Agrin Rahmani
label: Universal Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Kurt Cobain" - 3. "Tillfälligheter" (live - akustisk live) - 4. "Jag kastar bort mitt liv" (4 / 5) - 6. "Fiender är tråkigt" - 9. "5 minuter"

6th studio album release by Swedish Veronica Maggio following nearly 3½ years after the fine Den första är alltid gratis (May 2016). The first five tracks from the album saw an early pre-release in the form of an ep in Jun. 2019 and four months later the full album was released adding the five final tracks to a release with same title and cover as the ep. This time, Maggio has written nine of the album's ten tracks in colaboration with former Kent lead vocalist Joakim Berg and producer Simon Hassle, and it has definitely rubbed off on the songs. Agrin Rahmani contributes as co-composer on four songs.

Stylistically, the album doesn't offer the huge changes to Maggio's musical universe. As usual, the songs revolve around relationships and the entanglements in what appears as her own social life. Perhaps you'll notice a touch more lightness in the songs compared to earlier ones, but otherwise the album sounds much like the continuation of Den första är alltid gratis. Musically, there is now room for tracks with a simpler synthpop sound that suits the lyrical aspect.

The album is her fourth consecutive since Satan i gatan from 2011 going all the way to the top of the chart in Sweden. As on her 2016 album, some tracks have a slightly uptempo dance pop feel, but otherwise, the impression is that it's now more clean pop-founded than outright electropop à la Robyn.

Three singles have been released from the album - the first single "Kurt Kobain" and later "Tillfälligheter", both of which peaked as number #4 on the national singles chart. The third and final single is "5 minuter" peaking at No. #7 on the same list. In this way, all of Maggio's singles from the same album have found their way into the top-10 singles list, but she has not had a top-1 single hit since "Jag kommer" from 2011. Despite three excellent tracks as singles, it's nevertheless my impression that the clearly best song is track #4, "Jag kastar bort mitt liv", which has a clear uptempo and simple synthpop quality, which with clear persuasion tells us that Joakim Berg, from the (unfortunately) defunct band Kent, is present as songwriter and perhaps also co-composer, as he is credited on several other of the album's songs - the most apparent link to the music and sound by Kent is probably heard on "Jag kaster bort mitt liv".

Overall, this new collection is once again among Maggio's better albums. It sits somewhere in between absolutely banging with something keeping it from full blossom; but this IS also the story of Maggio, who just seems to be almost there in making that truly exceptional album that really hits the mark - that great coherent release without fillers. That said, the album is well above average and compared to her previous releases, it's more than on par with the predecessor, and it's still only her 2011 album that performed better. Maggio has her very own melancholic and fragile vocal that both signals energetic rebellion in small dozes and gentle dewy-eyed sweetness, and when you realise she hasn't made the album of the decade, once again, it's still a pleasant experience listening once more to Swedish-Italian pop of high standard. Imho, this is Maggio's second best album to date.

Recommended.

[ Aftonbladet 3 / 5, Expressen.se (ep review) 4 / 5 stars ] - both in Swedish

Carpenters "The Singles 1969-1973" (1973)

The Singles 1969-1973 (compilation)
release date: Nov. 9, 1973
format: vinyl (1991 reissue) / cd (2014 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Richard Carpenter
label: A&M Records - nationality: USA

Compilation of 12 singles by the brother-sister duo The Carpenters - older sister Karen (1950-83) and Richard (born 1946) - over a four year period is an amazing quality collection of baroque pop hit songs.
I vividly recall listening to The Carpenters in my pre-teen years. They were among the most frequently played international artists on national radio alongside Sinatra, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley. I didn't know of any of their full albums but many of these songs were part of a preferred musical selection from very early on, and I just listening to Karen's singing voice makes me remember the house of my childhood.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Not this particular album as such, but the Carpenters plays a big part of my earliest music memories that wasn't purely children's songs.

👉 Another one from that earliest stage.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Gangway "Whatever It Is" (2019)

Whatever It Is

release date: Apr. 5, 2019

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Janus Nevel Ringsted, Henrik Balling

label: RCA, Sony Music - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "The Sea the Moon and the Stars" - 2. "Colourful Combinations" - 3. "See If I Care" - 4. "Confident and Ordinary" - 6. "Don't Want to Go Home" - 10. "Always Crying"

8th studio album by Gangway follows more than two decades (22½ years) (!) after That's Life (Sep. 1996), which up to this surprisingly new collection of brand new material has been filed as the band's final. Perhaps, because the end-result never felt as a decent attempt to main songwriter Henrik Balling, he managed to re-unite the band in its original line-up as it was some 20 years ago with Allan Jensen on lead and backing vocals, Torben Johansen on keyboards, guitar & backing vocals, and with Henrik Balling on guitar, keyboards, programming & backing vocals. Co-producer Janus N. Ringsted is additionally credited keyboards, programming, drums and percussion. As of 2017 Balling already announced the band's ressurection, which led to a series of concerts as their comeback.

Stylistically, it doesn't seem like two decades has passed, and at times it does seem a bit dated when they take up tones of drum'n'bass and techno-pop reminding us all of the 1990s and especially Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. And then, is this new album actually bettering their '96 album? The short answer is yes! It's definitely better, although, it's not up there among the band's best efforts. The national press met the album with appraisal and positive reviews - and the song "Colourful Combinations" - preceding the album as a single release in Jun. 2018 - has been played from the Summer of 2018 up until the album release on local and national radio stations, but that's almost the only great song on an entire album, although, it was followed by two more singles before launching the album: "Don't Want to Go Home" (Nov. 2018) and "Confident and Ordinary" (Mar. 2019).

The best thing is that the band got back together, and only the future will tell if they managed to follow-up on the good reviews. Thanks for the attempt, but it's not really great.

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

Lana Del Rey "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" (2019)

Norman Fucking Rockwell!
release date: Aug. 30, 2019
format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey
label: Interscope Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Norman Fucking Rockwell" - 2. "Mariners Apartment Complex" - 3. "Venice Bitch" - 5. "Doin' Time" - 6. "Love Song" - 8. "How to Disappear" - 10. "The Next Best American Record"

6th studio album by Lana Del Rey (aka Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) is primarily produced by Jack Antonoff and Del Rey - producing 11 of the album's 14 tracks, which has a total running time exceeding 78 minutes.
Lana Del Rey is undoubtedly one of America's contemporary major pop stars selling millions of albums all over the world. Her polished melancholy femme fatale style has never really caught me as something... desirable or highly original. Music for the masses, our time's Tina Turner, Kim Wilde and The Bangles - artists I never bothered listening to in the 80s. Regardless, her status and musicality on the safe side of the road, I have to grant her that this is her best effort ever. The album contains some nice half-daring tunes and especially strong lyrics. Much as usual, the new album has been followed by a (long) list of singles, where both tracks #2 and #3 "Venice Bitch", were released a year earlier - the latter being a major hit in a considerably shortened version, which makes much sense 'cause the album version at 9:37 minutes seems unnecessarily long. Track #14 ("Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have - But I Have It") was released Jan. 2019 without making any notable entry on the singles charts. Also track #5 was released before the album in May, a song that has also had some airplay. Succeeding the album release, tracks #11 and #4 are so far the only singles to be released, both without any top entries on the singles charts; however, the album has been met by critical acclaim, and it has so far made it to #3 on the Billboard 200 in the US, but peaks at the top in both Switzerland and in the UK.
I think it's truly a bunch of nicely produced songs where the common denominator is more than meets the eye. This is much more than a nicely wrapping, and I do understand the positive reviews, although, I think many are way over the top in critical acclaim. But it's music meant to please, and nothing's wrong with that, and then it offers a layer on top of that, which is nice. In a way, this complexity is also suggested in the front cover. At first, you see a so-so kind of stereo-typical pop music cover with no deeper meaning to it, and then you realise that the sunset glow in back of the image really is a whole country on fire - both hinting at contemporary physical forest fires and the symbolism of a fire running through a country and / or modern society.
Anyway, I'm still not really a big Lana Del Rey fan - never was. It's music for the broad masses, major radio stations will love it - apart from all the beeps 'cause Lana, she makes a fair use of explicit lyrics - and I even think my old mum will enjoy it, though I will probably not listen much to this despite all my recognition 'cause I don't enjoy the singing voice of Lana, which to me is someone trying too hard to sound like Hope Sandoval [see Mazzy Star] and then she stays too much in the same pitch regardless the subject and I just find the whole wrapping too pure mainstream colourless to my liking. All that said, it's undoubtedly still her so far best album.
[ 👎allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, 4,5 / 5, Slant 4 / 5, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, NME 5 / 5 stars ]

Lisa Ekdahl "More of the Good" (2018)

More of the Good
release date: Nov. 9, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mathias Blomdahl
label: Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

10th studio album by Lisa Ekdahl released a 1½ years following När alla vägar leder hem. All songs are written and composed entirely by Ekdahl herself and all songs are with English lyrics. Perhaps the has released this new album also to satisfy her relatively broad international fans coming from English-speaking countries and also more traditional latin jazz-associated countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy).
You may prefer her native Swedish songs, but you can't reject that she's a fine vocalist and interpreter of contemporary easy listening and latin jazz, which is what this album contains most of all. I'm not a huge fan of her English lyrics but it really is one of her better attempts with English songs. It does, however, sound much like a huge conglomerate of previously released material and there are no new surprises under the hood. But if you like what works, this is a solid release of well-established themes.

Lise Westzynthius "JA" (2018)

JA

release date: Sep. 14, 2018

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]

producer: Camillo Gino, Lise Westzynthius

label: Heavypop / DME - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Mommo" - 2. "Flyv mig ind" - 3. "Kaster dig op" - 4. "Laura Palmer" - 8. "På den anden side" - 10. "Fuck. Du forlader mig aldrig"

5th studio album by Lise Westzynthius following 6½ years after Tæt på en kold favn (Mar. 2012) issued on Westzynthius own label Heavypop via Danish Music & Entertainment and co-produced by Westzynthius and Camillo Gino (Askjær) (guitarist in the Danish band Rum 37). All songs are credited Westzynthius alone except two compositions: tracks #3 and #4, which are both co-written by Bjørn Rasmussen. Btw. "Laura Palmer" is translated dialogue (by David Lynch) taken from the Twin Peaks TV-series.

Apparently, and according to Westzynthius herself, she spent some years after her 2012 album finding back on her feet. From her own website it's described as she took "...a deeper dive into her inner self. This lead to a journey of 6-7 years within the fields of body work, shamanism, hypnosis, ayahuasca, tantra, meditation, etc. All along the way, new songs were born, and Lise slowly started working on them together with a good friend, Camillo Gino."  According to Westzynthius this journey was a healing process, where she focussed on being more minded on her physical conditions because she has had a natural way of dealing with emotional aspects, and she need more grounding. In this regard, JA ["YES"] is a way of meeting and focussing on positive aspects of life, and if that includes being stark-naked, Westzynthius has no reservations with that.

Musically, the album mostly follows the tone of her 2012 album. The biggest difference is her extreme positivism, which at times tend to be an expression touching on naivety. Lyrically, she has certainly evolved. Where early lyrics bore traits of obscurity and mysticism, which involved some kind of deciphering of her lyrics, she now expresses herself in a much more direct manner. Thematically, she hasn't completely left her divorce, she returns to the memory of her ex-husband in several lyrics, e.g. on "På den anden side", which also recounts the title of the debut album by her ex-husband, and at the same time she keeps repeating that she's looking forward to meeting his real self "On the Other Side" [of what? When they are dead? Or, when she's finally over the break-up and they can meet again?], but the overall impression is an artist, who appears more willing to experiment. I'm not fully convinced about the end result, though. There's a blue-eyed and near new-religious tone to most of her songs that keeps bothering me but apart from that, it's just nice to have Westzynthius back.

[ Gaffa.dk, Soundvenue 5 / 6, Undertoner 2,5 / 6 stars, Information review ]

Latin Quarter "Modern Times" (1985)

Modern Times [debut]
release date: 1985
format: digital (1989 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Pete Hammond & Latin Quarter
label: Rocking Horse / RCA - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Modern Times" (4 / 5) (live in 2012) - 3. "Radio Africa" (4 / 5) (live in 2012) - 5. "America for Beginners" - 6. "Eddie" - 10. "Truth About John"

Studio album debut by London-based Latin Quarter released on the smaller Arista-owned company Rocking Horse (reissued in '89 by RCA). The band has been through various line-ups over the years but here they count eight [!] members fronted by Steve Skaith as lead vocalist and guitarist, Richard Wright on guitar and backing vocals, Greg Harewood on bass, Yona Dunsford as vocalist and on piano, Steve Jeffries on keyboards and backing vocals, Carol Douet as vocalist and on percussion, Richard Stevens on drums and percussion, and with Mike Jones, who alone is credited as songwriter.

The music is characterised by a solid (left-wing) political stand as well as a socially-engaged attitude with roots in reggae, world music but still framed in a pop / rock kontext with stress on 'pop'.

I believe, the first tracks, I ever heard on the radio by this band were the title song and "Radio Africa". Both still hold quite nicely, although, they are shrouded by stemming from another period, mostly due to their strong political content and the use of synthetic drums. Other songs have aged with lesser success and mostly appear as naiive. Stilewise, the band could sound as a pop-clone of music by Peter Gabriel, Men At Work and the later, and likewise politically and socially engaged collective, Chumbawumba.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

New world "Tom Tom Turnaround" (1971) (single)

Tom Tom Turnaround, 7'' single

release date: 1971

format: vinyl (RAK 117)

[single rate: 3 / 5] [3,14]

producer: Mike Hurst

label: Columbia - nationality: Australia

Tracklist: A) "Tom Tom Turnaround" - - B) "Lay Me Down"

Single release by Australian Brisbane-located folk pop band New World taken from its second album titled New World (1971) following its debut The New World (1969) when their band name was The New World.

This single appears to have various front covers depending on national imprints. This particular Danish print most probably comes from my older brother's record collection. I do recall playing this as 7-12 years of age but never was a big fan of it.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Marie Key "Giganter" (2018)

Giganter

release date: Jul. 20, 2018

format: vinyl (gatefold) / digital (14 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]

producer: Rasmus Bille Bähncke, Jannik Brandt Thomsen

label: Genlyd / Sony Music - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Bruge dig" - 3. "Det vi sagde" - 5. "Regn" - 6. "Stjernerne falder (feat. Medina)" - 7. "Giganter" - 9. "Korn" - 10. "Spot (feat. Benal)" - 14. "Frie"

4th studio album by Marie Key following nearly 3½ years after Tænker du vi danser (Feb. 2015) marks a change in more than one way. Previously, she has teamed up with producer Andreas 'Maskinen' Sommer, who also arranged the music, but he is not credited on this new album. Instead, the majority of the songs are composed by Rasmus Bille Bähncke (producer of primarily dance-pop), and three songs co-composed by Jannik Thomsen (aka Jay - part of the Danish pop-duo Nik & Jay), who also features as vocalist on track #9, and the other half of the duo, Niclas Genkel Petersen (aka Nik) is co-writer and co-vocalist on track #14. And then also both the two Danish artists Medina and Benal feature on one song each (tracks #6 and #10 respectively).

With pop, hip hop-duo Nik & Jay, dance-pop vocalist Medina, and hip hop artist Benal as featuring artists, the album is a bolder pop and hip hop outing than her previous albums, which is also stressed by the choice of producer (Bähncke) and mixer Alex Epton (aka XXXchange).

Key's two previous albums both topped the Danish albums chart but Giganter 'only' peaked as number #9, briefly, and on the year-end list, the album wasn't included in top-100 - and no singles have registrered entries, although both "Det vi sagde", "Regn", "Stjernerne falder", and the title track were on heavy rotation on DR P3.

Imo, I think Giganter is Marie Key's perhaps second best. But despite an attempt to showcase a new sound formula, my only little grain of critique is that some songs here tend to follow melodic paths, where she has taken us before and the pop scene is not where she rightfully belongs. That said, this new collection of songs only serves to prove her status as one of the most vital contemporary Danish artist.

Recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk, Soundvenue, Ekstra Bladet 3 / 6, Politiken 5 / 6 stars ]

Lisa Ekdahl "När alla vägar leder hem" (2017)

När alla vägar leder hem
release date: Feb. 17, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Mathias Blomdahl & Lisa Ekdahl
label: Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "När alla vägar leder hem" - 4. "Famna jorden" - 6. "Välkommen morgon" - 7. "Jorden runt solen" - 9. "Lite svikt i steget" - 10. "Amelia" - 12. "Om bare du" - 15. "Sol vind & vatten"

9th studio album (11th counting her two collaboration albums with Peter Nordahl Trio) by Lisa Ekdahl shows her in a more polished, mainstream pop with full orchestrated arrangements. It's still with some jazz pop sensation, yet the overall style is somewhere in-between a singer / songwriter universe of folk pop and parts of sheer pop.
Tracks #1-9 are labelled "När alla vägar leder hem" - implying these songs are her new album compositions, and tracks #10-16 are labelled "Tolkningar 'Så mycket bättre' " - all cover-versions as the subtitle suggests. On vinyl, the album is released as a double with the last seven tracks as the second record.
It's far from bad, and finally show us Ekdahl back with Swedish lyrics in the way she initially started out, and which has been put aside for some time. Some reviewers have observed that the album marks return to her original roots, and I do concede to that, although the main difference is that this one also contains broader arrangements; however, it's really nice to hear her back in her native tongue again continuing the Swedish singer / songwriter folk pop tradition.
Imho, the album is her third best overall.
[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

The Flower Pot Men "Let's Go to San Francisco" (1967) (single)

Let's Go to San Francisco, 7'' single

release date: Aug. 4, 1967

format: vinyl (DM 142)

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]

producer: John Carter & Ken Lewis

label: Deram - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Let's Go to San Francisco" (part 1) - - B) "Let's Go to San Francisco" (part 2) (parts 1 & 2)

Single release by British pop-project band The Flower Pot Men founded by the two songwriters John Carter (aka John Nicholas Shakespeare) and Ken Lewis (aka Kenneth James Hawker), who experienced some success providing pop songs for other artists in the late 1960s under the name of Carter & Lewis. The project-band was founded by the two songwriters to perform their songs, which was heavily inspired by the sound of The Beach Boys, and Let's Go to san Fransisco was one of their biggest hits.

This particular Danish print of the single was part of my parents' record collection.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Bjørn Tidmand "Hold dig på måtten, Jensen" (1967) (single)

Hold dig på måtten, Jensen, 7'' single

release date: 1967

format: vinyl (DK 1649)

[single rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,45]

producer: ?

label: Odeon - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Hold dig på måtten, Jensen" - - B) "Giv mig din hånd"

Single release by early Danish pop vocalist Bjørn Tidmand who had only just had a singles hit with "Nu ta'r jeg til Dublin". This one, a cover of the Swedish song "Håll dej till höger, Svensson" performed by The Telstars and written by Peter Himmelstrand and with new Danish lyrics by Peter Mynte became another hit by Tidmand. Somewhat odd, the original was an information song to the Swedish population about the new traffic rule of conduct when transferring from left-handed trafic to right-handed, whereas the Danish version is a song directed to Jensen about staying true to his beloved and the warning of not fooling around...

This single was part of my parents' record collection, it's a song I remember from my childhood as a song I enjoyed at age 6-9. I did like Bjørn Tidmand as a pre-teen, at a time when the music of my parents still had the strongest impact on my liking.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.